Mary Man literary manuscripts (Ms. 84.1)

The manuscripts of Mary Man fall into two categories, her own poems and verses she copied. Among these, one finds religious themes and extracts from the Bible and from sermons, occasional poetry written in memory of someone or retelling the story of a disaster, and a few love poems in a pessimistic vein. The verses contain misspellings and ungrammatical expressions. One of the copy-books (folder 2) is written in part by Thomas Man, whose relationship to Mary has not been established.

Of some interest is the first entry in the first copy-book (folder 1), "The Improvement of a Great and Wonderful Deliverance," an account written by a woman who attempted suicide by drowning, and printed by Franklin in 1718 in Boston. James Franklin's first known imprints (Evans 1954 and 1996) date from 1718, but "The Improvement" cannot be identified with either or with any other recorded works. It appears to be an unknown James Franklin imprint.

Among several manuscripts of unidentified authors, two (folders 13 and 14) resemble the work of Mary Man in style and tone. Other manuscripts contain poems written by Olive and Sukey Fisk, about whom nothing is known.