MF 002 “Anna May” Interviews

Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History: MF 002 “Anna May: Eighty-Two Years in New England”/ Julie Hunter Collection

Number of Interviews: 1
Dates when interviews were conducted: 1977
Time period covered: 1900-1977
Principal interviewers: Julia Hunter
Finding Aides: none
Access Restrictions: none
Description: NA1653 Anna Sevigny, interviewed by Julia Hunter, 1977, Hanover, New Hampshire. Series of interviews with about her life history. Topics covered include Irish immigrant ancestry; education levels; misunderstandings of different cultures; living conditions as a new arrival to the United States; disposition of parents. Also included is information about North Hartland, VT – description of social life and mills in the region as well as tenants; learning women’s roles; chores; marriage; sewing and cloth-making; food preparation; winemaking; entertainment; pets and livestock owned; travel and transportation over time; schooling; playing pranks; holiday celebrations; community church; lumbering; tensions with tourists; the introduction of electric light and telephones. There is also information about Franklin, NH – working in a hosiery mill; meeting her husband and courtship practices; training to be a nurse in Manchester, NH; living conditions with first marriage; strikes in the mills; moving to Boston, MA; her husband’s drinking problems; prohibition; entertainment and nursing in Boston, getting separated and moving to Woodstock, VT. Also covers social life during the Depression; her first car; getting divorced and living alone in Lebanon, NH; being a nanny; the Chicago World’s Fair; working in Florida during World War II; her second marriage; hobbies and volunteer work; travels; shoulder accident; life after Mr. Sevigny’s death; living in White River Junction, VT; learning to fly; and aging and living in a nursing home. See also Northeast Folklore XX: “Anna May: Eighty-Two Years in New England.” Text: no transcript. Recording: C 0020 – C 0037 / CD 0374 – 0404 27 hours. Photos: P05838 – P05856.