Vinegar Pie and Chicken Bread: A Woman's Diary of Life in the Rural South, 1890–1891

by Margeret Bolsterli

From June 11, 1890, to April 15, 1891, Nannie Stillwell Jackson wrote about the best and meanest moments of her life on a small farm in southeast Arkansas. The combination of dreariness and charm that forms the diary is absorbing. Jackson's experience is rich and awful, as is what we may learn from it about the human spirit on the edges of civilization.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

At just about a 100 pages, this isn't long, but it provides fascinating insight into the life of a rural woman in southeast Arkansas in 1890 and 1891. The text was typed directly as written in the actual diary, with inconsistent spelling, punctuation, and all. Mrs. Jackson's entries don't provide a lot of context, though some footnotes help. She often visited her best friend's farm nearby, and her husband (her second marriage, her first husband having died a few years before) is jealous and demands to know what they talk about. She only refers to him as Mr. Jackson. She gives birth to their child, a son, during these years, as they continue to raise her two daughters. Many of the entries depict the horrible monotony of a farm family at the time--constant fights against the weather and poverty, with persist illness and child-rearing to complicate things more. Always more sewing, more plowing, more waits through drought and flood.

The modern chronicler cites census records to identify as many people as possible, noting their race. Mrs. Jackson has close friendships with many nearby black families--her midwife included--though at one point other (white) neighbors wear blackface as part of their 'fun.' Black neighbors are also identified with terms like Aunt and Uncle, though relations by blood are also mentioned in the text.

Overall, there is a strong sense of community in this very poor, rural area, especially near the end of the entries as they all struggle against a terrible flood. They are constantly loaning coffee, sugar, clabber, and funds to each other, and engaging in regular visits. The schoolteacher takes turns living with families, and the children perform speeches and hold candy pulling events.

I found this diary personally relevant since my maternal grandfather's family lived as poor farmers in northeastern Arkansas during this same period, and likely lived much as the Jackson family did.

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be easy to think of this diary as boring or mundane, but it paints a great picture of what life was actually like for women back then. I read this to help study the vernacular of people from Arkansas in the late 1800s, and this book was great for that.

[Jennifer Colley · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the most boring things I’ve ever read. The diary just gives an account of daily chores and weather conditions and whether any mail was received.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that this diary was kept by a normal, everyday woman in Arkansas in 1890-91. It was interesting to read about her life and what was happening in the community and with her friends.