.SARASALLY’S
NORTH COUNTRY PERSONALITIES
Sarah Ann
SARAH ANN (1839-1923)
Wife of John H. Boothman, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Kelsey
A Moment in Time
Sarah’s husband John died in 1876, at age 41. In the Randolph 1880 census, Sarah is listed as living at home (Mountain View House), age 40, but at some point economics forced Sarah to leave her four small children in the care of her parents and work in a ribbon mill in Manchester, New Hampshire about 100 miles away.
She rarely made the journey home to be with her children and became very bitter towards men, blaming her husband for dying and leaving her with four children to bring up. She was so bitter that she made her three daughters promise never to marry.
This story always stuck with me and was the inspiration for the Sarah Ann figure. She is featured with a hand woven basket full of ribbon spools and holding a large pair of scissors to cut the ribbon off the machine. Her dress is very plain and she is wearing a full length apron.
There will be more stories and figures to come regarding the “Aunts” and their family.
