Esther Edwards Burr

Esther Edwards Burr (February 13, 1732 – April 7, 1758) was the mother of 3rd U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, Jr. and the wife of Princeton University President Aaron Burr, Sr. whom she married in 1752, one year after she moved to Stockbridge in western Massachusetts. From October 1754 she kept a journal recording her perspective on current events and her daily activities. Esther Burr's journal is considered an important source in studies of American history and literature for its insight into a woman's daily life in the late colonial period of the United States, although it was not until 1984 that her journal was published in its entirety to the public. Early life and family Esther Edwards was born in Northampton, Province of Massachusetts Bay, the third of the eleven children of Sarah (Pierpont) Edwards and the famed preacher of the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards. Esther was named after Edwards' mother and grandmother who came before her. She initially grew up in the town of Northampton, but Jonathan Edwards had a falling out with the church in Northampton, the First Church of Northampton was unwilling for Jonathan Edwards to change his position on the Lord's table. This led to the Edwards family moving to the frontier settlement Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1751, where she met Aaron Burr, Sr. whom she married in 1752. Though the Edwards children were encouraged to read the Bible and engage in piety at all times, they were not kept in the dark about all forms of contemporary, non-religious culture. For instance, they were allowed to read novels, if their parents approved of their content, but Jonathan Edwards was still a rather strict father. Esther Edwards was never given a proper formal education, but she did receive quite an education at home. Both her parents were as interested in her writing ability. These writing abilities carried over to her adult life, evident in her journal, consisting of letters sent to her friend.