1852 Diary Found in Walls at 43 Church St. [IMAGE GALLERY]

"... about four o'clock he heard the robin sing, which he had been accustomed to (hearing) for some weeks before, he said "(T)hat sweet robin again, it is the last time I shall hear it," said Daniel Forbes the night he died in 1854. For many generations, these words written by Mary White Forbes, were hidden in a wall at 43 Church Street.

For the past three years, furniture maker Michael Fitzpatrick and his wife, ophthalmologist Jean Keamy, have been painstakingly restoring the barn and colonial house with a mansard roof on Church Street. Demolition worker Kim Scioneaux of Berkley, MA found the diary. Kim said, "I found an old shoe, a bunch of acorns, corn cobs, a clothes pin and the diary in the eaves that I was pulling apart." When she found the damaged diary, she left it on a table in the house.

Scioneaux also said, "I lived in a house in Louisiana from the 1890s. So I always dreamed of finding something like this diary."

Fitzpatrick, a graduate of the North Bennet Street School in Boston, posted a message on his blog about the diary. Fellow North Bennet Street graduate, Ken Gilbert, a traditional craftsman who does bookbinding, book repair and paper repair in Shrewsbury, read Fitzpatrick’s blog. Gilbert and Fitzpatrick struck an agreement, and Gilbert went to work.

According to Gilbert, the moldy diary was stiff and has been gnawed by animals. His first action was to carefully take apart the 4 groups of 6 pages of the diary. After mechanically brushing the surface, Gilbert put the papers in a bath of water and alcohol to remove the mold. Several water baths followed, until the water was clear. Once clean, Gilbert created pieces to fill the empty spaces of the diary, and added sizing to make the paper more pliable. Gilbert replaced the marbleized cover of the diary.

Gilbert said, "It is quite rewarding to be able to bring back what was. This woman's words are now available, and before they weren't."

local historian, added insight into the diary. On a poster board, she laid out dates of birth, marriage and death for members of the White family, who built the house in the 1848. According to Skog, Mary was the daughter of matriarch Nancy White, who built the house on Church Street after her husband died. The family members were farmers, like most people in Westborough at the time, but Skog said that they were wealthy.

Mary Forbes and her husband both died in their 40s, and left three children according to Skog. She said that little is known about their children, and that she has not seen Mary's grave.

The diary spans from 1852 to 1857. Most of the entries are single lines for specific days. There are frequent references to going to meetings, which Skog said meant going to church. Skog commented, "Mary always referred to her husband as Mr. Forbes. After he died, she wrote in entry in which she called him Daniel."

Daniel Webster's death in 1852 is also referred to in the diary.

Reception Held

Fitzpatrick and Keamy held a reception that featured the diary on Friday, June 1. While Fitzpatricks' blog played a role in connecting him with bookbinder Gilbert, social networking also had an impact on the guests in attendance.

Facebook connected Fitzpatrick's to his Suffern, NY high school classmate Beverly Simon of Tuxedo, NY. She attended the gathering with James McLoughlin, who — according to Fitzpatrick — won six Clio awards for his photography.

During the reception, a slide show played continuously on a flat screen TV. The guest of honor, the diary, sat quietly on a table in an alcove. Words that were hidden away for decades and decades, were no longer hidden in the eaves. Mary was in the house.

Editor's note: On the Westborough Patch Facebook page, Michael Fitzpatrick answered a reader who asked if the public will be able to see the diary. He wrote, "This weekend we will be having an open house 10-2 on Saturday and Sunday. All are welcome to come take a walk through, and the Diary of Mary Forbes will be on display."