Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, software is not available to interact with files, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.
This 12 x 8 centimeter book has its 88 pages predominantly filled with clippings of printed advertisements from unknown newspapers. It also includes personal notes about daily life alongside culinary or home remedy recipes. The creator was very likely a middle class mother, possibly Sarah “Sallie” Yeagle or Ruth Anna Bennett.
The Commonplace Book of Homemade Remedies and Recipes was most likely compiled by a middle to upper class woman living in Philadelphia or its suburbs around the late 1800s to early 1900s. The creator was likely a woman due to the focus on household responsibilities. Several clippings include remedies for sale by local druggists or how to make them at home, alongside culinary recipes such as elderberry wine. Evidence reveals that the book’s creator had school aged children around the time of its creation, based on her notes about payments to their music teacher and local schools within the area.
Newspaper clippings point to Philadelphia or its environs as the creator's locale. In one written note titled “Centennial” among the book’s last few pages, the creator describes seeing a "Century Clock that only requires winding up every hundred years, alongside items from the Revolutionary War (“Pennsylvania Commonplace Book,” 69). This indicates that the creator of this book attended the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition during its run. This exposition ran from May 10 to November 10, 1876 in Fairmount Park near Philadelphia, marking 100 years of independence for the United States.
Two pages document family genealogy and give some clues as to the creator's identity. There are detailed notes about ancestors leading to the conclusion that the creator was someone in the Staats (later States) family, an upper/middle class Dutch family who settled in Bucks County and eventually Philadelphia. Genealogical notes and Census records place Sallie E. (Staats) Yeagle or Ruth Anna (Staats) Bennett in the area at the time, so it is probable that the compiler was one of them.
The Commonplace Book of Homemade Remedies and Recipes contains advertisements for commercial-based products related to fancy goods. Many of the advertisements mention fancy products - from art exhibitions to lace neckwear - that caught the creator’s interest. The most notable of the creator’s interests was embroidery and lace. The book also contains newspaper clippings, payments for music lessons, culinary and home remedy recipes, and family genealogy notes.
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.
[Identification of item], Commonplace Book of Homemade Remedies and Recipes, MSS 00498, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Purchase, 2026 February (Accession 2026.0012).
Processed by: Cathy Dorin-Black, 2026 April; Collection guide written by: Megan Peedin and Cathy Dorin-Black, 2026 April
Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, software is not available to interact with files, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.
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[Identification of item], Commonplace Book of Homemade Remedies and Recipes, MSS 00498, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.