Guida Swan 
Journals of Two Poor Dissenters [PDF ebook] 

The Journals of Two Poor Dissenters (1970) is a remarkable example of voices from the past, giving a humble man’s record of his time. William Swan and his son were Nonconformist labourers in London in the early part of the nineteenth century. They were poor, ill, afflicted with family troubles and the constant problem of finding work. In spite of this they thanked God for each misfortune as it arrived, and looked to the next year with gratitude for all the graces which the modern reader may find hard to detect. The Introduction places this account in its context of history and social record.