This section is from the book "The Young Wife's Cook Book", by Hannah Mary Peterson . Also available from Amazon: The Young Wife's Cook Book.
Put the terrapins on in boiling water and let them boil ten minutes, take them out and with a coarse cloth rub all the skin off the head, neck, and claws, also the thin shell that may come loose. Then boil them in clean water, with a little salt in it, until the claws are perfectly soft. The time of boiling depends very much on the age of the terrapin; some take three hours. When they are soft, open them carefully, take out the sandbag, the spongy part, and the gall, which you must not break. Cut all the remainder of the terrapin in small pieces, put them in a stew pan, and to each large terrapin take a quarter of a pound of butter, one wine glass of Sherry or Madeira wine, salt, black, and red pepper, and mustard, to suit the taste; also, to each terrapin, the yolks of two hard boiled eggs, mashed to a paste, with a little butter. Mix the whole together, and stew fifteen minutes. Send them to the table hot.
 
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