Manuscripts
The early part of the diary details Forby's daily activities in mid-19th century New York, during which he visits friends, goes to concerts, sings in the choir of his church, and maintains his shop. He also meets and courts Elizabeth Dowd, whom he eventually marries. There is a considerable gap in the diary. There is an entry for August 24, 1851, with Forby still in New York, and the next entry in the diary is dated February 23, 1852, and Forby is en route to California via steamship. There do not appear to be any missing pages. Forby writes in detail of his journey, especially about his fellow passengers. His voyage takes him to Cuba, Panama, and the coast of Mexico, finally landing in California on April 1, and finds work as a painter in San Francisco. Here there is another gap in time, with no entries between November 30, 1852, and August 2, 1879, at which time Forby has been married to Elizabeth Dowd for twenty-four years, and had children, but she has passed away. He writes that he left California twenty-six years ago for lack of work. The first entry of the diary is dated January 5, 1851, and the final entered date is November 8, 1879. Included is a small scrap of paper with the writing "6/28-1824, Albany, NY, date of birth" on one side and "25 yrs old in '51" on the other side.
mssHM 16992
