Manuscripts
Eliza Roxey Snow diaries
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Eliza Ann Otis diaries
Manuscripts
Eliza Ann Otis' first diary dates from January 1, 1860 to June 1, 1863, covering the early years of her marriage to Harrison Gray Otis in Louisville, Kentucky, with later stays in Lowell, Ohio, and Charleston, West Virginia, during the Civil War. Entries discuss her family, marriage, religious beliefs, church attendance, and visits to various houses of worship around Louisville, including a Catholic church, Jewish synagogue, and an African American church on March 4, 1860. Otis also mentions current politics and issues, including the 1860 presidential race, the Republican Party and slavery. Some activities and outings in Louisville are described, such as social visits, concerts, and painting lessons. Several entries discuss the birth, death, and mourning of her first child, Harry Jr. (March 1861-February 1862). Following the outbreak of the Civil War and Harrison Otis's enlistment in the Ohio infantry, Otis writes of reports about the war from newspapers, her husband, and others; many entries also include copies of outgoing letters sent to soldiers and other recipients. The second diary details two 1863 excursions to West Virginia to visit Harrison Otis during the war: the first to his regiment's camp in June and the second a journey through the Kanawha Valley with a traveling companion enroute to visit her husband in September. These entries describe landscape and scenery, civilians encountered while traveling, and Union soldiers. The first journal is a bound volume and the second an unbound manuscript; both are handwritten in ink. Also present is a transcript of the diaries created by donor Gwen Babcock, which does not include the Kanawha Valley trip.
mssHM 84037
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Mary Haskin Parker Richards diary
Manuscripts
Typescript of a diary kept by Mary Haskin Parker Richards while her husband Samuel Richards was on his mission to Great Britain from 1846-1848. The diary begins on July 22, 1846 (the first four pages are missing), while Mary was traveling with Samuel's parents in a covered wagon through Iowa. Despite the hardships of travel and living much of the time in tents, Mary writes of enjoying her sewing, cooking, and caring for ill family members. She writes of attending a council between the Twelve and "the Natives," which included "10 Indians [and] two Chiefs" in December 1846. In February 1847 Mary ventured across the frozen Missouri River and stayed in an Indian village. She recounts seeing Mormons and Indians living side-by-side although not always peacefully. She happily recounts moving into a house in April 1847 for the first time since leaving Nauvoo in May 1846. "I rejoiced to think that after...living in a tent, and wandering from house to house to keep from perishing with the Cold, [and] suffering...every inconvenience...I had once more a place I could call my home," she wrote on April 29. Much of the diary is taken up with notes on Mary's domestic activities and her attendance of lectures and apparently fiery sermons by Mormon leaders. The final entry was made on May 14, 1848. There is a gap in the diary from August to November 1846.
mssHM 27970
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West coast travel diary of a woman
Manuscripts
A western train trip diary of a young woman as she traveled from Chicago to the west coast in 1915. On the front page it is written "For Neva from Carrie." On the cover of the leather diaries, "My Travels" is lettered in gold gilt. The author traveled from Chicago to southern California with a stopover at the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles and San Diego where she celebrated her 32nd birthday. Then it was up the coast to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Oregon and Washington, and then it was over to Yellowstone National Park and back home to Salina, Kansas. There is a photo which accompanies the diary of a young woman in a hammock, which could be either Carrie or Neva. Also at the rear of the diary are a number of people listed with their addresses.
mssHM 83415
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Eliza Fall Papers
Manuscripts
Letters from Eliza Fall to William Henry Harrison, the editor, concerning the publication of her volume, Poems, under the pseudonym Mary Maynard. John Ruskin is a frequent subject of discussion in the letters along with several other leading literary figures of their day. The collection includes several manuscript versions of her poems and a translation of a poem by Johann Ludwig Uhland.
mssHM 42764-42816
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Margaret Jane Cooper diary
Manuscripts
Cooper's diary begins January 1, 1862 while she was living in Pennsylvania. In March 1862, her husband Adam left for the mining town Lincoln City, Colorado. In 1863, she joined him in Colorado. She talks about Denver and mining some. She specifically talks about Indians possibly attacking Denver and martial law being enacted in February 1865. In 1867, she talks about her family's trip back to Pennsylvania (although it seems they later returned to Colorado). She also talks about Lincoln's assassination and funeral. Throughout the whole diary she talks chiefly about her personal life: visits with family and friends; the weather; church going; etc. The diary ends in April 1873. With the diary are six loose pages of writing by Cooper. These include information about her family and some diary entries. There is also a program for "Centennial Federal Reception" in 1876 as well as a letter by J. F. Lewis, MD, to Adam Cooper, also from 1876.
mssHM 80588
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Mary Olive Karr Gilkey diary
Manuscripts
The diary begins in October 1877 when Mary, at the age of 12, is in Tumwater, Washington on her way to Olympia; it is here that she decides that she is going to start keeping a diary. The diary then skips to July 1884 when Mary is a teacher in Scappoose, Oregon. She discusses her students, her feelings for a man she refers to as "C.J.," and her continuing effort to be a good Christian woman. In October she moves back to Forest Grove, Oregon to be with her family, the Karrs and Walkers. While there, she spends her time attending prayer meetings and catching up with her family. She also takes a trip to Portland where she attends a reception for a missionary friend; she briefly talks of becoming a missionary herself, but decides to return to school instead. The last entry is August 9, 1885, and Mary is back at home after deciding to leave school
mssHM 64595