Manuscripts

Wilson Keys diary

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Description: Wilson Keys writes in detail about his troops' movements, and his experience in Johnson Island, Ohio, and the Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia. With the diary is a memo book belonging to Milt Kemble of Ohio with scattered entries from 1861 to 1876.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1864-1866.
Call number: mssHM 29057
Creator: Keys, Wilson(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Acquired from Martha Nordahl, August 1957.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Diary and autobiography of William Huntington

Manuscripts

Typescript of William Huntington's autobiography and diary. The autobiography focuses on his conversion to Mormonism in the 1830s, and also traces his family's movements through Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. The diary entries commence around May 1841, although they may have been written after that time as part of the autobiography, and conclude on June 1, 1845. Some topics mentioned by Huntington include the Nauvoo Legion, the arrival of Sidney Rigdon in Nauvoo, the departure of troops from Nauvoo to "arrest the murder[er]s of Joseph and Hyrum Smith," his work on the Nauvoo Temple, and family news.

mssHM 27969

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Diaries and correspondence

Manuscripts

The Civil War diaries and correspondence of Edward E. Schweitzer. Five pocket diaries cover Schweitzer's military service from September 1861 through August 1865. The entries record movement of the troops, war news, minutia of camp life, etc. There are also three letters from Schweitzer to his family posted from Virginia, Louisiana, and Georgia. Also included are his military records including appointments, certificates of discharge, and a muster-out roll of Co. I of the 30th Ohio. The post-war portion includes Schweitzer's diaries for the years 1869, 1884, and 1885, correspondence related to his effort to obtain disability compensation in 1882, and materials reflecting his membership in the veterans' association of the 30th Ohio Infantry. His letter to Jeannie Anderson of March 24, 1870, describes his stay at a sanatorium in Wernersville, Pennsylvania, including staff, patients, etc. Also included is a diary kept by Jennie Anderson in 1867. The collection contains many publications including issues of the Pennsylvania Inquirer (1865 May 25), the Daily News (Petersburg, Virginia, 1865 May 9), Windsor Currier (Windsor, Missouri, 1871-1872) and Newcomerstown Visitor (Newcomerstown, Ohio, 1871). Also included are copies of several books and pamphlets including The old battle fields revisited after 16 years! : a horseback ride from Chattanooga to Atlanta by C.O. Brown (Sandusky, Ohio : Register Printing House, 1880), History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry: from its organization, to the fall of Vicksburg, Miss. by Lieut. Henry R. Brinkerhoff, Thirtieth Ohio (Columbus, O. James W. Osgood, printer, 1863), and printed rosters of the 1888 and 1890 reunions of the 30th Regiment. The collection also includes Civil War memorabilia and photographs.

mssHM 66500-66519

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Homer A. Parmelee diary

Manuscripts

In his diary, Homer A. Parmelee writes of his experiences as a Union recruit during the American Civil War. On October 7, 1862, he writes that he has been sworn into Union service. In the next entries, he describes his experiences training in New York, then writes of his traveling by boat to the Mississippi River, where he was stationed at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, taking part in drills and standing watch. He describes his involvement during the siege of Port Hudson, where he was wounded in the arm on May 27, 1863. He was transported to a Baton Rouge hospital, where he writes of his discovery and receiving daily news of the ongoing conflict. He writes of his return to duty several weeks later, and he was pleased to receive his discharge in July 1863. He describes his journey home, where he was part of a group of returning soldiers welcomed by a large crowd. The final entries document Parmelee's ensuing activities, mostly concerned with his doing odd jobs such as building chimneys and plastering, and records of his pay. Also included is a hand-drawn map of an unspecified battle site, and what appears to be a table of locations visited and distances traveled.

mssHM 79380

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Walter E. Scott [Death Valley Scotty] letter to William F. Keys

Manuscripts

In this letter, Walter Scott tells his friend Bill Keys that he got his letter and is out in the mountains with the mules. He would be home in a week and wanted to drop by and tell him what was on his mind. Scott mentions that "they" are going to make a picture and will tell Bill about it when he sees him. Letter is on Walter Scott's letterhead, The Castle at Death Valley, Goldfield, Nevada. Cover is postmarked Goldfield, Nev., 7AM, June 22, 1935. A second postmark on the verso is from Banning, Calif., 8PM, June 25, 1935. Letter is addressed to Bill Keys, Desert Queen PO, White water, Calif. via Banning.

mssHM 30948

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John B. Wilson letter to Emma Moore Wilson

Manuscripts

Letter from John Bordeaux Wilson to his mother Emma Moore Wilson, written shortly after Wilson had joined the engineering corps of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1868. In the letter, written at Fort Sanders, Dakota Territory, Wilson writes of his dissatisfaction with being removed from Colonel Joseph Opdyke Hudnutt's company and placed instead with a Mr. Lawrence's party, which he writes will "operate much further west" than the other and work east for 250 or 300 miles from the Green River until they meet the other parties. He notes that Colonel Hudnutt's party was headed for the North Platte while John O'Neill's party would work at Medicine Bow, and gives a description of the various supplies carried by each party. The remainder of the letter describes Wilson's attempts to stay warm in his tent and the meals that he has been given. With envelope, marked "Union Pacific Railway Company, Engineer's Office, Fort Sanders - Dakota."

mssHM 74318

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James Hoyt diary

Manuscripts

Reverend James Hoyt kept this diary while living in Washington, D.C. right after the end of the American Civil War. He writes in detail about his work with the United States Christian Commission including visiting hospitalized soldiers and handing out supplies. Hoyt also writes about attending a memorial service for President Abraham Lincoln, visiting Mary Surratt's house, where she and John Wilkes Booth and conspirators had met, and going to the courthouse during their trial and seeing Surratt in the courtroom. He describes in detail two encounters he had with angry, drunk soldiers. On June 6, a group of soldiers from the 75th Indiana stormed the supply tent accusing Hoyt and his fellow ministers of giving preferential treatment to African American soldiers. On June 8, Hoyt and the ministers were harassed by a group of soldiers from the 17th Ohio with the same complaint. One soldier had a club and struck the tent, and one minister was thrown to the ground. The last few pages of the volume contain notes on specific soldiers Hoyt ministered to, inscriptions by his fellow chaplains, and notes on the history and organization of William Tecumseh Sherman's army. With a complete typed transcript and index. Includes 18 printed pages. The diary contains racist language.

mssHM 84018

Wilson Keys diary

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