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
