Manuscripts
John Henry Frederick Ahlert diary
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Frederick G. Niles diaries
Manuscripts
In these four diaries, Niles details his life through a variety of jobs and journeys. Before his adventures west, Niles talks about his religious beliefs, his Sunday school teaching, his daily life and his aspirations for the future. As he heads West to the Kansas Territory, Niles describes the prospectors and emigrants he meets along the way. He discusses the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians he sees, the Mexican cattle drivers, and the landscape he encounters in his travels. In April 1865, Niles writes about the assassination and funeral of Abraham Lincoln. Niles' diaries also include detailed budgets and personal financial information as he struggled to make money. In the diary that deals with his sea voyage home, Niles includes details about daily life on the ship and the places he visited along the way.
mssHM 70278-70281
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W. Frederick Mayes diary
Manuscripts
This diary, kept by W. Frederick Mayes, begins on November 22, 1869 and continues to November 27, 1870. Mayes kept this diary while he was in Honduras building a railroad. He talks about the railroad, his fellow employees, the local people, the villages he comes to, the weather, the geography, etc. He specifically talks about Chamelecón, the Chamelecón River, and the villages of El Chapparo and El Espino, Honduras. Mayes drew several sketches in his diary. These sketches include scenery, villages and people.
mssHM 52253
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Electus Backus diary
Manuscripts
The diary (48 pages), which covers November 23, 1851-April 18, 1852, details Backus's experience as commander of Fort Defiance, Arizona, and particularly the army's interactions with the Navajo, the Hopi, and the Apache Indians, including the Indians coming to the fort to trade and buy supplies, Backus's relationships with various Navajo chiefs, and failed treaty negotiations with the Navajo by Edwin Sumner and Territorial Governor James S. Calhoun. Backus also describes his frustration with late supply shipments, his fear that his troops will starve, and the various problems brought on with the winter weather including the death of cattle and horses. Backus also mentions gold and "jewel" mines in the area
mssHM 66248
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Elias S. Ketcham diary
Manuscripts
Elias S. Ketcham of Rondout (Kingston), New York, kept this diary while living and working in the gold fields of California in 1853-54. He prospects for gold in Murphy's Camp, CA, but is not particularly successful in the mines. Ketcham often discusses his desire to return home to NY, his experiences as a miner, and his religious beliefs. The diary provides a colorful description of life in the mining camps: he describes his impressions of Indians, Mexicans, and Chinese and also discusses violent incidents in the mining communities
mssHM 58269
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Amasa M. Lyman diary
Manuscripts
Typescript of Amasa Lyman's diary, covering the years 1847 and 1858-1863. The first part of the diary is dated April-September 1847 and describes the overland travels of Lyman and his company of Mormon pioneers. It begins with their departure from Winter Quarters, Iowa, and describes camping near the Platte River, finding an abandoned Pawnee village, sighting buffalo, crossing the North Fork above Laramie, and camping in the Salt Lake Valley. On August 9 the diary notes, "city named 'Salt Lake City, Great Basin, North America'." The 1847 diary was recorded by Albert Carrington and refers to Lyman in the third person. The second part of the diary, identified as Journal #16, covers 1858-1863 and describes Lyman's travels from April 18-July 2, 1857, along the California Road and Indian Trail from the Rio Virgin. It continues with his participation in an exploratory party that traveled south from Cedar City, Utah, to Las Vegas, the Vegas Fort, and the Mojave Desert from January-May 1858, and also charts its return to Salt Lake City. References are made to Hyatt's war with the Apaches and Lyman's encounters with an Indian chief he calls Oat-sen-a-wantz. The final section of the diary, kept from December 1862 to April 1863, describes Lyman's daily life near Farmington, Utah, including his attendance of the local theatre, a listing of the books he was reading, and his encounters with John Taylor. Includes a description of the original diary.
mssHM 27980
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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