Manuscripts
Jean L. Shanklin diary
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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
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Harriet Hale Rix diaries
Manuscripts
The two diaries, which Harriet kept in 1882 and 1884, detail her life as a young single woman in San Francisco. She describes her social activities including parties, family camping trips, visits to the theater and her frequent trips to the library (she keeps lists of the books she reads in the back of the diaries); she also talks a lot about school and her family; she often mentions her sister Annie, who is away from home much of the time working as a teacher. Harriet often discusses the current political issues of the time including Chinese immigrants in California.
mssHM 66246-66247
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Samuel Breck diary
Manuscripts
This diary, kept by Samuel Breck from 1841 to 1846, includes almost daily entries by Breck. In it, he talks about his personal life and family, businesses, philanthropy, the financial conditions in Pennsylvania and the United States, and bank closures, as well as local and federal politics. He talks about the government of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. He makes several comments regarding President John Tyler and his policies, Washington D.C., and Congress; he also talks about the funeral of President William Henry Harrison shortly after he was elected. The majority of the diary, however, is filled with writing regarding various miscellaneous topics such as astronomy, science, geology, religion, music, history, etc. He also talks about Daniel Webster, a friend of Breck's, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. There are also several hand-drawn sketches by Breck in the diary. One sketch entitled "A Gerrymander," shows an animal and a map of several counties in Ohio; on the same page, Breck talks about gerrymandering going on in Ohio at the time. The volume has newspaper clippings and various other items glued into it.
mssHM 75113
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Mrs. C. H. Ackerman diary
Manuscripts
Mrs. C. H. Ackerman wrote this diary of her travels from July to September 1886. She and her husband Neal took a trip starting from Susquehanna, PA to Wilkes-Barre, going on to Patterson, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City where they stayed at the Coates House, and then to Fort Leavenworth. From there, they traveled to Denver, Colorado Springs, Leadville, San Francisco, Yosemite, and Salt Lake City. The diary also covers their trip back east with numerous observations concerning mining towns, seeing many Chinese quarters in the larger towns, and noting the scenery. Mrs. C. H. Ackerman provided a faithful and candid description of her travels through the American West, covering both the elegant and refined to the arduous and exhausting to the awe-inspiring. With the diary is a letter by E. R. Payson to Mrs. Ackerman, 1890, February 17.
mssHM 83113
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Alpha Marsh Cary travel diary
Manuscripts
Although the diary is unsigned, it is reasonable to believe the diary was written by Alpha Marsh Cary from San Diego. The diary was kept during a journey that she and her parents took from San Diego to the East Coast and back again. Besides visiting family along the way, and in upstate New York, the family traveled through Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York City. On their journey home, they visited family in Colorado, stopped at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, and visited San Francisco. The author details some of the activities she did while on the trip including reading, sewing, playing cards, going to amusement parks and Vaudeville shows, and seeing "moving pictures." The family also toured a medical museum near Washington, DC, led by its head, Dr. Daniel Lamb, and the Johns Hopkins Institute. They traveled by automobiles, train, streetcars, and even a steamer.
mssHM 84017