Manuscripts
William P. Huston journal
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Henry P. Fleischman journal
Manuscripts
Fleischman's journal starts on December 13, 1812 while he is onboard the brig Hunter, which the British ship Phoebe captured on December 23rd. In his journal, Fleischman details how he and his crew mates board the Phoebe and sail for Plymouth where they are put on the prison ship Hector. Fleischman complains about the lack of food and water and the treatment he and his men receive in prison by the British. He also makes comments upon the new prisoners coming in everyday from various American ships that had been captured, as well as the sickness and death onboard. While in prison, he goes ashore to Plymouth to make an official complaint about the prison conditions to an American agent. He and his men eventually get transferred to several different prison ships and there are daily rumors that they are going to be exchanged or paroled. When this part of his journal ends, it is April 1813 and he had been moved to a prison ship at the Chatham Dockyard in Kent. The journal jumps to May 31, and Fleischman is on the frigate Chesapeake; he then details the battle between his ship and the frigate Shannon, including the wounding and eventual death of his captain James Lawrence and the capture of the Chesapeake by the Shannon. He also includes a list of officers killed and wounded during the battle.
mssHM 66770
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Farmer's journal
Manuscripts
The journal and account book that Foote kept from 1841 through 1873. He started the journal in 1841, "the first year of my agricultural life, for the purpose of recording, in general, my labors and their results." The journal details works and activities of Foote's farm, including his agricultural "experiments," and contains records weather and natural disasters. The account book, in addition to household and farm expenses, contains records of payments to Williams College, purchases of books, subscriptions to local and national magazines and newspapers, expenses related to the activities of Berkshire agricultural societies, etc.
mssHM 66141
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L. M. Clement journal
Manuscripts
Clement's journal, which only includes entries from January to June, includes details regarding his work with the Central Pacific Railroad Company in Nevada and Placer counties, California. He discusses some technical aspects of railroad construction as well as other work he performs for the company such as surveying land for possible routes. At the end of the volume is a list of expenses for the same months as the journal. Also included is a typescript of the journal
mssHM 66487
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Brock Collection: Journal and Memoranda book of Richard Henry Lee
Manuscripts
Record book that Lee kept from the summer of 1777 until the end 1791 with journal entries interspersed with commonplaces, to-do and shopping lists, and accounts. Brief journal entries cover Lee's political activities between 1777 and 1791 (e.g. the entry of Feb. 19, 1779: "Look for & send Dr. Franklins letter to Mr. Mazzei to Mr. Blair in Wibly also send Mr. Jefferson the song & receipt for rolls."). The accounts include those of sales, purchases, receipts, travel and other expenses (including those incurred during his trips to Baltimore, York, and Philadelphia to attend the Second Continental Congress); plantation records, particularly Chantilly and Stratford, including sale and hiring out of the slaves. Also included are some cooking and medicinal remedy recipes.
mssBR 52
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William L. Jackson journal
Manuscripts
Journal kept by William L. Jackson during his voyage up the Missouri River on board the Steamer Gallatin from April to June 1866. Jackson, who was traveling with his friend and fellow Civil War veteran John P. Eddy, kept nearly daily journal entries from the time he boarded the Gallatin at Fort Leavenworth on April 22 until June 14, three days before the accident that would cause his death. These entries describe life on board the steamer and its progress as well as Jackson's observations on various stops along the way, including St. Joseph, Nebraska City, Sioux City, Omaha, Fort Thompson, Fort Sully, Fort Rice, and Fort Berthold. Jackson, who was able to utilize his medical training when a passenger accidentally shot himself in the leg with his shot gun, was particularly observant of the conditions of local drug stores ("I never saw three dirtier drug stores," he remarked of Omaha). He also noted that Nebraska City was "full of men waiting to cross the plains, many of them...dead broke;" that Omaha was the starting point of the "great" Union Pacific Railroad and that he saw Teamsters, "Yahooes and Muleskiners," "swarthy" Mexicans, Indians "dressed in buckskin and blankets," boatmen, farmers, soldiers, and clerks in the streets together; and that Sioux City was "quite dull" but the people there had "high hopes" for a "big city" when the railroad came through. Jackson also records notes on Indians he saw or encountered, including "300 Indians...engaged in the massacre in Minnesota" who had been pardoned and were to be "turned adrift up the river;" members of the Winnebago tribe near the Little Sioux River, who were "very fair looking;" a "large encampment of Sioux" at Fort Thompson waiting to be moved to Yankton; and "3000 Siouxs" near Fort Rice who were "waiting to make a treaty with the government." Although not much interested in hunting, he reports that members of the crew shot at buffalo, antelope, and a gray wolf, as well as killing rattlesnakes. Despite his occasional bouts of homesickness, Jackson seems to have enjoyed the trip, which was however not without its technical difficulties, as the crew dealt with damaged pumps, a broken rudder, and a leaking boiler "apt to blow," and were "frightened out of our wits" by a ruptured steam pipe. A note at the end of the journal copied from the family Bible records Jackson's death after an accident caused by a burst flue on June 17 (he died from his injuries on June 19).
mssHM 75878
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Civil War Journal of William S. Trask, 1862-1865
Manuscripts
The manuscript fills a copy of pre-printed The Daily Journal for 1861 (New York: Francis & Loutrell). The portion from July 8 to October 11 (ff. 81-129) is blank.
mssHM 48927