Manuscripts

West coast travel diary of a woman

Image not available

Description: A western train trip diary of a young woman as she traveled from Chicago to the west coast in 1915. On the front page it is written "For Neva from Carrie." On the cover of the leather diaries, "My Travels" is lettered in gold gilt. The author traveled from Chicago to southern California with a stopover at the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles and San Diego where she celebrated her 32nd birthday. Then it was up the coast to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Oregon and Washington, and then it was over to Yellowstone National Park and back home to Salina, Kansas. There is a photo which accompanies the diary of a young woman in a hammock, which could be either Carrie or Neva. Also at the rear of the diary are a number of people listed with their addresses.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1915.
Call number: mssHM 83415
Provenance

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

Image not available

Hewstone Raymenton and Hazel Raymenton travel diary

Manuscripts

This diary is written by both Hewstone "Remy" Raymenton and his wife Hazel while on a trip around the world during World War I. They began in Pennsylvania and stopped in the following places: Chicago, the Rockies, Vancouver, Japan, and Manila. Particularly noteworthy is their reference to the captain of their ship to Manila sharing a secret: the Germans have made it known that their ship is a priority target. The diary also includes ephemera, hand-drawn sketches, tax stamps and some tipped in magazine pictures of their tourist destinations.

mssHM 82558

Image not available

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

Image not available

Carrie B. Call diary

Manuscripts

Diary kept during a journey by covered wagon from Salt Lake City, UT, to Los Angeles, CA, by Carrie B. Call, who traveled with her husband Jimmie, her niece Katie and her infant son Leslie. The Calls left Salt Lake City on October 24, 1886 and reached Los Angeles December 5, 1886. While on their journey they passed through several cities and sites including Provo and Santa Clara, Utah; the Las Vegas Mormon Fort and Rancho, Nevada; and Ivanpah and Pomona, California. The diary gives a day-by-day story of their trip. She details the people, scenery and hardships her family encountered on their trek, such as, the family sharing a campsite with a man chasing a horse thief and getting lost in the desert and having their horses run off. Being from Salt Lake City, she makes several comments regarding the Mormon families she met along the travel route. One of the first things the Call family did in California was visit the beach at Santa Monica. Call made several comments regarding California's perfect climate. The diary is illustrated by hand-drawn and hand-colored sketches done by the author

mssHM 60317

Image not available

Richard C. Backus travel diary

Manuscripts

The travel diary documents Richard C. Backus' road trip from New York to Los Angeles with typewritten notes and labeled photographs. The diary includes details regarding their trip and the various people and places they visited along the way through Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The typewritten notes include details about miles driven, car trouble and repairs (the group traveled in three vehicles), and road and weather conditions. The diary also includes a hand-drawn map of the group's driving route.

mssHM 84014

Image not available

Eleanor F. Bennett diaries

Manuscripts

The six diaries detail the years Bennett spent moving around Southern California while looking for employment; being a single woman, she found it difficult to find work other than working with children, which she enjoyed, but she longed to find a more rewarding job as a writer. She often talks about the hardships of being a single woman including her financial problems, her health problems, the challenges of the job search and her loneliness, as well as her social activities including going to plays and attending women's club meetings. Her various jobs took her to several southern California cities and her diaries include detailed descriptions of Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Diego and Santa Barbara. Being a writer, Bennett's diaries are well written and full of details regarding the following: Hull House (Chicago); the Southern California Woman's Press Club; the Young Women's Christian Association of California; her trip to Seattle to see the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition; her trip through the Canadian Rockies; and a visit to Chicago. Bennett illustrated her diaries with newspaper clippings and illustrations from magazines; a letter by Lily Frémont is pasted into one of the volumes. The scrapbook contains clippings of newspaper articles and announcements written by Bennett; these deal with social events and news in southern California

mssHM 64262-64268

West coast travel diary of a woman

Opening Hours

Admission Info and Tickets

You might also be interested in

Alpha Marsh Cary travel diary

Hewstone Raymenton and Hazel Raymenton travel diary

Mary Olive Karr Gilkey diary

Carrie B. Call diary

Richard C. Backus travel diary

Eleanor F. Bennett diaries