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This journal recounts the experiences of Benneville Hiester, a native of Berks County, Pennsylvania, who traveled from Pleasant Township, Ohio, to St. Louis, Missouri, and back to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1853. Hiester recorded the odd jobs he did for local farmers around Pleasant Township and Lancaster, Ohio; his trip westward through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois by railroad and overland roads; his return journey to Pennsylvania, taken primarily by steamboat; and the labor he did for nearby farmers after his return.

The Benneville Hiester diary contains about 50 pages of short daily entries about his travels from Pleasant Township, Ohio, to St. Louis, Missouri, and back to Pennsylvania in 1853.

In January 1853, Hiester lived in Pleasant Township, Ohio, where he chopped wood and performed other tasks for local farmers. In his journal, he mentioned the names of those for whom he worked, as well as his work at a nearby poorhouse and his labor digging graves and building pig sties. On February 19, he visited Joseph Hiester and his son Daniel in Boylston, Ohio, and on March 7, he left Lancaster for Columbus, Ohio, where he boarded a train for Cincinnati with a companion named Jacob. Hiester noted the cost of his ticket and provided brief descriptions of his journey across Ohio and Indiana, including a stop at Vandala, Indiana, to visit acquaintances. On March 20, he and Jacob traveled on the "National Road" to Illinois, and they arrived in St. Louis, Missouri, on the 22nd. Hiester set out for Pennsylvania on the same day, paying $10.50 for a steamboat ticket on the Elephant, which traveled along Ohio River to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which Hiester reached on April 4. From there, he went to Harrisburg and then to his home near Bern, which he reached by foot on April 6. The final entries, which Hiester wrote regularly until May 1 and again from June 14 to June 22, concern the daily weather and his manual labor. The entry for June 21 mentions his work with tobacco.

Ethel and Nina Newton kept 2 daily diaries about their life in a farm in Amanda, Ohio, in 1900 and 1901. The sisters primarily wrote about their daily activities, which included farm work, housework, and attendance at school. They occasionally commented on holidays and political events.

Sisters Ethel and Nina Newton kept 2 daily diaries about their life on a farm in Amanda, Ohio, in 1900 and 1901. Their entries pertain to their daily activities, which included farm work, housework, and attendance at school.

Ethel and Nina filled one composition book each: Ethel wrote from February 28, 1900-August 7, 1900 (103 pages) and Nina wrote from August 25, 1900-April 4, 1901. The girls recounted their daily activities at home, on the farm, and in school. They mentioned the farm work of their father and other laborers, who tended to potatoes, corn,, other crops, and livestock. Their mother cooked, sewed, and did other household work, sometimes assisted by the girls. Nina frequently documented the names of the books and magazines she and the other members of the family read. Both girls attended school, did homework, and went to Sunday school. The diaries include occasional mentions of newsworthy events, such as the census-taker's visit (June 2, 1900), a local girl's death (June 16, 1900), and Washington's birthday (February 22, 1901). Nina commented on her father's intention to vote for William McKinley and celebrated the Republicans' local and national victories (November 6, 1900-November 7, 1900). On several holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day, she enclosed or copied dinner menus.

John Berry, a farmer in Howard Township, Knox County, Ohio, maintained this account book from 1854 to 1875. It documents expenses related to farming operations, such as wages for hired men and women performing various tasks with crops, livestock, and the production of wool. It includes accounts for the purchase and sale of sheep, cattle, and hogs, and the breeding and insurance of horses. The accounts also relate to wool, flour, corn, oats, hay, and other farm goods, as well as various farm implements. The volume notes the erection of various buildings and infrastructure like barns and bridges, work done on the schoolhouse, and it includes documentation of exchanges with others for goods like shoes, clothing, fabric, and other items for farm and personal use. Berry documented several years' total sales and expenditures and overall assessments of his stock. He wrote a register of births for his seven children between 1850 to 1867 and listed various Biblical passages, titled "A few text of scripture for the Abolitionist to read." Recipes for keeping cider sweet and treating dysentery are also included.

Seven items are laid into the front of the volume, including an advertising brochure for the Ohio Farmers Insurance Company, an obituary for James M. Berry (1852-1923), two blank Knox County Bank checks, one Howard Township 1871 tax receipt, and two slips of paper, one listing the deaths of Lucy Berry, James Berry, and Sarah Harding.

This journal contains daily entries that Ohio farmer John Rockhold composed between 1834 and 1858. Rockhold discussed the weather, farm work, interactions with family members and neighbors, and a trip he took to Des Moines, Iowa, in the summer of 1852.

This journal contains daily entries that Ohio farmer John Rockhold composed between 1834 and 1858. Rockhold discussed the weather, farm work, interactions with family members and neighbors, and a trip he took to Des Moines, Iowa, in the summer of 1852.

The earliest pages in Rockhold's journal contain financial accounts, many of which pertain to sheep; the inside cover contains a short description of the manufacture of whiskey. Rockhold kept his diary between November 12, 1834, and January 31, 1858, writing most frequently in the 1850s. The bulk of the journal is made up of single-line entries, in which Rockhold described aspects of his life as a farmer, noted deaths, and maintained an account of his family's genealogy. In 2 entries, Rockhold mentioned the 1844 Presidential election and the Liberty Party (page 20).

In October 1854, Rockhold suffered a paralyzing stroke, and his later entries frequently reflect the state of his health. He also commented on his relationship with his son, particularly after November 1856. In addition to diary entries, Rockhold copied some legal documents, including a petition to erect a religious meeting house at Cove Spring (April 12, 1840, pages 10-11). Seven loose financial records and fragments are laid into the volume.