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The Horatio G. Finch journal contains brief daily entries that Finch composed between from December 1858 to May 1872. He described his experiences traveling around the South during the Civil War and chronicled his life as a farmer near San Francisco, California, after the war.

The Horatio G. Finch journal (5" x 14", about 365 pages) contains brief daily entries that Finch composed between from December 29, 1858, to May 3, 1872. Each page of the diary represents a specific date (i.e., July 24), with entries composed over the course of as many as 13 years; additional pages are bound into the volume for longer entries. Finch frequently dated entries in Spanish. Before and after the Civil War, he reported news of his daily life in and near San Francisco and discussed his travels around California, consistently noting weather conditions and his current location. During the Civil War, Finch traveled throughout the South, spending much of his time socializing with Union Army officers in Kentucky and Missouri. He often mentioned recent military developments, such as the escalation of tension at Fort Sumter and two reports of Lincoln's assassination, each set apart by a thick ink border (April 13, 1865, and April 15, 1865). In June and July 1864, Finch traveled to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he recorded his impressions of the heavily-shelled town. Many of the later entries, often brief, pertain to Finch's concerns while working on his farm and vineyard.

Finch also bound newspaper clippings into the volume, and its final pages have instructions for repairing macadam and earthenware. Items laid into the volume include a brief joke and newspaper clippings concerning the Civil War, the election of 1864, and Fabius M. Finch's 50th wedding anniversary.