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Charles Child of New York, New York, filled out this pre-printed daily diary from January 1 through August 21, 1860, recording his social visits, correspondence relating to matrimonial newspaper advertisements, activities with the Cadets of Temperance, and his work as an engraver. The back of the volume includes "Cash Accounts" and "Bills Payable" filled out for the entire year.

Charles Child of New York, New York, filled out this pre-printed daily diary from January 1 through August 21, 1860, recording his social visits, correspondence relating to matrimonial newspaper advertisements, activities with the Cadets of Temperance, and his work as an engraver. The back of the volume includes "Cash Accounts" and "Bills Payable" filled out for the entire year.

Child recorded his social engagements, visits, and conversations with both men and women, and he commonly used slang terms in his entries. He noted his attendance at parties, dances, skating excursions, card games, picnics, and performances, providing a glimpse into the social life of a young New Yorker. Charles Child was an active member of "Excelsior Section No. 7" and the "Mount Vernon Section" of the Cadets of Temperance, and he wrote about the meetings and work he undertook on their behalf.

Beginning in March, Child referenced "insert[ing] matrimonial advertisements" in local newspapers (March 15), receiving letters in response, and writing replies. He joked with his peers about the endeavor and discussed responses. It appears in some of his ads he may have been posing as a woman as he notes receiving letters "directed to 'Minnie' " (March 17) and "Emma Gray" (May 12 and 29) and replying "in a feminine hand" (March 20). He appears to have taken up a substantive correspondence with a woman named Nellie.

In addition to daily affairs, Child commented on events like fires (January 13), a suicide (January 28), and referenced the Japanese delegation in New York City (June 16, June 23, June 25). He made occasional references to the sectional conflict and political events (see January 15, February 27, March 1). On August 6, he joined the New York Zouaves, and several pages at the back of the volume list out members of Company A of the First Regiment of the New York Zouaves. A note written on the back flyleaf by Charles Child's mother, Sarah O'Dell Child Willets, reads, "gone to the war[.] June 5th 1861 started for fortress Monroe as 1st Lieut. Co A. 9th Regt New York Zouaves."

Child's entries also document his professional life as he took up engraving under Jacob Hyatt. On January 16, Child noted that he "engraved the first card plate I ever did," and throughout the volume noted jobs he took on, including engraving cards, utensils, a "brass plate for a fiddle-box" (April 2), a watch, a door plate, a wedding card plate, a seal, a diploma plate, and others. On May 9, he noted getting a copy of "the History of the US. for the purpose of placing the plates correctly." On June 6, his uncle provided him with a steel plate "to try my hand on," and Child noted when he tried new scripts, providing glimpses into how he was learning the art.

The Cash Accounts and Bills Payable sections at the end of the volume include details about his personal expenses, financial affairs with the Cadets of Temperance, and his salary for engraving.

The Jonathan French journal consists of entries from April 14-October 20, 1757, kept by Jonathan French, a private in the Massachusetts militia during the French and Indian War. French recorded his experiences during his corps' expedition from Boston to Fort Edward, New York, and his duties while stationed at the fort.

The Jonathan French journal (31 pages) consists of entries from April 14 to October 20, 1757, kept by Jonathan French, a private in the Massachusetts militia under Major General Daniel Webb, during the French and Indian War. French recorded his experiences during his corps' expedition from Boston to Fort Edward, New York, and his duties while stationed there. During his assignment, the French army, under General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, attacked and overtook Fort William Henry, forcing the British troops to retreat to Fort Edward.

On the march to New York, French recorded how far his regiment traveled each day, the names of the towns where they stopped, meals eaten, the weather, and regimental exercises. On August 9, 1757, French noted that 100 men were sent to defend Fort William Henry, but, in general, seemed unaware of the siege. French documented the times when scouts were sent out from the fort, and mentioned the activities and orders of Major General Daniel Webb (pages 15-16, 20), Captain Putnam (pages 7, 8, 9, and 11), Captain West (page 9), and Major Robert Rogers (page 17-18). He reported a bloody skirmish between the British and the Indians on July 23, 1757, which resulted in the scalping of 7 soldiers and 10 deaths on the British side (page 11). He made notes of soldiers escaping from Fort William Henry to Fort Edward on September 6 (page 15), September 17 (page 16), and September 28 (pages 17-18).

French first mentioned smallpox on July 20, 1757 (page 10) and contracted it on July 27, 1757 (page 13). He was hospitalized sometime before August 30th. Throughout the journal, French commented on religion, preaching, and sermons.

• Mentions of the Mohawk Indians (pages 7, 8, and 9)
• Descriptions of two British scouts taking each other as enemies and shooting at one another: one was killed, August 2, 1757 (Page 8)
• Remarks about a British soldier who was executed for intending to desert to the French army (page 10) and two more who were executed for trying to desert to Fort Ticonderoga, September 5, 1757 (page 15)
• News of a skirmish between Indians and a group of scouts (page 10)
• Description of a "sad accident," which occurred on July 26, 1757, when a man was cleaning his gun and fired the gun through three tents, killing a man (page 12)
• Notes regarding Major Rogers' arrival from Albany with 400 rangers who had been in Halifax with the Earl of Loudoun, September 31, 1757 (page 17)

On page 30, French created brief "Reports of the Guard," while stationed at Castle William (now called Fort Independence, in Massachusetts), noting the parole and the commander and corps stopping at the fort (August 6-14, 1760). Page 31 contains a postscript, dated May 23, 1868, written by Ebenezer Sperry Stearns, grandson of Jonathan French, which identifies the Reverend Jonathan French as the journal's author.

At the back of the book is a loose fragment of a table of 20 men under Captain Francis Brown (undated).

This volume contains an anonymous journal of a voyage from Kennebunk, Maine, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio, between December 9, 1852, and January 24, 1853, as well as poetry, short stories, and essays composed by a second unknown writer between May 1857 and February 1887. One poem and one story concern the Civil War, and the author composed biographical essays about prominent individuals, families, and other topics.

This volume contains an anonymous journal of a voyage from Kennebunk, Maine, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio, between December 9, 1852, and January 24, 1853 (21 pages), as well as poetry, short stories, and essays composed by a second unknown writer between May 1857 and February 1887 (117 pages). One poem and one story concern the Civil War, and the author frequently composed biographical essays about prominent individuals, families, and other topics.

The first 21 pages, titled "Journal of a voyage from Kennebunk to New Orleans," are made up of daily diary entries composed during a voyage from Maine to Louisiana and from Louisiana to Ohio. The author embarked from Kennebunk, Maine, onboard the Golden Eagle (commanded by Captain Nathaniel Thompson) on December 9, 1852, and made daily observations about life at sea. As the Golden Eagle approached Florida in late December, he described the scenery in the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, and coastal Louisiana. On one occasion, the ship encountered a boat transporting slaves to New Orleans. The author arrived in New Orleans on December 28, where he wrote about some of his experiences in the city, such as a visit to the cattle market. On January 12, he boarded the steamer Yorktown for a journey up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Cincinnati. He noted the cities passed along the way, such as Vicksburg and Memphis, and described southern plantations, making note of their use of slave labor. On January 15, he reported that the Yorktown had taken a newly purchased African American family onboard, who entertained the passengers with dancing and music. By the final entry, dated January 24, 1853, the author had just passed Evansville, Indiana.

The volume also contains a commonplace book, in which the writer composed 117 pages of poetry, short stories, and essay. Several poems are translations of German poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Ludwig Uhland, and others appear to be original compositions. Among the latter is "Our Native Land," a patriotic verse written in March 1863, and additional poetry dated June 1869. The author wrote one short story in March 1862. An essay, "the Presentiment," consists of recollections of a war-era soldiers' relief society worker and a story respecting a woman's premonition of her own death. Biographical sketches and essays comprise most of the remaining material and are often annotated with small edits. Persons of interest include Horace Walpole, William Cowper, Nassau family members, Michael Faraday, Sir Philip Sidney, Norman Macleod, Dr. John Brown, and Henry of Navarre. Other essays concern the "Besor brook" in Judaea, the rivers of Babylon, and the telegraph.

A financial account between Charles Thompson and Nathaniel L. Thompson, settled in Kennebunk, Maine, on January 1, 1856, is laid into the volume.