Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Gibson family vacation album contains photographs taken in South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, and New York circa 1897. The volume includes pictures of warships, buildings, and members of the Gibson family.

The Gibson family vacation album (14cm x 18cm) contains 23 photographs taken in South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, and New York circa 1897, as well as two halftone photomechanical prints and a carte de visite. The volume includes pictures of warships, buildings, and members of the Gibson family. The album's cloth-bound covers have two decorative designs, with the title "Photographs" appearing on the front. Each photograph is behind an 8cm x 8cm window.

The majority of the pictures show scenery and buildings in the South, such as George Washington's home at Mount Vernon, the Gonzalez-Alvarez House in Saint Augustine, Florida (accompanied by a newspaper clipping entitled "Oldest House in America"), the Saint Augustine slave market, Fort Sumter, and a Confederate monument in Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina). Other photographs from Florida show Saint Augustine streets and groups of people posing by palm leaves, bathing at Daytona Beach, and embarking on a picnic. The album contains three shots of sea-going vessels involved in the blockade of Cuba: the tugs, The Three Friends, the Dauntless, and the USS Vesuvius. The remaining items include a picture of women playing baseball in Salamanca, New York, and printed halftones of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Willard A. Gibson. A carte-de-visite of a painted portrait of three young women is included.

This volume contains a journal and two essays composed by New Hampshire native John Wheeler in 1859. He kept the journal between December 1858 and September 1859, detailing his experiences after moving to Albemarle County, Virginia, to teach school. He later wrote an essay in which he reflected on the cultural differences between New England and Virginia. In a second essay, he discussed "the three learned professions": law, medicine, and divinity.

This volume (205 pages) contains a journal and two essays composed by New Hampshire native John Wheeler in 1859. He kept a journal of his travel to, and experiences teaching in, Albemarle County, Virginia, between December 1858 and October 1859 (pp. 1-137); wrote an essay based on his experiences, focusing on cultural differences between New England and Virginia (pp. 139-174); and composed an essay on the professions of law, medicine, and divinity (pp. 187-216).

The first, and largest, portion of the volume is the journal Wheeler kept between December 1858 and October 1859, while he traveled to Albemarle County, Virginia, to teach school. The first two pages contain an introductory essay on the virtues of traveling, and pages 3 through 21 recount his journey from New Hampshire to Virginia, beginning on December 21, 1858. He mentioned multiple sightseeing destinations along the way, including Plymouth Rock (p. 5), and arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia, on December 31 (pp. 16-17). There, he made the acquaintance of the Durrett family, with whom he remained close throughout his stay in the South.

Wheeler began to keep regular journal entries on January 1, 1859 (p. 21), and thoroughly described his life as a schoolteacher, as well as his impressions of southern scenery and customs. Many entries mention the violent treatment of slaves, including men being lashed for stealing a pig (p. 77) and a legal case that ended with the sentence of execution (p. 84). Wheeler often attended religious services, commented on southern hospitality, and described the scenery, particularly the Blue Ridge Mountains. Wheeler did not keep his journal between January 23 (p. 67) and July 4 (p. 70), though he recorded the dates of planting and ripening of several crops (p. 68).

Wheeler left Albemarle County on September 26 (p. 121) and traveled to Luray, Virginia, where he witnessed the hanging of a female slave (pp. 123-126). From there, he traveled to Alexandria, where he provided a detailed account of a visit to Mount Vernon, home of George Washington (October 8, pp. 132-137). The journal concludes with a brief closing statement on page 137.

In the second section is an essay that Wheeler composed after he returned to his home in New Hampshire (pp. 139-174). He wrote about his impressions of the South and his experiences, often commenting on the differences between customs in Virginia and in New England.

The third part of the volume contains an essay about the history and characteristics of "the three learned professions": law, medicine, and divinity. It begins on page 197 and continues through page 216, though pages 176 to 184 are blank.

Three clippings from published works are laid into the journal: an image of King Umberto I of Italy, recently assassinated (pp. 174-175); and two pages of poetry (pp. 180-181).