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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).

These 3 volumes pertain to the McKelligett family's annual automobile trips from their home in Warren, Massachusetts, to Québec, by way of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and Ontario. The scrapbooks contain manuscript descriptions of the family's travels, occasionally accompanied by photographs, maps, and ephemera.

These 3 volumes (approximately 110 pages, 110 pages, and 65 pages, respectively) pertain to the McKelligett family's annual automobile trips from their home in Warren, Massachusetts, to the province of Québec, by way of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and Ontario. The scrapbooks contain manuscript descriptions of the family's travels, occasionally accompanied by photographs, maps, and ephemera. The volumes are dated August 17, 1922-August 28, 1922; July 17, 1923-July 29, 1923; and August 14, 1924-August 20, 1924.

Each of the scrapbooks consists primarily of a narrative account of the McKelligetts' daily experiences, including a record of the car's total mileage, daily mileage, daily gas consumption, and daily mileage per gallon of gas. Expenses are recorded at the time of payment and in itemized lists at the end of each volume. The family took different routes each year, but visited some locations on multiple occasions. They attended religious services and celebrations at Catholic churches and cathedrals, including the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Saint Joseph's Oratory in Québec, and visited natural landmarks such as the Old Man in the Mountain and Niagara Falls. The author often described the scenery and recorded brief stories about the family's activities, their campsites and hosts, and aspects of local culture, particularly in French-speaking areas. The travelogues also include mentions of encounters with other motorists and car maintenance issues such as flat tires.

Each of the volumes contains a printed map highlighting the McKelligett family's traveling route; the map in the first volume is extended by manuscript line drawings. Photographs include images of family members, their car, campsites, man-made landmarks, and natural scenery; most are personal photographs, though some commercial prints and newspaper clippings are also present. Additional items include souvenir scenes of New York lake regions and Toronto landmarks, a beer label from a Canadian brewery, a ticket for a trip across the Victoria Jubilee Bridge, and a receipt for a speeding ticket.

The Sarah Logan Fisher Wister collection is made up of 2 volumes that belonged to Wister in the mid-19th century: a recipe book and an account book that Wister also used as a diary. The recipe book contains instructions for preparing a variety of foods and household cleaners, and the account book/diary contains entries about family news, Pennsylvania travel, and the Civil War.

The Sarah Logan Fisher Wister collection is made up of 2 volumes that belonged to Wister in the mid-19th century: a recipe book and an account book that Wister also used as a diary.

The Recipe Book (begun on June 18, [1843]) contains around 190 pages of notes about food preparation and household cleaners. Wister copied instructions for preparing foods such as baked goods, beef, chicken, potatoes, pickled foods, and soups. A few recipes are attributed to other authors, and some appear on newspaper clippings pasted into the volume.

The Account Book and Diary (around 100 pages, not all of which are used) contains about 10 pages of accounts related to wages paid to Anne [Sherman] from 1860-1862, and to costs associated with Margaret Rodgers, who lived with the Wister family from 1860-1863. The Rodgers accounts mainly concern clothing, and some notes pertain to the Wakefield School. The remainder of the volume contains non-chronological entries written between 1860 and 1872. The majority of the entries are dated from the early 1860s, though some concern events that occurred in the 1840s and 1850s. Most entries relate to news of the Wisters' family and acquaintances, and travel to Duncannon and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Wister also wrote about Native Americans living on land belonging to her brother in 1848 and 1853, a trip to Boston in March 1868, the flooding of the Susquehanna River in mid-March 1865, her sons' Civil War service, and the Union Army's capture of Richmond, Virginia, in April 1865. A newspaper obituary for Mrs. George B. Emerson and a recipe for "Dr. William Stoy's Infallible Cure for Hydrophobia" are laid and pinned into the volume, respectively.