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

The Zelona Eaton journal is the diary of a Baptist minister from Troy, Ohio, who was active in the local anti-slavery and temperance movements. The volume is composed of a diary, in which Eaton discussed his ministerial duties and local issues concerning abolition, temperance, fornication, and sodomy (1843-1844); 3 pages of accounts for house-building materials (1843-1844); 9 philosophical essays with an introduction (undated); and 2 letters addressed to Lottie Churchill of Washington, Vermont (1823).

The Zelona Eaton journal is the diary of a Baptist minister from Troy, Ohio, who was active in the local anti-slavery and temperance movements. The volume is composed of a 95-page diary that Eaton kept from October 31, 1843, to September 17, 1844; three pages of accounts for house-building materials (December 1843-January 1844); 8 philosophical essays with an introduction (undated); and 2 letters addressed to Lottie Churchill of Washington, Vermont (1823).

In the diary, Eaton wrote about his daily life (health, food, family, and building a new house) and the activities of his church community in Troy. He wrote descriptions of his ministerial duties, such as travelling to meetings and conferences, visiting parishioners, performing marriages, lecturing, leading prayer meetings, raising funds for missionary work, and writing sermons. Eaton also described his intellectual and spiritual life in Troy. He attended a Millerite lecture (November 15, 1843), a lecture on phrenology (November 9, 1843), and multiple anti-slavery lectures (November 29, 1843; January 19, ,March 2 and 10, April 1 and 27, 1844). He often read the Cross and Journal and the anti-slavery paper The Emancipator, which some of his friends had procured for him. In the fall of 1843, he recorded thoughts on his own spiritual health, writing that he was, "Greatly distressed about my situation in temporal things...I have reason to think God is against [me]" (November 17, 1843). Eaton also kept track of some of his finances, which he worried about frequently, and often noted food and daily house work. He mentioned making sausages and vinegar, and purchasing coffee, cinnamon, buckwheat flour, eggs, rice, and apples.

Much of the journal concerns African Americans and the anti-slavery movement. On at least two occasions, Eaton interacted with two free African Americans: he visited a man named Mr. Newsome and loaned him money, and purchased items from another man named Mr. Smith. Registering the intensity of anti-slavery activities in his community, Eaton described the many anti-slavery lectures, debates, and prayer meetings that he attended. At the meetings, they discussed questions such as whether Congress should abolish slavery in Washington D.C. without the consent of the city's inhabitants, and what people who lived in free states could lawfully do to end slavery in the slave states (December 10, 1843). Eaton also served as the secretary for a group of women who formed a "ladies Society to educate colored persons" (December 3, 1843). He traveled one hundred miles to Brown County to visit what he described as a "Colored Association," perhaps a settlement of free African Americans, reporting, upon his return, that he "was much interested at the Association, mostly by the talent exhibited. They showed about as much attention to me, as an Association would have shown to one of their ministers (September 8, 1844)."

Eaton also recounts several controversies surrounding sex in his community. On March 14, 1844, Eaton wrote that he felt "exceedingly afflict[ed]" to have "Learned of an aggravated case of fornication by two of the members" of his church. A month later he excluded two parishioners from church service "for lewdness" (April 29, 1844). Eaton also gave an account of a case of "buggery." Minister T.A. Warner had "been accused of buggery, but not proved guilty [in a church trial]" and claimed to Eaton not to be guilty (July 25, 1844). Before his church, however, Warner had "Confessed the attempt & attributed it to a habit contracted when a boy." Eaton and a Brother Whitman informed Last Creek Church of the incident "because [they] thought, such a thing had much better go before a man than to come after him" (March 2, 1844) Eaton clearly felt disturbed by Warner’s purported behavior but what is especially noteworthy is the matter-of-fact tone Eaton used in writing about the situation.

Starting at the back of the volume, Eaton wrote 8 "dissertations," with an introduction and a transcript of a letter, that explore moral, religious, and philosophical questions (pages 162-98). Eaton's goal was to "attempt to enter into the immaterial world, & investigate the properties of spirit" (page 160).

• Dissertation 1: Methods, What is meant by a Faculty of the mind? What is meant by a principle of mind?
• Dissertation 2: Understanding
• Dissertation 3: Taste
• Dissertation 4: Will
• Dissertation 5: Liberty
• Dissertation 6: Natural & Mortal Agent
• Dissertation 7: Good and Evil: Dr. Hendrick's Lecture on Good and Evil
• Dissertation 8: Difference between Natural good and evil & Moral good and evil

Many of the essays have commentary labeled "Dr. Henricks Remarks" or "Professor's Remarks." These are brief notes and criticisms of the essays.

The two letters are addressed to Lottie Churchill, wife of Arthur Churchill, of Washington, Vermont (1923). One is from her cousin Cretia from Walla Walla, Washington (3 pages), and the other is from her friend Estella, from Morrisville, Vermont (8 pages). Both letters focus on personal news and mention food and cooking.

The Sewell P. Barker journal concerns Barker's daily activities in northern New York between January 1843 and September 1845. Barker taught school in several towns near Rochester, New York, and frequently attended religious meetings and church services.

The Sewell P. Barker journal (336 pages) concerns Barker's daily activities in northern New York between January 1, 1843, and September 21, 1845. Barker taught school in several towns near Rochester, New York, and frequently attended religious meetings and church services.

Barker dedicated his journal on January 3, 1843, by copying five "Rules of Life" attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Originally from Sweden, New York, Barker frequently traveled to and taught in towns such as Greece, Riga, Brockport, Churchville, Spencerport, and Chili, New York. He reported the subjects of sermons and other religious gatherings he attended, noted the days on which he taught school, and recorded the names of those with whom he boarded while traveling. Several entries from early 1843 refer to courses he attended at "the Institute" in Brockport, New York. On September 20, 1843, Barker went to Rochester, where he heard a speech by Martin Van Buren (p. 91). From April 1844-June 1844, he lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked for the firm Churchill & Co. He described his travels by stagecoach and steamboat and reflected on his separation from his wife, whom he had married on Thanksgiving Day 1843 (December 14, 1843, p. 124). While in Cincinnati, Barker attended services at several Methodist churches. Some entries include religious poetry. The final page (p. 336) has a note on the drowning death of Daniel Foster of Strattanville, Pennsylvania, on May 11, 1844.

This volume (112 pages) contains Sarah Welles Hunt's reminiscences about her life, as well as occasional journal entries that Hunt composed from July 1, 1851-May 23, 1893. She wrote about her travels in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, and Québec; her encounters with famous individuals; her family; and current events.

This volume (112 pages) contains Sarah Welles Hunt's reminiscences about her life, as well as occasional journal entries that Hunt composed from July 1, 1851-April 9, 1891. She wrote about her travels in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, and Québec; her encounters with notable individuals; her family; and current events.

Hunt began her diary on July 1, 1851, with her recollections about her life from her birth in 1810 to around 1851, including information about her family, travels, and notable individuals she had seen or met. She mentioned attending the Clinton Female Seminary in 1826 and noted the cholera outbreak of 1832 in Utica, New York. Some pages have been cut out of the volume.

From 1851-1891, Hunt occasionally wrote journal entries about her life in New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan. While living in the east, she recounted her visits to family members in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Ashtabula, Ohio; on one occasion, she traveled through New York to Montréal, Québec (1860, pp. 77-78). After moving to Michigan, Hunt sometimes traveled to Ohio and New York. Hunt periodically recorded news about her siblings, parents, in-laws, and children, including dates of births, marriages, and deaths. She also commented on current events, such as European politics in the early 1850s, a railroad accident in Norwalk, Connecticut (May 6, 1853, pp. 46-47), and the Civil War (1864-1865, pp. 80-83). In 1876, Hunt visited the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Genealogical notes and 2 newspaper obituaries for John Alfred Davenport are laid into the volume.

Samuel L. Young of Reading, Pennsylvania, kept this 108-page journal "during a tour through the United States" between June 1, 1846, and October 12, 1846. He traveled by railroad, steamship, and stagecoach, and recorded his impressions of major cities, local scenery, and fellow travelers. Young ventured as far west as St. Louis, Missouri; as far north as Niagara Falls, Canada; and as far south as Lexington, Kentucky.

Samuel L. Young of Reading, Pennsylvania, kept this 108-page journal "during a tour of the United States" between June 1, 1846, and October 12, 1846. He traveled by railroad, steamship, and stagecoach, and recorded his impressions of major cities, local scenery, and fellow travelers. Young ventured as far west as St. Louis, Missouri; as far north as Niagara Falls, Canada; and as far south as Lexington, Kentucky.

Young's journal, which contains descriptions and anecdotes from his travel, begins with an entry expressing his sadness upon leaving his loved ones (p. 1). He departed Reading for New York City, where he remained for 4 days; there, he witnessed a procession by the Sons of Temperance. Young then traveled to Connecticut and Massachusetts, where he commented on Boston's Chinese residents (p. 8). He continued to Niagara Falls, Detroit, and Chicago. In Detroit, he received copper samples from Morgan Bates, a prospector (p. 31); in Chicago he recorded his disappointment with the city and its construction. While in western Illinois and Iowa, Young visited a smelting furnace and mine (pp. 43-44), a "lead cave" and mine (pp. 48-49), and the Mormon temple at Nauvoo, Illinois (pp. 56-58).

When Young reached St. Louis, Missouri, he boarded a riverboat bound for Louisville, Kentucky, though he and three other travelers opted to walk the final stretch of the trip (pp. 70-71). Young recalled a stagecoach conversation about slavery, though he declined to participate (pp. 74-75). Upon his arrival in Lexington, Kentucky, he met with Henry Clay at his Ashland estate (pp. 87-88). Young spent much of September in Cincinnati, Ohio. Between Cincinnati and Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), he met Lewis C. F. Fatio, former captain of the United States revenue cutter Wolcott, who was on his way to contest a charge of disobedience in Washington, D. C. (pp. 101-102). Young began the last leg of his journey on October 10, 1846, heading for Philadelphia and, later, Reading, where he returned on October 12 (p. 108).

Young occasionally encountered dangerous situations, including a narrowly avoided stagecoach accident between Kalamazoo and St. Joseph, Michigan (p. 33), a fire next door to his Chicago hotel (pp. 36-37), and a suspicious stagecoach passenger at Rockford, Illinois (p. 42). He made acquaintance with many fellow travelers, and often joined them for excursions. Young played the accordion, read local newspapers and the works of Friedrich Schiller, occasionally measured the distances he traveled or noted the costs of transportation, and recorded the name of every hotel at which he boarded.

Samuel Ranger's diary consists of five separate sections, the first three apparently being rough drafts or notes, and the final two being completed journals. Ranger's daily recordings from October 18, 1830, to March 28, 1831, document a journey with his brother, Ezra, from Glens Falls, New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio, via stagecoach and packet boat, as well as their experiences wintering in Cincinnati. He included descriptions of landscapes, agriculture, architecture, the weather, his health, and frequent bouts of homesickness. He noted travel-related mileage and expenses, and discussed an attempted robbery while in transit. During his time in Cincinnati, Ranger recorded observations on women, the disabled, small pox, and fires in the city.

Samuel Ranger's diary consists of five separate sections, the first three apparently being rough drafts or notes, and the final two being completed journals. Ranger's daily recordings from October 18, 1830, to March 28, 1831, document a journey with his brother, Ezra, from Glens Falls, New York, to Cincinnati, Ohio, via stagecoach and packet boat, as well as their experiences wintering in Cincinnati. He included descriptions of landscapes, agriculture, architecture, the weather, his health, and frequent bouts of homesickness. He noted travel-related mileage and expenses, and discussed an attempted robbery while in transit. During his time in Cincinnati, Ranger recorded observations on women, the disabled, small pox, and fires in the city.

A sketched map of Cincinnati appears in the third section, and a drawing of a house with a garden appears on the back cover of the fifth section.

Nathaniel W. Little kept this journal while traveling to the Northwest Territory with James Kilbourn in August and September 1802. Little recorded his impressions of the scenery in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, modern-day West Virginia, and modern-day Ohio. The volume also contains financial records from Little's later life in Worthington, Ohio.

Nathaniel W. Little kept this 81-page journal while traveling to the Northwest Territory with James Kilbourn in August and September 1802. Little recorded his impressions of the scenery in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, modern-day West Virginia, and modern-day Ohio. The volume also contains financial records from Little's later life in Worthington, Ohio.

Little began his journal after his departure from Blandford, Massachusetts, on July 30, 1802. He first went to Connecticut, where he was joined by James Kilbourne. Little described the scenery as they traveled west by stage, in canoes, and on horseback to parts of the Northwest Territory that are now in the state of Ohio. After they arrived, Little and Kilbourn scouted lands for possible purchase by the Scioto Company, and on one occasion they visited future Ohio governor Thomas Worthington. Little regularly mentioned the names of settlements he passed, and he wrote more extensively about towns such as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he had previously lived, and Chillicothe, Ohio. In his entry of August 28, 1802, he commented on a Native American settlement (pp. 43-44). Little returned to Blandford, Massachusetts, on September 22, 1802, and on October 5, he and Kilbourn went to Granby, Connecticut, to address members of the Scioto Company at Clark's Tavern. Little continued to write brief entries until October 7.

The remaining pages (pp. 81-129) pertain to Little's personal finances. Most of the accounts record individual transactions related to temporary laborers. One group of accounts is dated July-October 1805, and others concern Little's financial relationship with Nathan Stewart.

The Josephus Stuart papers contain correspondence, diaries, and documents related to Stuart's early medical practice and his service with the 29th regiment of the United States Infantry. The collection also includes a series of diaries written by Stuart between 1815 and 1821, which document Stuart's service as chancellor to the U.S. Consulate in London, a visit to former president Thomas Jefferson at Monticello in 1816, and Stuart's experiences operating a steamboat.

The Josephus Stuart collection contains 34 letters, dated 1810-1834, the majority of which belonged to Stuart, though six letters are addressed to Gerrit Wendell, a Washington county judge and former member of the New York state senate. In addition, the collection contains 38 documents, nine of which are associated with Stuart's father-in-law, Enoch Leonard. Several of the papers deal with Stuart's early medical practice, including a letter regarding research related to Stuart's medical thesis, which was a defense of cutaneous absorption. Other documents concern Stuart's military service with the 29th regiment, United States Infantry, including his commission as paymaster, signed by President James Madison.

Of primary significance are Stuart's eight diaries, written from 1815 to 1821. The early diaries document Stuart's period as chancellor to the U.S. Consulate in London. He records the sea voyage, as well his observations of English life and customs, often unfavorably comparing them with his views on conditions in America. The diaries also record trips Stuart took to Ireland, Scotland, France, and the Netherlands; he took care to note his observations during his travels, including the landscape, sights, lifestyle, living conditions, economy, and politics. Diaries four and five recount Stuart's return to the United States and include a detailed account of his visit with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello on December 24 and 25, 1816. He recorded Jefferson's views on a wide variety of topics, and made notes on his appearance and home. Also contained within diary five are accounts of Stuart's role as agent for Francis Cazeau, James Monroe's inauguration, travels to Ohio, encounters with Native Americans, and various business transactions, including his steamboat venture. The next several diaries record his experiences running the Walk-in-the-Water, his marriage to Ann Leonard in May 1818, and the beginning of his financial troubles in 1819. In the last diary (#8), Stuart had settled in Jamesville, New York, as an attorney. The last month of the diary records the loss of the steamboat, which ran aground during a gale in 1821.

Also included in the collection are a set of architectural plans by noted New York architect Philip Hooker. Hooker designed a house for Stuart in 1818, which was apparently never built; the plans are contained within a small booklet. The Stuart papers also have eleven items related to family genealogy, and three 1810 New York newspapers.

This diary of Corporal John H. Harris concerns his service with the United States Army's 145th Infantry Regiment in France and Belgium during World War I. The volume also contains lists of soldiers' equipment, battles in which Harris participated, and members in his first squad.

The 37-page diary of Corporal John H. Harris concerns his service with the United States Army's 145th Infantry Regiment in France and Belgium during World War I. The volume also contains lists of soldiers' equipment, the battles in which Harris participated, and members of his first squad.

Harris began his diary with a history of his service from his enlistment in the American Expeditionary Forces through his transfer to the 145th Infantry Regiment of the 37th Division. Between June 6 and June 15, 1918, he briefly commented on his travels in the United States, and he mentioned an extended training exercise for trench warfare on June 8, 1918 (p. 2). After sailing to France onboard the Leviathan in mid-June 1918, he described his experiences in active service in France and Belgium. As he traveled, Harris consistently recorded the names of towns and villages and noted that his unit continued to train throughout their time abroad.

Harris often fought in the trenches, and wrote about his experiences during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (September 25-31, 1918, pp. 9-12). The 145th Infantry traveled through France and Belgium after the armistice, and Harris occasionally commented on his accommodations and meals. In early March 1919, he recorded his distaste for camp life near Brest, France (March 5 and March 16, 1919, pp. 27-28). Harris embarked for the United States on the Great Northern on March 26, 1919, and recalled some incidents during the journey, which included a small fire and a strong storm. After his arrival, Harris was stationed near New York City and in Ohio. He wrote his final entry on April 23, 1919, after his discharge and arrival in Akron, Ohio.

• List of battles in with Corporal John H. Harris participated during World War I (1 page)
• Inventory of United States Army soldiers' clothing (1 page)
• List of items that John H. Harris carried in his pack during World War I (3 pages)
• Illustration showing the layout of soldier's pack during an inspection near Le Mans, France, ca. 1919 (1 page)
• List of men in Corporal John H. Harris's first squad (1 page)

The John H. Dixon diary provides a day-in-the-life account of a young man, trying to establish himself in Indiana, in 1861. Dixon described his move from Ohio to Indiana and his daily activities working as an itinerant laborer.

The John H. Dixon diary is a 4"x2¾", 142-page leather-bound journal. The diary opens with Dixon's trip from Tuscarawas County, Ohio, to Daviess County, Indiana, from September 5-24, 1861. He made the journey with a group of westward migrants, though he rarely mentioned his companions. Dixon noted each county through which they passed, the terrain, and the food they ate. He often slept in hay or in his wagon and ate in taverns when he could. He also noted when they set off each day (they rested on Sundays) and when they stopped for breakfast and dinner.

The next set of entries, starting on September 25, 1861, is entitled: "An account to things common and general, that may take place during my stay in Indiana." Dixon recorded his daily work activities as a laborer (building and painting houses, maintaining carriages, caring for horses, chopping wood, husking corn, and making apple butter) and his social life (talking, singing, attending a prayer meeting at a United Brethren church, and writing letters). He spent most of his time in and around Clarksburg and Washington, Indiana. On October 1, 1861, Dixon applied for a teaching certificate, for which he was asked to read and write, and was quizzed on geography and grammar. The journal ends with a 7-page "true and correct history" of his life from September 5-October 31, 1861. In these pages, Dixon stated his plans to send this diary back to his friends in Ohio to "keep it to remember me when I am dead and gone."

Dixon often worked with Esrom Redman of Madison, Indiana. When work was slow, Dixon washed dishes, swept the floor, and tended the horses. He spent much of his social time with a man named Clark. His diary entries provide a day-in-the-life account of a young man, trying to establish himself in Indiana, in 1861.

The J. H. Lawson collection is made up of two diaries, one notebook, and one cabinet card photograph portrait marked "J. M. Lawson." The first diary dates from September 30, 1893, to October 8, 1893, and documents schoolteacher J. H. Lawson's trip to the Chicago World's Fair (Columbian Exposition). He was a detailed observer, writing about his train travel from Dayton, Pennsylvania, to Chicago; he provided impressions, details, and figures for the exhibits he visited, sometimes writing while standing at the exhibit itself. He described concession stands, logistics of navigating the fair, the city, architecture, and more. The diary concludes with a 2-page description of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The second diary contains very brief entries from 1894 and 1896 respecting cutting oats and teaching at "the academy," with several pages dedicated to a list of members and dues for the "L.L.S.", of which Lawson served as treasurer. The notebook contains J. H. Lawson's notes on The Iliad.

The J. H. Lawson collection is made up of two diaries, one notebook, and one cabinet card photograph portrait of Lawson. The first diary dates from September 30, 1893, to October 8, 1893, and documents schoolteacher J. H. Lawson's trip to the Chicago World's Fair (Columbian Exposition). He was a detailed observer, writing about his train travel from Dayton, Pennsylvania, to Chicago; he provided impressions, details, and figures for the exhibits he visited, sometimes writing while standing at the exhibit itself. He described concession stands, logistics of navigating the fair, the city, architecture, and more. The diary concludes with a 2-page description of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

The second diary contains very brief entries from 1894 and 1896 respecting cutting oats and teaching at "the academy," with several pages dedicated to a list of members and dues for the "L.L.S.", of which Lawson served as treasurer. The notebook contains J. H. Lawson's notes on The Iliad.