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Journal of a Voyage from Kennebunk to New Orleans and commonplace book, 1852-1853, 1857-1887

1 volume

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.

Collection

Physician's travel diary, 1846

44 pages

A young physician wrote most of this diary while a passenger on a voyage from Alexandria, Virginia, to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1846. Content includes humorous accounts of sailing by river and ocean, observations of sailors' superstitions (i.e., Mother Carey's Chickens, also known as Storm Petrels, St. Elmo's fire, etc.), weather and storm patterns, personal health, and patient treatment.

A young physician wrote most of this diary while a passenger on a voyage from Alexandria, Virginia, to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1846. Content includes humorous accounts of sailing by river and ocean, sailors' superstitions (i.e., Mother Carey's Chickens, also known as Storm Petrels, St. Elmo's Fire, etc.), weather and storm patterns, personal health, and patient treatment.

His humor often took the form of comical comparisons and exaggerations or plays on dialect. To entertain himself, he brought several books: Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, by William Blackstone, the Bible, and a pocket Shakespeare. He attached varying levels of reading intensity to each, as well as the applicable situation in which he might read them—Blackstone's Commentaries, for example, was "suitable for a listless, languid frame of mind" (page 6).

He brought with him two Bologna sausages, which he jokingly and emphatically mistook for a woman's bustle in an expression of his apparent hatred for the garment (pages 6-7). When he had to throw the spoiled sausages overboard several days later, he lamented that he couldn't do the same with every bustle in the land (pages 23-24).

The author and several others (the captain, a skipper, and officers from a nearby revenue cutter) briefly disembarked to visit a family's farm in Virginia while waiting for better winds to sail. He included racial epithets that the family used when he quoted their complaints about the labor involved in caring for their farm without enslaved workers (page 22). The skipper revealed that the author was a physician, whereupon he was entreated to care for several members of the family. The mother's eye had been "eaten out by cancer" and the young daughter had a hard lump on her nose that the family felt sure would turn into cancer. The author treated the daughter's nose by excising the lump.

At some point between Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, the author wrote of being "assaulted, battered, and robbed" by bedbugs, which led him to construct a makeshift bed of camp stools to sleep on to avoid being bitten at night (page 11). His rheumatism also caused significant discomfort during the trip, and a self-administered treatment of liniment did little to ease his symptoms (page 34). Although the physician questioned whether or not he would become seasick at some point during the voyage, he narrowly avoided it—he did, however, treat a fellow passenger with a course of "consolation [and] pills" (page 30) after the man became seasick and vomited over the fresh paint sailors were applying to the bulwarks and rigging.

The entries from page 46 onwards were most likely written after the author landed in Boston. He wrote about his plans to attend a series of lectures given by Prof. Agassiz [Louis Agassiz] on animal classification.

Collection

Journal of our Trip Through Europe, 1891

1 volume

The Journal of Our Trip Through Europe chronicles the European travels of Americans "Billie" and "Blanche" in the summer and fall of 1891.

The "Journal of our trip through Europe" (147 pages) chronicles the European travels of Americans "Billie" and "Blanche" from July 22, 1891-October 7, 1891.

The diary concerns the travelers' transatlantic voyages on the City of Paris (July 1891) and Friesland (October 1891) and their experiences in London, Paris, Rome, other Italian cities, several German cities, and Brussels. They spent most of their time enthusiastically sightseeing, but were frustrated in Italy when attacked by pickpockets (September 6, 1891). In Paris, they visited the catacombs and witnessed a suicide at the Eiffel Tower (August 24, 1891). The diary records visits to art museums throughout Europe, such as the Louvre and the Vatican Museums, and notes the travelers' impressions of architecture and public sculptures.

Collection

England and Scotland travel diary, 1799

1 volume

This volume contains diary entries about the author's travels in England and Scotland during the summer of 1799. The author commented on towns visited, road conditions, geographical features, architecture, industry, and other subjects.

This 78-page "Journal During a Tour to the Lakes of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire and the Highlands of Scotland" concerns the author's travels with a companion around England and Scotland from June 24, 1799-September 14, 1799. They left from and eventually returned to London, visiting cities and towns in northern England and southern Scotland. The author commented on the towns, their residents, and local architecture, occasionally noting buildings of historical interest such as the Scone Palace in Scotland. A lengthy entry written around July 4-8, 1799, describes the area around Buxton and Castleton, England, where the travelers toured caverns and the Odin Mine. The diarist also discussed local industries, prominent geographical features, and road conditions.

The diary entries are followed by 5 pages of supplementary information. A 4-page table lists the names of towns visited, the names of inns utilized by the author, 1-3-word descriptions of the conditions at the inns, and the number of miles traveled between each location. A 1-page list of excursions taken from main stopping points along the route is also present.

Collection

New York Woman's travel journal, 1888-1889

1 volume

The New York Woman's travel journal chronicles two trips undertaken by a woman and her father. In March and April 1888, the pair traveled across the country to New Orleans, and in June 1889 to Scotland and England.

The New York Woman's travel journal chronicles two trips undertaken by a woman and her father. In March and April 1888, the pair traveled across the country to New Orleans (pp. 1-52), and in June 1889 to Scotland and England (pp. 54-93). The cover of the volume bears a silver inlaid illustration entitled "Composition," and opens with the father and daughter embarking on a Pullman car on March 19, 1888, bound for "the West" from Jersey City. During their railroad journey, they traveled through Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and St. Louis, where they remained for a short stopover before heading south. Between St. Louis and Little Rock, their train collided with another vehicle, killing an engineer and delaying their arrival in the Arkansas capital, where they stayed for an additional week. The 12-page narrative of this leg of the trip is colored by anecdotes and descriptions of fellow passengers, and is followed by a lengthy account of the pair's time in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and in New Orleans. In Vicksburg, the tourists made note of Civil War-era caves used during the city's siege, and visited a Civil War cemetery, which the author found profoundly moving. Once in "thoroughly Southern" New Orleans, the writer described in detail the sights and sounds of the city, and frequently mentioned popular tourist destinations; she also noted the "swarms of little darkies" and other African Americans she encountered throughout her time in the city. She and her father left New Orleans on the steamboat Knickerbocker on April 19, and returned to New York via the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Coast; upon her return, she reflected briefly on the positive impact the trip had on her worldview.

The second portion of the volume is titled "Letters written during our stay in England and Scotland in the summer of 1889," and is about the author's transatlantic voyage from New York to Glasgow on the State of Georgia, and the opening stages of her European adventures. After writing about the pleasant 12-day voyage, the diarist described several sights throughout Scotland, including a detailed depiction of Edinburgh Castle, complete with a brief history of the structure. York was their next destination, and they moved thence by rail to London, where sightseeing resumed in full force. The pair, along with a traveling companion named Leslie, proceeded to take in a thorough tourist's view of London, including several bus trips around the city and the requisite visits to St. Margaret's Church and Westminster Abbey. While in Europe, the author often reflected on how easily she was identified as an American, and on local social customs. The volume also recalls a visit to the British Museum to see the Magna Carta (pp. 92-93), but its final entry, dated July 4, 1889, is cut off just as the author catches a glimpse of Queen Victoria at a garden party.

Collection

Nova Scotia diary, 1877-1879 (majority within 1877)

1 volume

The Nova Scotia diary chronicles the daily life of a carpenter and small farmer throughout much of 1877. The volume also contains several pages written in mock-African American dialect and several drawings.

The Nova Scotia diary chronicles the daily life of a carpenter and small farmer throughout much of 1877. The author began his diary on March 18, 1877, by relating his different activities at the beginning of the planting season. His crops were corn, potatoes, and turnips, and he also raised and sheared sheep. Throughout the year, the diarist reflected on various events in the life of his small, intimate community, which included many visits from neighbors, occasional picnics, and short vacations. He hosted a meeting of several "county lodge" delegates, and assisted other farmers with planting and harvesting their crops. In addition to attending Easter church services and celebrating the Queen's birthday, he noted the beginning of the 1st Provincial Expedition in Kentville, which opened in October. Though the author concluded his entries on October 21, 1877, he appended a number of births and marriages for the years 1877-1879. The final four pages of the book contain an imitation of an African American dialect, and include a caricature of two well-dressed African Americans sitting before a fireplace. Other drawings in the book include a pencil map of Shaw's Point, drawn before the construction of a railroad; a map of "Grandfather's place" previous to its 1862 sale; and floor plans for the upper and lower floors of "W Spurr's house," 1862.

Collection

Lake George (N.Y.) Camping Journal, 1892

1 volume

This volume is a typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

This volume is a 27-page typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

The Lake George camping party consisted of at least seven acquaintances: Charles W. Byrnes, Alice B. Byrnes, William L. Brown, Georgia B. Sumner, Edwin W. Andrews, Maybelle Ramsay, and R. C. Sargent. Maybelle and a man referred to as "the Doctor" left the group partway through the trip. The account, titled "Wotlarks: A Camping Journal," opens with an epigraph by William Henry Harrison Murray, followed by 24 pages of recollections. The campers embarked from Caldwell, New York, on July 31, 1892, spent 2 weeks on the lake, and then boarded a train for Boston from the area around Fort Ticonderoga on August 13, 1892.

The author of this typescript (possibly camper William L. Brown), described the scenery, meals, and notable incidents. He or she also quoted poems by P. Buchanan Read and Isaac Ogden Rankin. The 7 party members signed the final page of the typescript. Twenty-one photographs, pasted onto sturdy boards between pages of the journal, depict scenery around Lake George, the campers in their canoes, men and women posing with guns, a man fishing, the group near their tents, and other scenes.

The volume includes a carefully drawn or traced manuscript map of Lake George, marked with the places that the campers visited.

Collection

China diary, 1859-1860

1 volume

This diary chronicles the author's sea voyage from New York to China in the spring of 1859, as well as his life in Shanghai between July 1859 and July 1860. At sea, he detailed the daily weather, scenery, and life onboard the ship, and in Shanghai he described his everyday life as a doctor and shared numerous observations on the effects of foreign trade on the country, local missionary efforts, and military conflict between the British and Chinese.

This diary (289 pages) chronicles the author's sea voyage from New York to China in the spring of 1859, as well as his life in Shanghai between July 1859 and July 1860. The first entry, dated February 28, 1859, opens with the author embarking for China on the N. B. Palmer, an American clipper under a Captain Frisbie. Over the next several months, he recorded daily observations of the weather and of life onboard the ship, including the captain's occasional harsh treatment of the crew. In addition to recording daily measurements of latitude and longitude, he occasionally described the scenery as the ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope and made its way to China by way of Indonesia. After a brief stop on Java in mid-May, the ship proceeded to Hong Kong, where it arrived on June 11 to discharge its cargo. During his brief time in Hong Kong, the author noted several aspects of local life, including the influence of foreign missionaries. On June 27, the N. B. Palmer departed Hong Kong bound for Shanghai, which it reached on July 4 amid Independence Day celebrations. Once in Shanghai, the diarist recorded his impressions of the city and incidents from his medical career, which included administering vaccinations as well as caring for the sick. The diary contains many references to political affairs and to the local efforts of foreign missionaries; much of the political focus is on the influence of Great Britain, particularly after the escalation of the Second Opium War. In addition to political commentary and descriptions of his daily life as a doctor, the diarist occasionally expressed his hope that Christianity would eventually win over the locals. The author remained in Shanghai until at least July 21, 1860, the date of his final entry. Two items laid into the volume include an undated note of thanks for the doctor's services (pp. 58-59) and a sheet of paper containing two Chinese characters (pp. 90-91).

Collection

European Travel journal, 1863-1865

1 volume

This journal recounts the author's travels in Europe between December 1863 and September 1865. He visited England, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany, though he spent most of his time in Paris, France; Rome and Elba, Italy; and Heidelberg, Germany. The journal records the author's impressions of local people and customs, his efforts to learn various European languages, and the friends he met while abroad.

This journal recounts the author's travels in Europe between December 1863 and September 1865. His first entry, in December 1863, documents his recent transatlantic voyage from New York to Liverpool, including rough weather while on the Atlantic Ocean. He composed entries sporadically through September 1865, recording his impressions of cities and people he encountered while traveling. After spending a few days sightseeing in London, he left for Paris, where he remained until March 1864. While in Paris, he attempted to learn French, saw numerous famous buildings and other sights, attended balls, and befriended local students.

He stayed in Italy from March to April, during which time he climbed Mount Vesuvius, visited Pompeii, and became acquainted with a pastor, with whom he traveled to Elba for a visit of about a month. He remained in the country after leaving Elba and provided descriptions of prominent Italian cities he encountered on his way to Geneva, Switzerland, such as Leghorn and Florence. After his stay in Geneva, he left his journal and most of his possessions behind as he traveled throughout Switzerland and northern Italy with only a knapsack, an experience he wrote about after his arrival in Heidelberg, Germany, which he reached before August 14. Once in Heidelberg, he recorded his thoughts about the local culture, the influence of university students, and visits to a local castle. Though his entries became more sporadic after August 1864, the journal reflects his subsequent travels to Bavaria and throughout Germany, northern Italy, and Austria, with detailed descriptions of scenery and of his experiences. While in Germany, he occasionally commented on Gothic architecture, and one late entry relates his experiences on a recent deer hunting trip. The final entry was composed around mid-September 1865.

Collection

Texas travel diary, 1838

1 volume

This travel diary records the daily progress of a team of prospectors exploring possible routes for stagecoach lines in Texas, 1838. The entries primarily document details relevant to stagecoach operations such as terrain, populations, soil types, climate, and distances traveled.

This Texas travel diary records the daily progress of a team of prospectors exploring possible routes for stagecoach lines. The author does not record his personal experiences and includes only details relevant to operating a stagecoach line: terrain; banks and depths of rivers to be forded; costs of oats, corn and hay for feeding horses; the presence of Indians; populations to support mail delivery and transportation over the route; availability of timber for building bridges and ferries; competition from other stage lines; availability of potable water; agricultural potential of the land along the route; and mileages from one place to another.

The team set out from Jefferson City in mule-drawn wagons on January 4, 1838, and traveled southwest into the Indian Territory (later Oklahoma). They crossed into the Oklahoma Cherokee Indian Territory at Neosho on January 18, and then headed south to Fort Gibson, where the author went alone on horseback to Fort Smith on the Arkansas border, and rejoined the group later.

They crossed Texas at Preston on the Red River (North of Dallas) at the end of January and arrived at Franklin (now El Paso) on March 17. On March 21, they set out on the return trip, taking a slightly different route, and returned to Preston on Sunday, April 11.

Of special interest are the descriptions of the terrain diagonally southwest across the Indian Territory (later Oklahoma) and Texas in the early days of United States possession, while Texas was still an independent republic. The author notes the difficulties that would be encountered in establishing a mail and stage coach line through this terrain and comments on the agricultural possibilities of the land. He describes streams and rivers and recommends potential settings for stations.