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Collection

Jehu Hay journal, 1763-1765

1 volume

The Jehu Hay journal is a diary kept by Hay, a lieutenant of the 60th Regiment (Royal American), while he was stationed at Detroit from May 1, 1763, to June 6, 1765. In the journal, he wrote a firsthand account of the Ottawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi, and Huron siege of Detroit, led by Pontiac, between May and October 1763.

The Jehu Hay journal (212 pages) is a diary kept by a lieutenant of the 60th Regiment (Royal American) while stationed at Detroit from May 1, 1763, to June 6, 1765. In the journal, Hay provided a firsthand account of the Ottawa, Ojibwa, Potawatomi, and Huron siege of Detroit, led by Pontiac, between May and October 1763. Hay recorded entries almost daily and described the political and military news coming into Detroit. He discussed the internal operations of Fort Detroit and gave a British perspective on the colonial/Native American relations in the Great Lakes region, along with details on skirmishes and casualties.

The Hay Journal has been published:

Hough, Franklin Benjamin. Diary of the Siege of Detroit in the War With Pontiac. Also a Narrative of the Principal Events of the Siege. Albany: J. Munsell, 1860.

Collection

Nathaniel Fuller journal, 1760-1762

100 pages

The Nathaniel Fuller journal is the daily journal of a member of a carpentry team from Boston that built ships on Lake Oneida and Lake Ontario for the British Army during the French and Indian War. The volume also contains miscellaneous entries of accounts for military supplies and payments of wages.

The Nathaniel Fuller journal (100 pages) contains a daily journal of a member of a carpentry team from Boston that built ships on Lake Oneida and Lake Ontario for the British Army during the French and Indian War, from March 13, 1760-October 28, 1760 (pages 1-75). The volume also contains miscellaneous entries of accounts for military supplies, numbers of days worked, and payments of wages spanning from August 1761 to September 1762 (pages 80-86), and throughout 1760 (pages 89-100).

Fuller kept daily entries of their labors, briefly describing distances traveled and their carpentry accomplishments. The group consisted of 20 carpenters and was led by Captain James Barton. They were paid in advance to walk from Boston to Albany. They averaged 20 miles per day and stayed in private homes and taverns at night (March 13-28, 1760). The commanding officer at Albany supplied them with tools and wagons and sent them to Schenectady, New York, where they spent most of April, working seven days a week, calking boats with oakum and pine tar, and building new "battoes" (bateaus). On board four bateaus, the group proceeded up the Mohawk River to the blockhouse on Lake Oneida (May 12, 1760), then to Oswego (May 13, 1760), and finally to the south shore of Lake Ontario to "Nyagary" (Niagara) (May 16, 1760). At the mouth of the river, they built a house for living quarters, a barge, a schooner, and a sloop. Construction involved locating suitable timber, bringing the logs down the river, and cutting them into planks.

On August 14, the group returned to Oswego and built another schooner. On October 3, a British vessel arrived at Oswego from “Swagocha” (Oswegatchie, now Ogdensburg), transporting a commodore and soldiers wounded in the Battle of Montreal. The entire company, including the commodore, wounded soldiers, and carpenters, traveled up the Oswego River to Lake Oneida and arrived at Schenectady on October 16, 1760. Fuller received three dollars from the commodore and received a pass for seven men to proceed on foot to Boston on October 22; they arrived sometime after the last entry of October 28.

Collection

Quaker collection, 1700-1888

113 items

The Quaker Collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents relating to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Quaker collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents related to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. These items offer insights into Quaker's daily activities and concerns, such as family life, education, and attending meetings, as well as their participation in various social reform movements, such as abolition, treatment of Native Americans, prison improvements, temperance, and pacifism. The collection also documents internal divergences of American Quakerism in the 19th century, particularly the social and doctrinal disputes that culminated in the Hicksite and Wilburite schisms.

Among the collection's notable items:
  • 1707: A manuscript copy of the death warrant of William Leddra, the last of four Quakers (including Mary Dyer) executed in Massachusetts Bay colony for their religious beliefs
  • July 26, 1755: A letter from Alexander Colden to Sir William Johnson voicing frustration with Quakers who refuse to support the war effort in Pennsylvania, and an announcement of General Braddock's defeat
  • August 4-12 and 17, 1761: Two accounts, one by an anonymous woman, of Quaker presence at Treaty negotiations held at Easton, Pennsylvania, between the government of Pennsylvania and the Six Nations tribes. Discussed are the negotiations, Quaker-Indian interactions, and the role of Quaker women in the Society
  • [After 1770]: An account by an anonymous author of a conference with Native Americans, mostly of the Minnisink Tribe
  • October 13, 1829: A letter from Phoebe Post Willis of Jericho, New York, to Isaac Post on the death of John Hicks and strife between Orthodox and Hicksite Quakers
  • March 10, 1843: A letter from Ethan Foster of Westerly, Rhode Island, to Thomas B. Gould on Wilburite-Gurneyite strife in his local meeting, and the disownment of Wilbur
  • [After 1863 July]: A letter describing a meeting between Abraham Lincoln and five Quaker prisoners of war, who had been forced into the Confederate army, captured by the Union, and held at Fort Delaware
  • Various dates: Reports, minutes, and epistles from yearly friends meetings in America and Great Britain
Collection

Robert Navarre Journal of the Pontiac Conspiracy, 1763

1 volume

The Robert Navarre Journal of the Pontiac Conspiracy is a manuscript transcription of the original French account of Pontiac's siege of Detroit in 1763. The journal describes in great detail affairs on both sides of the conflict between May 7 and July 31, 1763, providing an eyewitness account from within the fort, as well as intelligence, news, and rumors of Pontiac's activities.

The Robert Navarre Journal of the Pontiac Conspiracy (146 pages) is a manuscript transcription of the original French manuscript held at the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library, created by James Valentine Campbell of Detroit.

Entitled Journal ou Dictation d'une Conspiration faite par les Sauvages Contre les Anglais, et du Siège du fort du Detroix par quatre nations différentes. Le 7 May, 1763, the account was likely written by a Detroit official named Robert Navarre. The author described, in great detail, affairs on both sides of the siege, providing an eyewitness account from within the fort, as well as intelligence, news, and rumors of Pontiac's activities. The journal, which spans May 7 to July 31, 1763, is one of the most thorough and important accounts of the conflict.

Collection

Samuel Morris journal, 1758-1763

1 volume

The Samuel Morris journal contains the daily accounts of a Connecticut private and clerk serving under Captain Andrew Dalrymple and Colonel Eleazer Fitch during the French and Indian War. From 1758 to 1759, Morris' regiment was stationed at Fort Edward, Crown Point, and nearby camps around Lake George. On July 26, 1759, Morris witnessed the Battle of Ticonderoga (Fort Carillon) lead by Jeffery Amherst.

The Samuel Morris journal (187 pages) contains the daily accounts of a Connecticut private and clerk serving in Captain Andrew Dalrymple’s Massachusetts Regiment and Colonel Eleazer Fitch's 4th Connecticut Regiment during the French and Indian War. From 1758 to 1759, Morris' regiment was stationed at Fort Edward, Crown Point, and nearby camps around Lake George. On July 26, 1759, Morris witnessed the Battle of Ticonderoga (Fort Carillon) lead by Jeffery Amherst.

The journal is divided into three sections:
  • Part I: May 25 to October 16, 1758 (pages 1-43)
  • Part II: April 6-December 14, 1759 (pages 44-117)
  • Part III: Accounts and memoranda (pages 118-187)

The first section (pages 1-43) records the activities of a Massachusetts regiment commanded by Captain Andrew Dalrymple during their march from Woodstock to Fort Edward in May 1758, and the British military encampment near Lake George (June to November 1758). Described are the march north, camp and weather conditions, various small expeditions around Lake George, news of skirmishes with the enemy, and details on deaths and burials.

Of note:
  • Page 10: A report of a soldier accidentally getting shot by a fellow soldier
  • Pages 13, 23, 31, 32: Remarks about Major Robert Rogers and his skirmishes with the Indians
  • Page 34: Colonel John Bradstreet's success in the taking of "Cattorogway"

The second section (pages 44-117) details Morris' experiences as a sergeant under David Holmes in the 4th Connecticut Regiment, stationed near Lake George. He described the journey to Albany with stops in Massachusetts and Fort Miller Falls, New York, and the activities of the British/colonial army preparing for a conflict with the French and their Indian allies. Included is an account of the fall of Fort Ticonderoga (July 26, 1759), and a description of sickness and hardship experienced at Crown Point from August to November 1759. Entries from this section also contain remarks about going to church, hearing sermons, and prayer (or lack thereof) on Sundays.

Of note:
  • Page 50: Morris is married on May 3, 1759
  • Page 67: British are alarmed by French and Indians on Lake George and Major Rogers skirmishes with the enemy
  • Page 77: Colonel Townshend killed by a cannon ball
  • Page 78: British troops are in position outside Fort Ticonderoga
  • Page 82: Generals James Wolfe and Jeffery Amherst issue construction and wood chopping instructions
  • Page 85: Punishments issued for two men in Thomas Gage's light infantry
  • Page 102: Quebec taken by the British
  • Page 117: After his army service, Morris begins teaching at a school in Sturbridge, Massachusetts

The remainder of the volume is comprised of accounts and memoranda primarily written from Dudley, Massachusetts (pages 118-187). Included is an entry stating that Morris had moved his family to Sturbridge, Massachusetts (April 6, 1760). Morris also documented accounts from 1761-1762 for food, goods, and services, including paying workers for construction, fieldwork, chopping wood, transporting goods to a mill, and charges for the use of his oxen and horse. Page 132 contains a receipt for goods bought and sold in Boston, and page 142 briefly documents Henry Morris's three-month travels to Lake Erie and back. Also of note is a list of sergeants for the 2nd guard (page 162), a list of men serving under Andrew Dalrymple (pages 180-183), and an account of the dying words of Captain Bartman at Albany, age 27, in 1758 (page 179).

Collection

Sarah Woolsey Lloyd collection, 1741-1770

7 items

The Sarah Lloyd collection contains 244 journal entries kept by Sarah Lloyd between 1741 and 1760, and a draft of a religious essay, likely written by John Lloyd, Sarah's husband. Sarah frequently discussed her thoughts on religion and mentioned pregnancies and childbirth, sickness and death of family members and neighbors, and the progress of the French and Indian War.

The Sarah Lloyd collection (7 items) contains six journals and journal fragments kept by Sarah Lloyd between 1741 and 1760, and a draft of a religious essay, likely written by John Lloyd, Sarah's husband. The journals contain 244 entries, the majority of which reveal her religious views. Sarah also discussed her pregnancies and childbirth, sickness and death in her community, and the progress of the French and Indian War.

The earliest entries are two essays from 1741, one a "Covenant" with God and the other a "Self-examination." Sarah's semi-weekly entries begin on July 22, 1744, the day she was "propounded" and joined the church. Her journals are largely spiritual in nature, but incorporated into her introspective religious entries are references to the physical world around her. She mentioned pregnancies and childbirth, childrearing, drought and thunderstorms, cases of smallpox and measles, deaths of family members and neighbors, and the progress of the French and Indian War. During the war, Sarah and her husband quartered British troops for the winters of 1758 and 1759. In her early April journal entries for both years, she expressed relief that, after four months of sharing their home with troops, the house was theirs again. She prayed about military victories and defeats in an attempt to accept both as God's will. Also well documented are her pregnancies. Often several months before a birth she started praying for a safe delivery and the ability to breast-feed her child. Of note is a mention of an African American child born to a servant in their household on March 8, 1753.

The religious essay is a 16-page manuscript, dated April 1752 at Stamford, Connecticut, with the dates April 6, 1762, and April 18, 1770, added in the margin of the first page. The item contains biblical passages and essays or sermons.

Collection

Stephen Cross journal, 1756-1757

60 pages (1 volume)

The Stephen Cross Journal details the Massachusetts shipbuilder's journey to Fort Oswego to help with the French and Indian War effort, his capture after the fall of Fort Oswego in 1756, and imprisonment in Quebec City and Dijon, France.

The Stephen Cross journal consists of 60 pages of entries, spanning March 1, 1756-January 22, 1757. The journal begins with Cross' agreement to travel to Fort Oswego with eighteen others from his town, in order to "build some vessels for the King's service" (March 1, 1756). In mid-March and April, he provided a detailed account of his travel from Newbury, Massachusetts, to Oswego, New York, via Boston, Providence, Newport, Block Island, New York City, and Albany. During this period, Cross frequently described the difficulty of navigating the terrain of upstate New York, his encounters with Native Americans, and the details of his work, which included cutting and hauling timber to construct ships and to rebuild Fort Bull after its destruction by the French (April 27, 1756). On May 12, 1756, Cross mentioned an incident in which friendly Native Americans saluted his party with their muskets, resulting in confusion and a supposition that their greeting was "an ambush laid for us." Luckily, the misunderstanding was quickly discovered.

Cross and his party arrived at Fort Oswego on May 14, 1756, and he subsequently recounted the process of preparing for a siege. On May 23, 1756, he reported a bizarre incident in which a soldier survived a scalping while in a drunken stupor. He also described several desertions (May 30, 1756), the frequent discovery of enemy spies, and occasional skirmishes. On August 14, 1756, he gave a detailed description of the Battle of Fort Oswego and its aftermath, including his capture and the drunken antics of his fellow prisoners.

After his capture, Cross described his experiences as a prisoner of war, including imprisonment in Quebec City, crossing the Atlantic en route to France (August 22, 1756: “[W]e are confined to our dark and wretched hole below both decks, only allowed to come on deck twice a day”), several near shipwrecks, and various plots to escape. On November 20, 1756, he gave an account of the escape of several prisoners from Brest and their eventual return to prison because of starvation. He also noted his dislike of General Shirley's regiment (the 50th Regiment of Foot), consisting of fellow captives on their way to France and, Cross supposed, "convicts" (November 15, 1756). The last entries concern imprisonment in a castle and the kindness of a wealthy widow to the prisoners (December 27, 1756). In January, he expressed his fear of going to the hospital, where an increasing number of men were dying. The journal ends with Cross' admission to the hospital on January 22, 1757.