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The Christopher Ripley collection is made up of four manuscript notebooks, which include diary entries, financial records, writings, and other entries about many subjects, including Ripley's life in Hartford, Connecticut, and Ogdensburg, New York.

The Christopher Ripley collection is made up of four manuscript notebooks (around 210 pages total) which include diary entries, financial records, writings, and other entries many numerous subjects.

Volume I (106 pages) largely consists of diary and journal entries dated 1802-1808. The earlier entries are predominantly philosophical musings, and later entries consist mostly of brief notes about sermons he heard from "Mr. Flint" in Hartford, Connecticut. The diary is followed by financial accounts, including some made at Ogdensburg, New York, in 1831. The volume has one page of notes about Kenyon College. Volume II (45 pages) is an account book with financial records related to travel in northern New York and personal finances (1841-1845). Volumes III and IV (about 100 pages and 35 pages, respectively) are commonplace books and collections of miscellany, including notes about religion, the California Gold Rush, the Mexican War, U.S. and international politics, steamboats, personal health, and other topics. They also contain poems, recipes for health remedies, genealogical notes, and lecture notes about "Blairs Rhetoric." Several blank sheets of lined and colored paper are enclosed in volume IV.

The Cushing family collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and other items pertaining to the family and descendants of Boston merchant Hayward P. Cushing.

The Cushing Family collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and other items pertaining to the family and descendants of Boston merchant Hayward P. Cushing, including his son, Hayward W. Cushing.

The Correspondence series (124 items) is primarily made up of incoming letters to Hayward P. Cushing, Maria Peirce Cushing, and Hayward W. Cushing. The first item is a letter to Betsy Barber in Epping, New Hampshire (May 9, 1790).

Hayward P. Cushing received personal and professional letters from family members and business acquaintances from 1828-1870. His brother Nathaniel wrote of his life in Brooklyn and Grand Island, New York, in the 1830s and 1840s; one letter concerns his journey to Grand Island on the Erie Canal (August 9, 1835). Jane Cushing, Hayward and Nathaniel's sister, discussed her life in Scituate, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. Sophia Cushing, Hayward's cousin and his most frequent correspondent, reported on her financial difficulties, thanked him for his assistance, and shared news from Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Hayward P. Cushing received letters from his wife Maria while she vacationed in Maine, and from his daughter Florence. His business correspondence includes a letter about the sale of the brig Ann Tyler (January 23, 1858).

Maria Peirce Cushing's earliest incoming letters are courtship letters from Hayward P. Cushing, her future husband. After the mid-1850s, he wrote to her from Boston, Massachusetts, while she vacationed in Scituate, Massachusetts, and Frankfort, Maine. He provided news about his life and their children. Maria's sister Caroline discussed her life in Bridgeport, Maine, and a cousin named Abby described her life in Boston. In the mid-1870s, the Cushings' daughters Florence and Jenny wrote to their mother about their courses, textbooks, and experiences at Vassar College.

The final group of dated correspondence consists of incoming letters to Hayward Warren Cushing, including news from Massachusetts medical organizations operating in the 1880s and a series of 10 letters by his wife Martha, who described her trip to Europe in 1928. She discussed her transatlantic voyage and Mediterranean cruise on the Canadian Pacific ship SS Empress of Scotland, as well as her experiences in countries including Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy, Israel, Egypt, Monaco, France, and England. She enclosed a postcard from Naples, Italy, in one of her letters.

Undated correspondence includes additional letters to members of the Cushing family, as well as picture postcards showing French surgeons, statues, and buildings.

The Journals and Notebooks series consists of 2 items. Florence M. Cushing kept a diary while visiting London from January 2, 1880-January 18, 1880. Her sightseeing excursions included trips to the British Museum, National Gallery, Windsor Castle, and Westminster Abbey. The notebook contains recipes, instructions, and scientific notes compiled by Hayward W. Cushing. Entries about building animal traps and tying knots are accompanied by explanatory illustrations. Other topics include medicinal formulas and chemistry, instructions for making types of ink (including invisible inks), and lists of items used on camping trips.

The Financial papers series is comprised of account books, receipts, and other records related to members of the Cushing and Peirce families.

• An appraisal of Hayward Peirce's estate in Scituate, Massachusetts, recorded in March 1827, with two sections listing the value of his personal property and transactions involving his land.
• H. M. Peirce's record of purchases, primarily of school supplies, from May 1834-April 1835. A printed notice about the estate of Silas Peirce is laid into the volume (May 21, 1920).
• Nathaniel Cushing's account book, pertaining to transactions with Nathan Cushing, from whom he primarily purchased groceries between October 1853 and August 1861.
• Hayward P. Cushing's account book concerns shares that he and Jane Cushing owned in railroad companies and banks (July 1849-July 1855). Additional financial notes relate to the settlement of related financial accounts.
• Account book recording Maria P. Cushing's investments and dividends (October 1870-January 1894); she received income from the estate of Silas Peirce, Sr., among other sources.

The Receipts, Checks, and Accounts (over 300 items) are arranged by person and company; each group of items is arranged chronologically. Nathaniel Cushing materials pertain to board, taxation, food, and other miscellaneous expenses. The Cushing, Hall, and Peirce documents concern financial affairs, including stock and bond investments. The group of items related to Hayward W. Cushing includes a large number of personal checks from many different banks, as well as additional accounts and documents. Among the financial papers related to Hayward P. Cushing is a receipt for Jane Cushing's board at the McLean Asylum for the Insane (December 31, 1869). The series contains additional accounts and financial records.

The Documents series (20 items) is made up of legal and financial contracts related to business partnerships, estates, and land ownership. The final item is an "Apple Pest Survey in Worcester County" for 1929-1931 (April 15, 1932).

The Drawings (3 items) are architectural drawings of methods for dropping masts (February 25, 1888), several floor plans (1919-1931), and an overhead view of an orchard (undated).

The Printed Items and Ephemera series includes 3 newspapers (1800-1864), 2 annual reports of the Boston Lyceum (1838 and 1840); a lecture by Benjamin Scott about the Pilgrims (1866); a reprinted love letter from John Kelly to an unidentified recipient (original 1817; printed in 1892); a group of check tickets from the Pullman Company; a printed calendar for 1870; a facsimile of The New-England Courant from February 1723; calling cards and invitations; and an embroidered piece of cloth.

The Genealogy series (14 items) consists of pamphlets, bulletins, newspaper clippings, and other items related to various members of the Cushing family from the 19th century into the early 20th century.

This collection is made up of the papers of five generations of the Dwight, Willard, Alden, Allen, and Freeman families of the East Coast and (later) U.S. Midwest, between 1752 and 1937. Around 3/4 of the collection is incoming and outgoing correspondence of family members, friends, and colleagues. The primary persons represented are Lydia Dwight of Massachusetts and her husband John Willard, who served in the French and Indian War; Connecticut mother Abigail Willard along with her husband Samuel Alden, who ran an apothecary in Hanover, New Jersey; Allen Female Seminary School alumna and teacher Sarah J. Allen; American Civil War surgeon Otis Russell Freeman; Presbyterian minister and temperance advocate Rev. Samuel Alden Freeman; and prominent public librarian Marilla Waite Freeman. The papers also include diaries and journals, writings, school certificates, military and ecclesiastical documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, advertisements, business and name cards, invitations to events, and brochures for plays and other performances.

The collection is arranged first by family grouping, then by material type. These series roughly reflect the arrangement of the collection when it arrived at the William L. Clements Library.

The Dwight-Willard-Alden Family Papers are comprised of around 250 items, dating between 1752 and 1884. One fifth or so of this grouping is predominantly correspondence between Lydia Dwight/Lydia Dwight Willard, her father, stepmother, siblings, husband, and sons, 1752-1791. These intermarried families were based largely in Sheffield and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The letters include discussions about mending and cleaning clothing; feelings about their father/husband gone to serve in the French and Indian War; putting up a monument to replace faltering graves; the return of Elijah and Col. Williams from the field on account of sickness; coming and going of soldiers; moral and practical advice; teaching and boarding young students during the war; settling into (“no longer free”) married life; the death of Bathsheba Dwight; the meeting of local men in private homes and the training of minute men in Stockbridge; the prolonged case of smallpox experienced by Lydia’s son in 1785; and news of John Willard, Jr.’s admission to Harvard.

The remaining four fifths of this grouping are largely incoming correspondence of Abigail Willard Alden (1771-1832) and her daughter Abigail Alden (1809-1854). Their correspondents were located in Stafford, Connecticut; Hanover and Lancaster, New Hampshire; Lunenburg, Vermont; and elsewhere. They begin with letters from siblings and parents to the newly married Abigail Willard Alden (ca. 1800); Samuel Alden travel letters to New York City; and news of a Stafford doctor named Chandler who had promised marriage to a woman and then fleeced her for $500 before fleeing to parts unknown. A group of letters regard pharmacy matters, the burning of Samuel Willard’s drugstore (January-April 1802), and the state of Anti-Federalists and Federalists in Stafford (1802). A large portion the letters include content on sickness and health, with varying degrees of detail, including several family members sick and dying from measles in 1803. Other topics include Hanover, New Hampshire, gossip on local premarital sex; a debate on whether or not to hire a black female domestic laborer; comments on a local suicide attempt; a young woman deliberating on objections to women spending time reading novels (April 10, 1806); and treatment by a quack doctor. These papers also include two diaries, poetry and essays, two silhouettes, genealogical manuscripts, and miscellaneous printed items.

The Allen Family Papers are largely incoming letters to Sarah Jane Allen prior to her marriage to Samuel A. Freeman (around 300 items), and from her father-in-law Otis Russell Freeman (around 60 items) between 1860 and 1865. An abundance of the letters were written to Sarah while she attended the Allen Female Seminary in Rochester, New York, and afterward when she lived at Honeoye Falls, New York. They include letters from her parents, cousins, friends, and siblings. A sampling suggests that the bulk are letters by young women attempting to eke out a life for themselves through seminary education, teaching, and domestic labor. Among much else, they include content on Elmira Female Seminary, New York state travel, and female friendship and support.

The Otis Russell Freeman letters date between 1862 and 1865, while he served as a surgeon in the 10th and 14th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. He wrote about the everyday camp life with a focus on the health and sickness of the soldiers. His letters include content on the defenses of Washington, D.C., fighting at Cold Harbor and outside Richmond, Virginia, the surrender of Robert E. Lee, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln's body lying in state at Jersey City. Two carte-de-visite photographs of Otis Freeman are present.

A diary kept by Sarah J. Allen began on the day of her marriage, September 26, 1865, documents her honeymoon to Niagara Falls. It ends in November 1865. The remainder of the volume is filled with recipes for baked goods, pickles, and other foods. The printed items include ephemera from Sarah Jane Allen’s tenure at Elmira Female College five issues of the Callisophia Society’s newspaper The Callisophia (vol. 1, nos. 1, 3-6; March/April 1860-January/February 1861), as well as a Catalogue of Books in Callisophia Library, December 1862.

The Samuel Alden Freeman Family Papers include approximately 300 largely incoming letters to Presbyterian minister S. A. Freeman, plus printed materials, ephemera, photographs, and bound volumes, dating in the 1810s and from the 1860s to 1880s. Correspondence of his second wife Olive dates from the 1810s in central New York. The collection includes letters to S. A. Freeman from his first wife Sarah, daughter Abigail Alden Freeman (1873-1925), and Sara Harriet Freeman (1879-1946). These materials include courtship correspondence of Sarah Jane Allen and S. A. Freeman. A considerable portion relates to Presbyterianism and at least one temperance society pledge sheet is present. Approximately 50 photographs, about half of them identified, are largely of Samuel A. Freeman and the Freeman daughters Marilla and Abigail. Among the printed ephemeral items are advertisements for programming at Corinthian Hall (probably Rochester, New York), items related to a Sunday School Association (including a printed broadside catalog of books at a N.J. Sunday School), and pamphlets on Presbyterianism. A medicinal recipe book from the mid-19th century and a commonplace book of poetry are examples of the S. A. Freeman family bound volumes.

The collection concludes with letters, photographs, ephemera, and printed items comprising the Marilla Waite Freeman Papers. Around 600 letters are largely incoming to public librarian M. W. Freeman from female educators and librarians. They discussed their profession, books, reading, and intellectual topics. A small clutch of letters, about three dozen manuscript and typed poems, and a dozen or more newspaper clippings, 1900s-1910s, comprise poet Floyd Dell’s contributions to the collection. Marilla also corresponded with poets and writers Margaret Todd Ritter, Robert Frost and Mrs. Frost, and Marie Bullock about public and private recitations and lectures. Examples of subjects covered by the printed materials include orations, educational/school/college items, library-related items, newspapers and clippings, fliers, women's clubs, New York City theater, the American Library Association, Poetry Society of America, poems by various authors, such as Ina Robert and John Belknap, visiting and business cards, and travel.

The Eaton-Shirley family papers consist of personal diaries, correspondence, military papers, legal and business documents, printed materials, and photographs. A primary figure in the collection, John Eaton, Jr., was Civil War Superintendent of the Freedmen and later Commissioner of Education under Grant. The papers also contains substantial material from other Eaton family members, including military papers and correspondence of his brother, Lucien B. Eaton, and papers of the Shirley family (the family of John Eaton, Jr.’s wife, Alice E. Shirley).

The Eaton papers consist of 1,903 items, dating from September 1790 to July 30, 1939. The bulk of the collection falls between 1850 and 1906. The papers contain 318 letters, 9 diaries/journals, 60 personal documents of John Eaton Jr., 275 legal documents and business papers, 112 military documents, 923 photographs, 84 printed items, and 122 miscellaneous items.

The majority of the correspondence is personal and relates to family matters. The 168 letters of John Eaton, Jr., contain extensive biographical information. Of particular interest are 44 Civil War-era letters including information about the freedmen, three letters pertaining to the publication of The Post, and two with content regarding the Ku Klux Klan. The collection also contains 22 letters to and from Alice (Shirley) Eaton, 31 letters to and from Lucien Eaton, and 32 miscellaneous letters from members of the Eaton family. Of the 30 letters written by Alice Eaton's parents (James and Adelaine Shirley), 10 letters regard compensation for the damage done to the Shirley House during the Civil War. Various other members of the Shirley family wrote 15 letters, and 20 letters are from other people unrelated to the Eaton and Shirley families.

John Eaton Jr.’s aunt, Ruth Dodge Eaton, wrote two diaries which consist almost entirely of Christian hymns and essays. John Eaton Jr.'s uncle, Horace Eaton, wrote one diary that contains Christian material written while he attended Dartmouth College. John Eaton, Jr., wrote two diaries, one of which he wrote as a youth, and the other as a student at Dartmouth. Other journals include two by John Eaton Jr.'s brothers, Frederick and Charles, and a household account book, kept by his sister Christina. Of particular importance is Alice Shirley’s diary, in which she described pre-civil war tensions between the north and the south, speculation on the upcoming Siege of Vicksburg, the early stages of the Siege of Vicksburg, and very personal feelings regarding her marriage to John Eaton, Jr.

The 60 personal papers of John Eaton Jr. include 17 documents regarding his appointments and titles, two documents about freedmen, and 41 miscellaneous address cards and invitations (including an invitation to the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge).

Of the 275 legal papers, 74 documents pertain to the sale of land in Mississippi; 7 concern Robert M. Jones’s claim to Choctaw Nation lands; and 25 relate to estate papers, deeds of trust and documents about the proceedings of Adelaine Shirley’s post-war relief claims; and a receipt for the sale of an African American woman. The remaining 176 legal papers are miscellaneous financial documents, such as tax documents, checks, and receipts.

Of the 112 military documents, 58 pertain to John Eaton, Jr., 7 of which are about freedmen. The military documents of Lucien B. Eaton number 54.

The 923 photographs consist of six photo albums, 31 cased daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, 144 cabinet cards, and 421 loose photographs and snapshots all depicting members of the Eaton and Shirley families, scenic locations, and the Shirley House.

Of the 84 printed items in the collection, 49 newspaper clippings pertain to the occupational and personal activities of John Eaton, Jr., and 9 miscellaneous clippings relate to the Eaton family. The remaining 26 items are published pamphlets, including addresses and reports concerning John Eaton, Jr.; a sermon written by Horace Eaton; a report of proceedings of an Ohio Brigade reunion; an Anti-Slavery Almanac from 1838; and an incomplete piece describing the history and restoration of the Shirley House.

The 122 miscellaneous papers of the John Eaton, Jr., collection consist of 53 recipes and 69 miscellaneous items including a partial autobiography of Alice Eaton.

This collection contains a journal and recipe book, family photographs, and other material related to Elizabeth Coffin Tuttle of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Lancaster, New Hampshire.

This collection (23 items) contains a journal and recipe book, family photographs, and other material related to Elizabeth Coffin Tuttle of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Lancaster, New Hampshire. Tuttle kept a Journal and Recipe Book (44 pages) between around 1875 and 1882. From January 11, 1875-July 16, 1875, she regularly wrote brief diary entries about food purchases, weather, and other topics. Though Tuttle continued to make brief notes about cattle prices and other financial transactions as late as 1882, the remaining pages are largely comprised of manuscript recipes giving instructions for making cakes, pies, puddings, other desserts, and a cure for smallpox. Two newspaper clippings are pinned into the volume: a recipe for "pop corn candy" and an obituary for Henry Lunt. Two late pages contain knitting instructions, and two additional small clippings are pasted into the volume's back cover.

Elizabeth Coffin wrote a 2-page Essay entitled "Account of a Freshet" on October 15, 1857. The manuscript is about a flash flood in northern New Hampshire following heavy rains.

The Photographs series (19 items) contains several types of materials. The photograph album holds 12 black-and-white photographs of Tuttle family members, such as "Mama Tuttle," in an informal outside setting; one shows a horse-drawn carriage. Of the 5 tintypes, 3 are housed in stamped metal frames, one with pictures of a drum and cannon and the words "The Union Now and Forever." The other 2 tintypes are pictures of a young boy and a young girl. The 11 card photographs show Winifred, Bert, and Edith Tuttle in 1888; a group of young women; a group of schoolchildren; the Atlantic Ocean; a farmhouse in Amesbury, Massachusetts; 3 structures in Newburyport, Massachusetts; a carriage parade; and 4th of July celebrations in Lancaster, New Hampshire. Two 20th-century color snapshots are pictures of the Theodore Atkinson Coffin house in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and another residence.

The Printed Items series is comprised of the following two items: a newspaper clipping about the death of Robert Tuttle and a pamphlet by Edward Melcher entitled A Sketch of the Destruction of the Willey Family by the White Mountain Slide, on the Night of August 28, 1826 (1879).

This collection is made up of 5 diaries that Frederick Lafferty composed while serving with the United States Army during World War II. Lafferty, who worked in a communications unit, described his experiences at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts; Victoria, Australia; New Caledonia; and Guadalcanal.

This collection is made up of 5 diaries that Frederick Lafferty composed while serving with the United States Army during World War II. Lafferty, who worked in a communications unit, described his experiences at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts; Victoria, Australia; New Caledonia; and Guadalcanal. The volumes cover March 24, 1941, and November 17, 1942, with detailed entries for January 20, 1942-August 11, 1942, and October 1, 1942-November 17, 1942.

Lafferty began his first diary with his enlistment and early training in the United States, and started keeping regular entries in late January 1942, after his deployment overseas. In a note to Helen dated August 15, 1942 (pp. 27-29), Lafferty indicated his desire for her to read his diary. He anticipated an upcoming assignment, and shared his belief in military service as a duty to one's country.

Lafferty wrote about his experiences onboard the transport ship Santa Elena while traveling from the United States to Australia via the Panama Canal; his stay in Ballarat and Melbourne, Australia; and his journey to New Caledonia, where he remained for several months. As a member of a communications unit, he often worked in a "message room" and reported rumors of upcoming maneuvers and news of recent battles; his unit worked in cooperation with French radio operators. He heard, and related, stories of Marines who had participated in combat against Japanese forces.

Lafferty's diaries primarily reflect aspects of soldiers' daily lives, such as meals and the poor quality of the food, mail, inspections, leisure activities, and religious habits. A Catholic, he often reported his discussions with priests, attended mass, and prayed the rosary. He also occasionally discussed air raids and training exercises.

Lafferty's final diary almost exclusively concerns his active participation during the Guadalcanal campaign. This diary also has a list of items the soldiers carried (pages 34-35).

Non-textual matter includes a picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill posed next to the Statue of Liberty and the flags of the United States and Britain (cover of the 3rd diary). Also, an entry is written on the inside of a Philip Morris cigarette package (laid into the 5th diary).

Two of the diaries contain enclosures:

• Volume 1
  • Printed maps of Ballarat, Australia [ca. 1942]
  • La France Australe, New Caledonia newspaper (August 13, 1942)
• Volume 5
  • Recipe for developing film (undated)
  • United States Army bulletin regarding military information and artillery practices, "Sterling Brand" Grape Juice, and battle precautions (August 9, 1942)
  • Real photograph postcard from Fred to Mrs. Eliza Lafferty, Boston, Massachusetts (September 4, 1906)
  • New Caledonia stamp [ca. 1942]

The collection holds two loose items. The first is a letter from Frederick Lafferty to his sister Helen about his intention to send her his diaries after the conclusion of the war. The other is a printed program for a memorial service held by the Elks of Boston, Lodge No. 10. Frederick Lafferty is recognized in a list of "Deceased Brothers," 1945-1946.

Jalett Griffith of Hamlin, New York, and Gobles, Michigan, kept annual diaries about his farm labor, crops, and daily activities in the 1870s and 1880s. This collection is made up of his diaries for 1875, 1877, 1883, 1885, and 1887.

Jalett Griffith of Hamlin, New York, and Gobles, Michigan, kept 5 diaries about his daily life as a farmer in 1875, 1877, 1883, 1885, and 1887. The volumes are Excelsior pocket diaries, and Griffith wrote his 1885 journal in a diary with pre-printed dates for the year 1884. Each journal begins on January 1 and ends in January or February of the following year, with extra entries written on pages intended for memoranda and accounts. The first 4 items concern Griffith's life in Hamlin, New York, and the final item is divided between his time in Hamlin and, after April 1887, in Gobles. Griffith's brief daily entries pertain to farming life and to crops such as barley, oats, beans, potatoes, and corn. He mentioned trips to Brockport, New York, visits with family members and friends, and family and local news, as well as consistently noting weather conditions. Alice Foster Griffith, Jalett's wife, wrote brief notes in at least one of the diaries, and each volume contains financial records related to farm work. A recipe for a concoction made of lard and snuff appears in the back of one volume.

The Joseph W. Hall diary (160 pages) contains the daily reflections of a member of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery from May 15, 1864, to July 29, 1865.

The Joseph W. Hall diary (160 pages) contains the daily reflections of a member of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery, from May 15, 1864, to July 29, 1865. His typical entries are one or two sentences long. Hall noted his company's locations, daily activities, and food (rations and foraging). He also provided details on his company's role in skirmishes and battles, including the Battle of Cold Harbor (pages 8-10), the Battle of Petersburg (pages 18-20), the Siege of Petersburg (pages 43-44), and the Battle of Ream's Station (page 60-61). The following entry is a typical description of a skirmish:

"[August] 22 We laid about in our work until about noon when we advanced about a mile in the woods and halted in line of Battle[.] The Rebels crept around us and got in our rear and opened on us a galling fire[.] Everything was in confusion[.] the whole corps broke for the Breastworks and were not a moment too soon, for the Rebels were close on our works but our men rallied and repulsed them with heavy loss and held the works[.] Two of our company were taken Prisoner." (page 55)

In addition to fighting, Hall records entries on various other topics. On August 19, 1864, Hall described "talking and trading" with the Rebels instead of firing on them (page 55), and pages 62-73 cover details on army hospitals. The entry from August 18, 1864, contains a brief description of the 10th Corps, of which soldiers "were mostly negroes" (page 55). Hall discussed the Presidential election of 1864 (pages 78-79), and Lincoln's assassination (p. 132-135). Pages 128 through 155 cover the events between the fall of Richmond and Hall's eventual discharge at the end of July 1865.

At the end of the volume, after many blank pages, Hall copied recipes for medicine, including a "Diarrhea Cordial," and a cure for consumption, and listed the 82 men in the 7th New York Heavy Artillery, Battery B, along with their ranks when they enlisted in the regiment in August 1862.

Julia Parker kept this diary during a trip from her home in Reading, Massachusetts, to Florida and back between November 1869 and May 1870. The volume also contains Parker's financial records and recipes.

This diary (60 pages) recounts Julia Parker's daily experiences during a trip from her home in Reading, Massachusetts, to Florida and back between November 1869 and May 1870. The volume also contains around 16 pages of financial records pertaining to Parker's income and personal expenses in the mid-1860s, as well as 4 pages of recipes.

The bulk of the volume consists of Parker's "Journal of a winter in the South," regarding a trip she took between November 22, 1869, and May 20, 1870 (pp. 24-83). Parker commenced regular entries around November 29, 1869, after first describing her steamboat voyage from Boston to Savannah, Georgia. From Savannah, Parker traveled to Green Cove Springs, Florida, where she spent most of the season, though she also stayed in or visited Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Tallahassee, Florida. Her daily activities included playing croquet and cards, socializing with other travelers, and mending clothing. She occasionally visited African-American churches (p. 26) and helped care for an ailing African-American man; on one occasion, she mentioned a performance by a medium (p. 41).

In the spring of 1870, Parker left Florida to travel by riverboat up the Mississippi River, by way of the Gulf of Mexico. She discussed the scenery in Louisiana, noting the black workers on plantations (p. 68), and stopped in New Orleans, where she visited relatives' graves at the Giroud Street Cemetery. She continued to travel by riverboat up the Mississippi River and Ohio River to Kentucky and Ohio, where she boarded a train for New Jersey or New York. During this final leg of her journey, Parker attended a lecture by Henry Ward Beecher in New York City (p. 81). The journal concludes with Parker's arrival in Reading on May 20, 1870.

Pages 1-12, 113, and 115-118 contain accounts and other financial records. The first group of accounts pertains to Julia Parker's income, which included wages, and personal expenses, which included charitable donations and purchases of sewing supplies. Page 5 contains a list of clothing items for washing, with the name of Mrs. Tremble of Chillicothe, Ohio. Page 113 concerns money received from the former treasurer of "Reading Rill," and pages 115-118 are comprised of notes regarding United States bonds, dated as late as 1876. Pages 13-16 contain recipes for goods such as break, cakes, pies, puddings, and rolls. One entry concerns the preparation of tomatoes.

The Lyman Trumbull family papers contain personal correspondence of United States Senator Lyman Trumbull and of the family of his second wife, Mary Ingraham Trumbull. Letters primarily pertain to personal matters and family life during the 19th century, with a focus on Chicago, Illinois, during the Civil War, and Saybrook, Connecticut, home of the Ingraham family. The collection also contains a number of school notebooks, legal and financial documents, two watercolor paintings, photographs, and ephemera.

• Trumbull Family Letters
  • Lyman Trumbull Miscellaneous letters (1838-1895)
  • Lyman Trumbull to Julia Trumbull (1844-1855)
  • Julia Trumbull to Lyman Trumbull (1860-1866)
  • Lyman Trumbull to Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1869-1884)
  • Letters to Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1859-1914)
  • Miscellaneous Trumbull family letters (1850-1903)
• Ingraham-Rankin Family Letters
  • Julia Ingraham and George Rankin letters (1868-1899)
  • Miscellaneous Ingraham family letters (1824-1913)
• Letters to J. F. Uhlhorn (1860-1869)
• Mather Family Letters (1837-1893)
• Miscellaneous Letters (1834-1908)

The Trumbull Family Letters subseries contain the letters of Lyman Trumbull, Julia Trumbull, Mary Ingraham Trumbull, and various other family members.

The Lyman Trumbull Miscellaneous letters (1838-1895) contain personal correspondence, both written and received, by Lyman Trumbull. Among the items written by Trumbull are a letter describing a trip to the Minnesota wilderness, and a draft of a telegram congratulating president-elect Benjamin Harrison. Incoming correspondence includes letters from his siblings and cousins, as well as copies of letters from Abraham Lincoln and J. F. Buchanan. General Nelson Miles sent an invitation to Lyman and Robert Lincoln wrote a lengthy letter regarding the financial history of his late mother, Mary Todd Lincoln.

The Lyman Trumbull to Julia Trumbull letters (1844-1855) contains 12 letters written by Lyman to his first wife. The letters primarily discuss his health and occasionally refer to his social life.

The Julia Trumbull to Lyman Trumbull letters (1860-1866) consist of Civil War-era letters from Julia to her husband regarding her life in Chicago, where she remained while Lyman served in the United States Senate. Most of the letters focus on local social life and on the couple's children. Though some of these letters contain brief remarks on political matters, the focus on family is maintained throughout.

The Lyman Trumbull to Mary Ingraham Trumbull letters (1869-1884) are primarily personal, and include letters written both before and after Lyman's marriage to his cousin, Mary Jane Ingraham. Prior to their courtship and marriage, Lyman's letters show a certain degree of affection, and he often mentioned sending photographs and gave Mary updates about his life in Chicago. Lyman's letters following his wedding recount life in Chicago, while Mary was away visiting her family in Saybrook, Connecticut; he often asked when she planned to return to Illinois. Of particular interest is his letter of February 1, 1881, in which Lyman described the decline and death of "brother John" near Jackson, Michigan.

The Letters to Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1859-1914) comprises the largest unit of correspondence in the collection, containing approximately 290 items. It consists primarily of family letters written to Mary Ingraham (later Trumbull) throughout her life; frequent correspondents included her mother Almira, and sisters Annie and Julia. The center of the Ingraham family was Saybrook, Connecticut, where most of the letters originated. After the 1880s, friends and acquaintances wrote more letters than family members, including a letter of condolence sent on the death of Lyman Trumbull. A letter of May 8, 1910, from Emma Sickles of the Domestic Science Association includes a description and typed copy of a bill to fund educational programs for housewives, a bill the organization attempted to push through the United States Congress. The large volume of letters provides a rich family chronicle.

The Miscellaneous Trumbull family letters (1850-1903) contain correspondence of various Trumbull family members, particularly the children of Lyman Trumbull and Julia Jayne. Several letters are from the couple's sons Perry and Walter, who described various occurrences and interests. Of note are a letter from Julia to her father describing a dinner she had with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and a lengthy letter regarding economics from W. H. White, who had recently read Coin's Financial School.

The Ingraham-Rankin Family Letters subseries contains the letters of Julia Ingraham, George Rankin, and various other Ingraham family members.

The Julia Ingraham and George Rankin letters (1868-1899) are the correspondence of Lyman Trumbull's cousin and sister-in-law Julia Ingraham and her husband, George Rankin. The majority of letters date from the 1880s or later, and include a letter describing a family visit to the Trumbulls in Chicago in the summer of 1889. Though most of the letters are between Julia and George, the couple's children as well as George's mother and a cousin also corresponded.

The Miscellaneous Ingraham family letters (1824-1913) contains correspondence of the Ingraham family of Saybrook, Connecticut. Two of the Ingraham daughters, Mary (m. Lyman Trumbull) and Julia (m. George Rankin), are represented extensively elsewhere in the collection, and many of these letters relate to their father, John D. Ingraham, and brother, John D. Ingraham, Jr. John D. Ingraham wrote one letter, dated 1856, to Lyman Trumbull, and various nieces and nephews also sent letters. Much of the correspondence relates to family news and social life during the Civil War. Of particular interest is an envelope dated June 27, 1865, which contains "Folwers [sic] bought the day of Annie's funeral."

The Letters to J. F. Uhlhorn subseries (1860-1869) contains letters between James Uhlhorn; Lyman Trumbull's nephew, John Frederick Uhlhorn; and a woman, Maria, addressed as "sister." John's letters date from the early Civil War period and discuss business matters and his frequent related visits to Washington. Maria, writing from New York after 1862, discussed the declining health of their mother and other family-related news.

The Mather Family Letters subseries (1837-1893) consists primarily of letters written and received by Almira Mather Ingraham, wife of John D. Ingraham and mother-in-law of Lyman Trumbull. Her brother, Samuel Rogers Selden Mather, was one correspondent; he provided family and social news from New York. Almira wrote a letter to her brother and sister-in-law that contains a short description of proceedings surrounding a nearby execution (January 10, 1843). One item is a printed advertisement for an upcoming publication of the genealogy of the Mather family.

The Miscellaneous letters subseries (1834-1908) contains letters that are difficult to attribute, and include several unsigned items. The letters of identified authors are from John Bond to his uncle, from Charlie to a grandmother (one mentioning a death within the Ingraham family), and from M. J. Rankin to an "Aunt Mary." The collection also includes a short poem entitled "A Memory."

The Letter Book series consists of four small notebooks containing manuscript copies of official letters written by Lyman Trumbull, and copied by his second wife, Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1837-1903). Each book is only partially filled, and the volumes have additional writing that does not appear to originate with Trumbull. Several brief thoughts and sayings appear in one volume, as well as a small number of personal financial accounts. Childlike pencil drawings of houses with a few correspondence copies and a short poem are in another. The correspondence in these volumes is not duplicated elsewhere in the collection.

• The Annie Ingraham school report book (1860-1864) of various reports from the author's time at school, with a number of personal inscriptions and reminiscences in the back.
• The John D. and Annie Ingraham journal (1853; 1859) is 2 pages of journal writing from John D. Ingraham and one page of journal writing by his daughter Annie.
• The Mrs. John D. Ingraham diary (1900) has entries for the first half of 1900, which focus primarily on family visits and daily life in Saybrook, Connecticut. The diary also includes a page of accounts, several loose pages of additional entries, and letters addressed to the author.
• The Julia Ingraham autograph book (1866-1892) contains autographs from various acquaintances around Saybrook Sound, Connecticut.
• The Julia Ingraham Rankin journal and commonplace book (1883-1890) primarily documents family life in Saybrook, Connecticut, and includes entries on poetry, copied excerpts, and inserted clippings.
• The Mary J. Trumbull diary (1887-1890) documents daily life and has approximately 17 items inserted, including several letters, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.
• The Julia Ingraham Rankin notes on Shakespeare (1892) consists of various personal notes and thoughts compiled from various works of Shakespeare, including some of his most famous plays, such as "Romeo and Juliet."
• The [Julia Rankin] notebook (1911-1914) contents primarily consist of academic essays on a variety of topics, readings, and lectures. Laid in the book were a large number of manuscript poems, many attributed to other authors, and four newspaper clippings. One clipping contains a poem dedicated to "La Grippe," written by John Howard, M. D.

The Documents series (1799-1897) is a selection of items related to the career of Lyman Trumbull, including list of candidate endorsements he made, as well as various certificates. Other documents are powers of attorney, a manuscript copy of "The Whole Finance Bill," and a school report for Julia Ingraham.

The Financial papers series (1838-1913) covers a variety of topics, some of which concern the Ingraham family's involvement in shipping. A handful of documents regard the sloop Connecticut, though the majority consists of various receipts and invoices, many addressed to Mary Ingraham Trumbull after the death of her husband Lyman. Other items of interest are an inventory of Lyman's estate (February 1, 1882) and a cure "For Ivy Poisoning," written on the back of a document dated May 24, 1902.

The collection's Photographs (8 items) include a tintype, a cabinet card, and 5 photographic prints, most of which are informal pictures and studio portraits of unidentified women and children. The cabinet card photograph shows a group of men posing outside of a hardware store.

• Several people in front of Vose & Co. Hardware Store
• A portrait of two girls
• Two small, individual photographs of babies
• Three children waving American flags
• A woman in a garden
• A woman accompanied by a dog
• William W. Patton photograph album

The final item, a carte-de-visite album belonging to William W. Patton, contains 159 captioned photographs and prints, including studio portraits, pictures of Renaissance statues, reproductions of religious paintings, and illustrated views of the Alps and Switzerland; captions are also present for items that are no longer extant. Groups of studio portraits show famous persons such as John Ruskin, Thomas Carlyle, and Charles Dickens; residents of Edinburgh, Constantinople, and Cairo in native dress; and members of Patton's traveling party during an 1866 visit to Palestine. Also present are 3 images of Venetians with vibrant artificial coloring and a picture of a "Chinese Convert, Ah Ting, San Francisco." Pictured works of art include statues and paintings from collections in Venice, Florence, Rome, and the Vatican, including items by Raphael and Michelangelo; one carte-de-visite shows an early version of Thomas Ball's Emancipation Memorial statue, differing slightly from the version erected in Washington, D.C. The remaining items consist of groups of photographs and artificial illustrations of Alpine mountains and Swiss scenery; some of the Swiss scenes are colored. Additional items include a carte-de-visite collage of several landmarks within the Giant's Causeway (Ireland), a photograph of Cairo, photographs of monuments in Alexandria, and a print labeled "Procession over human bodies in Egypt."

The Watercolors series (2 items) is comprised of two paintings of pastoral scenes.

The Ephemera, Cards, and Invitations series (13 items) contains four invitations and wedding announcements (1874, 1893, 1909, and undated), two greeting cards (1900 and undated), a 1912 postcard, five calling cards (1879 and undated), and a cooking pamphlet entitled "One Master Recipe for Ten Delicacies, with many serving suggestions," by "the Lady with an Apron."

The Miscellaneous series consists of printed materials, writings, and billfolds. The printed materials (1858-1924) are newspaper clippings, a printed copy of a petition, four speeches made by Lyman Trumbull, advertisements for the Mediterranean Express Line and "The Ormond," an astrological booklet called "Were You Born in September?" (1909), reports and a constitution of the Washington Union Brotherhood, a recipe book, and a 1924 recipe card with various recipes for gelatin desserts. Several of the writings are related to Lyman Trumbull, the Ingraham family, and housekeeping. Of note are an account of the brief life of Alma Ingraham Trumbull, daughter of Lyman Trumbull and Mary Ingraham; a set of knitting instructions; several poems, including a child's work entitled "The Cake Shop Romance;" and an astrological chart. Also present is a leather Billfold with metal adornments that contains a small newspaper clipping and a calling card for Mrs. Lyman Trumbull.