Search

The Asa Waldo Wildes daybook contains an account of his 1857 trip from Detroit to Michigan's Upper Peninsula via Lake Huron and Lake Superior, as well as poetry, financial accounts, and a draft of an 1857 survey report.

The Asa Waldo Wildes daybook contains an account of his 1857 trip from Detroit to Michigan's Upper Peninsula via Lake Huron and Lake Superior, as well as poetry, financial accounts, and a draft of an 1857 survey report.

The daybook opens with a note regarding the death of Wildes's young son Francis on September 17, 1849, accompanied by a pair of short poems; other poetry, dated 1857 and 1858, appears on the next 11 pages. The next segment consists of a 28-page draft of a survey made for the Marquette & Ontonagon Railroad.

A 38-page account concerns Wildes's journey to the Upper Peninsula on the steamer Illinois, beginning May 18, 1857. Wildes wrote about the 1812 Siege of Detroit, seen through the eyes of a War of 1812 veteran (pp. 11-12), but focused primarily on the sights and people encountered along Michigan's eastern and northern coasts. He described both American and Canadian cities along the lakeshore, and on one occasion detailed his interactions with local Indian traders, whom he met near Saginaw Bay. Despite its springtime start, the Illinois frequently encountered ice while on Lake Superior and became trapped on several occasions before reaching Fort Wilkins and Portage Charter Township. Once on land, Wildes focused on natural resources, paying special attention to the local copper and iron industries along Lake Superior's southern coast and around L'Anse, Michigan, where he concluded his narrative. The volume concludes with poetry and financial accounts related to the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, dated as late as 1864.

This collection contains responses to a series of 66 questions posed by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture regarding farming practices and production in Danvers, Massachusetts. The responses, provided by local residents and collected by the Danvers Agricultural Society, concern aspects of farming life such as environmental conditions, farmers' practices, and production figures for specific crops and animals.

This collection (11 items) contains responses to a series of 66 questions posed by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture regarding farming practices and production in Danvers, Massachusetts. Specific topics include the arability of local land, types and numbers of crops grown and products produced, practices related to cattle and sheep, and the use of manure. The first item, a reminder about an upcoming meeting, also has brief notes from a previous meeting (August 13, 1814). The remaining items relate to the farming survey, including an undated 10-page booklet with Ebenezer Putnam's answers to questions 37-42. The booklet includes a draft of the Danvers Agricultural Society's official response to the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, written by Andrew Nichols ([January 14, 1815]).

• Anonymous: 12 questions numbered between 10 and 40
• Anonymous: Questions 42-47
• George Osgood: Questions 49-54
• John Perry: Questions 31-36
• Ward Pool: Questions 42-48
• Johnson Proctor: Questions 1-6
• Simeon Putnam: Questions 19-24
• [Thorndike] Proctor: Questions 13-18
• [Jonathan] Walcut: Questions 55-60

Descriptions of Oyster Survey Signals, State of New York is a two-volume survey of signals located along the north coast of Long Island in the 1880s and early 1890s. The volumes contain descriptions of each signal (written by multiple individuals), drawings, and maps.

Descriptions of Oyster Survey Signals, State of New York (600 pages, not all of which are used) is a two-volume survey of signals located along the north coast of Long Island in the 1880s. Each volume is 300 pages long and has a title and the names of Eugene G. Blackford and W. G. Ford., Jr., stamped in gold on the front cover. Together, the volumes comprise a survey of many oyster signals, arranged alphabetically by name.

Most descriptions are dated 1881-1887, but the commission revisited some signals as late as 1892. Each entry contains a detailed description of a signal's location and composition (painted poles, flags, etc.). Some entries note the signal's distance from nearby towns or its location along bays and inlets. Manuscript maps and drawings of signals and their locations are present throughout the volumes. Descriptions are attributed to various persons, including J. P. Bogart, G. Bradford, W. C. Hodgkins, Charles Hosmer, I. C. McCorkle, J. A. Sullivan, C. H. Van Orden, and Charles Wyeth. Each volume contains a print of a tripod signal topped with flags.