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Spiritualist medium and writer Achsa W. Sprague maintained this diary between 1855 and 1857 while touring on a lecture circuit around Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New York. She recorded her daily experiences, travels, and work lecturing and conducting medium trances. The latter portion of the volume was used by Lloyd N. Josselyn as an account book between 1880 and 1908, likely while farming in the Plymouth, Vermont, area.

Spiritualist medium and writer Achsa W. Sprague maintained this diary between 1855 and 1857 while touring on a lecture circuit around Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New York. She recorded her daily experiences, travels, and work lecturing and conducting medium trances.

Sprague began writing in Hartford, Connecticut, with commentary about her decision to keep the diary and brief reflections about being healed by "Spirit Agency" and taking up the work of "a Public Speaking Medium" (pages 1-2). She referenced her former confinement due to poor health several times in the volume (pages 8-9; 59; 76-77; 128). Sprague expressed gratitude about spirits' intervention and her ability to convene with them. For example, she wrote, "This is the most beautiful part of my mediumship, that which others do not see, that which is never spoken, but which is felt in every fibre of my soul giving a richness to life which it never had before, & a tinge of Heaven to light my path where all before was dim & shadowy. A blessing to me physically, mentally, morally, intellectually & spiritually have been these Spirits Manifestations." (pages 14-15).

Throughout the diary, Sprague noted the locations of her lectures, attendance, and the crowd's reception. She visited major cities, such as Hartford, Boston, Troy, and Philadelphia, but principally travelled between mid-sized and smaller locales. Occasionally Sprague remarked on the influence of the spirit upon her during her public meetings (pages 6-7). She attended smaller events, too, like a gathering of some twenty people, including Samuel Colt and William H. Burleigh, who met at 11:30 p.m. (page 11), or a private examination of Gerrit Smith's wife (page 14). She noted meeting one-on-one with other mediums to manifest spirits together (page 16) and included thoughts on other "Public Mediums" (page 23).

While touring, Sprague noted anti-Spiritualist lecturers and sentiments (pages 67-66; 83; 116; 149-50; 168-169), but she also wrote of preachers from Christian denominations who were open to Spiritualism or invited her to join them in their churches (page 145). Sprague recorded logistical details of her work, such as travel, housing, and securing sites for her lectures.

Sprague commented on social and professional visits with individuals active in Spiritualist circles, including Sementha Mettler (page 4); Lottie Beebe, a woman who "is said while under the Influence to give beautiful specimens of poetry & sometimes has other manifestations" (page 11); and "Sleeping Lucy" Cooke (page 54), among others. She described other mediums' techniques, like Mettler's "psychometriz[ation]," where she read people's characters based on their handwriting (page 17), or a detailed description of a "physical manifestation" (pages 109-111). Sprague referenced other mediums who used spirit influence to produce poetry, paintings, and drawings (pages 87; 107-108; 162), and she attended a Spiritualist convention at South Royalton, Vermont (pages 146-147).

At times her entries provide insight into some of her critiques about Spiritualism. She referred several times to her support for "practical Spiritualism" (page 79), and she took issue with "the thoroughly scientific or business men who become believers & advocates of this Philosophy; with all their knowledge, make not half as good actors, either as Lecturers or as practical doers, as many who have been less known in the world" (page 23). In another entry she rejected arguments connecting Spiritualism and Free Love (page 100).

Sprague wrote about being invited to funerals (pages 33-36; 114-115), attending to the dying (pages 85-86; 154-155), and speaking with the bereaved (pages 72-73). She also reflected on the death of her own family members and her belief in their role as Guardian Angels (pages 62-63). She recorded her feelings about the impact her mediumship could effect on those facing death and grief, writing, "I have been with the wretched & suffering, but I have tried to sooth their agony, I have heard many a tale of a broken heart, but I have striven to bind them, & give them the balm of consolation, I have stood by the bedside of the dying, & have watched when the breath went out & left even the forms I loved so well cold, still & silent, but I knew they did not die, that they only bloomed for a higher Sphere..." (page 158)

Several passages reflect her authorship, such as working on an article for the New England Spiritualist, decisions to write under a pen-name for a local Vermont newspaper, noticing some of her pieces were being reprinted, meeting with individuals active in Spiritualist publishing networks, and other mentions of publication (pages 53-55; 64; 74; 87; 92-93; 98-99; 102; 106; 140). Periodically, Sprague noted texts she was reading, both works of literature and those relating to Spiritualism, and she was particularly delighted while staying with a family who appreciated reading "Shelley, Tennyson, Lowell &c... But now that the weather is pleasant again I find that I am public property, & shall be obliged in a great degree to bid good bye to the quiet happiness of listening to the poets & enter into the realities of life. Well it is right to mingle in lifes realities. I Thank God for the beautiful inspirations I have listened to, but more still, for the beautiful inspirations that come to me at morn, at noon, at night from unsung poets & philosophers, even the Angel Messengers He sends. And more, still more, that it is given me to mingle with the realities of life & give them forth to the suffering children of humanity. And as far as my imperfect nature will allow me, to carry the teachings out in my own every day life, & bring them into its practicalities" (page 174). Throughout the diary she wrote introspectively about being of service, using her time profitably, and living up to her higher purpose.

Sprague's interest in social reform is also documented in the volume, in visits to the Hartford "Asylum for educating the Deaf & Dumb" (page 3), concern for the poor (pages 18-21; 49; 55; 79; 119; 140; 162; 164-7; 169-70), women's rights (pages 37-39), and prisons (pages 104-105; 170-1; 176-8). She met Lucretia Mott at a women's antislavery meeting (page 175).

Descriptions of daily life include commentary on weather and nature as well as her health and that of her family, revealing Sprague's interest in various medicinal practices such as magnetism (pages 4 and 162) and healing mediums (pages 28 and 160). While at home with her parents in Vermont, she wrote of social visits, her parents' living situation, and local requests for her to speak, including at a wedding where "A song through me from the Spirit Land concluded the services" (page 43). While on her lecture circuit, she also commented on cities she visited. For example, in Hartford she visited the "Charter Oak" and Lydia H. Sigourney's former residence (pages 4-6); in Salem, Massachusetts, she commented on how the history of the witch trials was handled in the community (page 121). She wrote of meeting a Shaker woman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, (page 122) and seeing Edwin Forrest perform in Providence (page 173). While in Philadelphia, she toured local landmarks, attended Quaker meetings and Catholic services, and visited the Academy of Fine Arts with Samuel Sartain (135). After trying to see Benjamin Franklin's burial spot, she lamented the high walls surrounding it and concluded, "There is too great a tendency in the human mind to seek the grave of the mighty dead & follow them no further" (page 138).

The diary bears pencil marks of a later hand, possibly that of Leonard Twynham indicating passages for publication. The latter portion of the volume was used by Lloyd N. Josselyn as an account book between 1880 and 1908, likely while farming in the Plymouth, Vermont, area. He documented expenditures mostly for household goods and clothing, animal care, foodstuffs, agricultural labor, taxes, digging graves and purchase of headstone, house and vehicle upkeep, etc.

This collection is primarily made up of letters between members of the Washburn family of Worcester, Connecticut, including Massachusetts governor Emory Washburn, his wife Marianne, and their children Emory, Charles, and Marianne. Emory Washburn also wrote letters to various individuals during his time as a professor at Harvard Law School.

This collection is made up of around 125 letters between and to members of the Washburn family of Worcester, Connecticut, including Massachusetts governor Emory Washburn, his wife Marianne, and their children Emory, Charles, and Marianne. The bulk of the collection is comprised of love letters that Emory and Marianne Washburn wrote to each other during their courtship and marriage (1830-1851). Many of Emory Washburn's letters were addressed to Marianne in Walpole, New Hampshire. They corresponded about their social lives, family news, and travel in New England and New York. Occasionally, they reported their recent activities, such as Emory's letter to his children about his visit to the Mayflower landing site in Plymouth, Massachusetts (December 3, 1844). Later items often pertain to the health and activities of their children, and the collection has a series of letters between Emory Washburn and his daughter Marianne. Other correspondence includes letters between the Washburn children, often enclosed in their parents' letters to one another. Emory Washburn also wrote a series of later letters to various acquaintances during his tenure at Harvard (1859-1875).

George Hamilton's 1783-1785 journals record his travels in England and the United States and describe the modes of transportation, the local inhabitants and businesses, and the landscapes of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. His 1786 journal chronicles his early life, from birth to his trip to America.

The George Hamilton papers contain five journals that record Hamilton's travels in England and the United States between 1783 and 1785, and a journal written in 1786 that chronicles his early life, from birth to his return to England. The journals are full of details and opinions about the people he met and lifestyles he observed in London, on board ship, and in the eastern United States. He recorded details on American culture and city life, as well as on modes of transportation and the physical features of the land. Hamilton commented on some of the battles and incidents of the American Revolution, which had just recently ended, and related amusing anecdotes of various adventures and notable characters he met during his travels.

The first diary (May 9, 1783-March 1784, 50 pages) documents his trip from London to America in the spring of 1783, and his trip between Philadelphia and Richmond. The journal is full of descriptions of the characters he met on his journey. For instance, on page 7, Hamilton playfully described a fellow passenger named Foulke: "He has the affected beliefs of the Frenchman with the rough plainness of the Quaker. The rancor of a Whig with the servility of a Tory, and the illiberality of a Methodist with the principles of a Deist." The journal's last page includes a list of towns where Hamilton stopped during his travels in Pennsylvania and Virginia; he marked the towns with good and bad taverns.

The second item (October 16-November 8, 1783, 14 pages) is a daily diary of his trip from Philadelphia to Mahoning Creek and the Susquehanna, 85 miles from their starting point. Along the way, Hamilton wrote of his interactions with the local population and described, in detail, the natural beauty of the area (rivers, mountains, cascades etc.). He also provided his impressions of the Moravians in the frontier town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The third item (May 12-28, 1784, 20 pages) contains entries from Hamilton's "Tour to the Northward," which document travels from Philadelphia through Trenton, New Jersey; to Princeton (where he noted the gardens, storms, and locals meals); to Elizabeth Town; New York City; Long Island; and finally Connecticut. About New York City he wrote: "all the woods being cut down, the fields neglected and the fencing carried away. The Town is by no means remarkable for elegant streets or handsome buildings. The streets are irregular and excessively dirty" (page 9). He also mentioned a statue of King George that had been severely vandalized.

The fourth item (July 17-August 1, 1784, 31 pages) documents Hamilton's travels from Long Island to Boston and throughout New England and the eastern part or New York (Albany, Saratoga, Fishkill). He stopped at Stillwater, New York, and remarked that the British General John Burgoyne had penetrated this far north (to 27 miles from Albany) "…where the German lines were forced by a lucky mad strike of Arnold. Upon this they retreated to Saratoga" (page 29). He journeyed as far north as Fort Edward near Saratoga Springs. Throughout these pages, he recounted events of the Revolutionary war, including a detailed, though second hand, eyewitness account of George Washington's resignation of his commission to Congress (page 11). He also mentioned Generals Greene, Cornwallis, and Clinton.

The fifth item (1784-May 29, 1785, 28 pages and 29 blank pages) is the final travel journal. Hamilton started it in Ticonderoga and continued his entries while traveling to Mount Independence, and eventually to Niagara Falls.

The sixth item is a 14-page reflection on Hamilton's early life, written from Edinburgh, June 29, 1786. He noted that his mother died when he was two years old, that his father had wanted him to join the church. He wrote about his education and travels through 1783, when he set off from London for America.

This journal recounts Boston native George M. Barnard's trips to the Atlantic seaboard and to London, England, in the 1820s and 1830s.

This journal recounts Boston native George M. Barnard's trips to the Atlantic seaboard and to London, England, in the 1820s and 1830s. The first page contains a list of places that Barnard visited, including England, New England, several Mid-Atlantic states, and three Caribbean islands.

Barnard first traveled from Boston to London, where he met with several acquaintances and toured the Tower of London, London Bridge, and Westminster Abbey. A man fell overboard during his return voyage to the United States (February 22, 1824). Barnard later briefly visited Tiverton, Rhode Island, where he spent much of his time on the beach and saw "some figures of men cut in rocks supposed to have been made by Indians" (June 10, 1824).

Between April 20 and May 31, 1825, Barnard took an extensive trip as far south as Murfreesboro, North Carolina, passing through and commenting on New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Norfolk. He traveled both by steamboat and by carriage, and frequently mentioned routes as well as people he encountered. While in the South, Barnard observed the conditions of slaves, and in Murfreesboro he witnessed "a great many slaves at work on the plantation, they live in wretched little log houses that appear to be but little bigger than a dog's kennel & furnished about the same" (April 29, 1824). He also noticed slave children dressed only in rags (May 1, 1824). He also visited Washington, D. C., and Mount Vernon, where he commented on the state of Washington's tomb (May 8, 1824). He continued to New York City, where he toured a factory, and returned to Boston on May 31.

After discussing a short trip to Goshen, New Hampshire, Barnard detailed a pedestrian trip from Boston to Francistown, New Hampshire, where he was accompanied by George Bond. They passed through Lowell, Massachusetts. After spending around 10 days in Worcester, Massachusetts, Barnard traveled through the wilderness of Maine to St. Andrews, New Brunswick. In Eastport, Maine, he observed a Native American in a birch canoe (August 3, 1830).

On a longer journey from December 1830-July 1831, Barnard voyaged around the West Indies, spending much time in the present-day Virgin Islands, particularly Saint Croix. He described scenery, a funeral, and a foot injury. While traveling home, he visited Puerto Rico and noted several of the island's products. On his final trip in 1832, Barnard went to Norfolk, Virginia, traveling through swamp land. In northern Virginia, he observed local commerce, particularly the cotton trade.

A German-language ticket for passage form Hamburg, Germany, to Boston, Massachusetts, is laid into the volume (1833).

This collection is made up of one diary of Robert Waterston of Boston, Massachusetts, and a diary of his son, Unitarian minister Robert Cassie Waterston. Robert C. Waterston kept his diary from May 1, 1832, to March 27, 1833. He wrote about attendance at meetings for The Association for Religious Improvement, religion, literature, life, philosophy, travel in New England (with a corresponding mileage log and related expenses), and weather observations. The elder Robert Waterson kept his diary between February 10 and April 7, 1861. He reflected on national politics, the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, secession, and the Civil War. He also noted weather observations and provided frequent religious mediations.

This collection is made up of one diary of Robert Waterston of Boston, Massachusetts, and a diary of his son, Unitarian minister Robert Cassie Waterston. Robert C. Waterston kept his diary from May 1, 1832, to March 27, 1833. He wrote about attendance at meetings for The Association for Religious Improvement, religion, literature, life, philosophy, travel in New England (with a corresponding mileage log and related expenses), and weather observations.

The elder Robert Waterson kept his diary between February 10 and April 7, 1861. He reflected on national politics, the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, secession, and the Civil War. He also noted weather observations, provided frequent religious mediations, and included a log of letters sent and received. On the rear cover are "A Few of the Last Words of Baron Bunson", attributed to "Review Chretienne, 15 December 1860".