Diaries

The Diaries collection provides access to more than thirty fully transcribed and searchable diaries from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century. The collection includes diaries documenting student life at UVM in different eras, the 1918-1919 flu epidemic, the civil war, life in Italy in the early 1860’s, courtship and marriage, social life, religious life, employment opportunities for women, travel, life at a summer cottage, and more.

Showing 21 - 30 of 32 Records

Genieve Lamson Diary, 1910-1912
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    • Creator: Lamson, Genieve, 1887-1966.
    • Date Created: 1910-1912
    • Description: Genieve Amelia Lamson was born in Randolph, Vt. to Whitcomb Elisha and Hannah Amelia (Philbrick) Lamson on April 29, 1887. Lamson graduated from Randolph High School in 1905. After graduation, she taught for four terms in Vermont district schools and for five years (until 1915) in high schools in Roselle Park, NJ and Springfield, Mass. Lamson completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Chicago, receiving her B.S. degree in 1920 and an M.S. in geography in 1922. She accepted a professorship at Vassar College in 1922 and taught in the geography department until her retirement in 1952. Lamson traveled extensively during her 20s. In 1909, she visited family and friends in the Pacific Northwest and went on several sightseeing excursions in California, Oregon, and Washington. She and her sister Gail traveled through Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in 1912, and the pair took a trip to Bermuda in 1915. Lamson was an active suffragist and was appointed by the Vermont Suffragist Association to chair the suffragist convention in Orange County in 1919. Lamson remained an active member of her community throughout her life, donating her time and money to a number of social and professional organizations. She was also a historian and choir member of Bethany Congregational Church, a sponsor of Vermont Symphony Orchestra concerts in Randolph, a member of the Randolph Woman’s Club, and a member of the Randolph Garden Club. Lamson died on September 22, 1966. Topics in Lamson’s diaries include teaching (as well as the process for becoming a certified teacher in Vermont circa 1910), major cities of the West Coast, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle; turn-of-the-century fashion and home clothes-making, the sinking of the Titanic, turn-of-the-century slang, and the local history of Randolph, Vt.
    • Parent Collections: Diaries


    Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, September 23 - December 21, 1864
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      • Creator: Marsh, Caroline Crane, 1816-1901.
      • Date Created: 1864
      • Description: The Italian ministry dissolves and reforms in this diary amid countrywide protests against the September Convention treaty and debates over proposed bills for the suppression of monasteries and tax hikes on salt and other goods. The Marshes acquire the lower floors of the Casa d’Angennes during this period and the offices of the American Legation move into those rooms shortly after. Caroline Crane Marsh continues collecting items for the U.S. Sanitary Fairs and has an audience with the Duchess of Genoa. Topics in this diary include Italian law enforcement, slavery in the United States, differences between Turin and Florence, Italian art, Italian grief and funerary practices, convents, Italian medicine, relations between the Italian social classes, crime in Italy, political relations between Italy, France, and Rome; Catholicism, marriage, traveling and tourism in Russia, the Greek War of Independence, and the royal family of Savoy.
      • Parent Collections: Caroline Crane Marsh Diaries, Vermont Diaries


      Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, March 8 - May 14, 1862
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        • Creator: Marsh, Caroline Crane, 1816-1901.
        • Date Created: 1862
        • Description: The threat of war between Italy and Austria, increasing opposition to Urbano Rattazzi and the new ministry, and new negotiations between France, Rome, and the Italian government regarding the “Roman Question” serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. The Marshes receive a visit from sculptor Hiram Powers and his family, and Green Clay arrives to replace Romaine Dillon as Secretary of the U.S. Legation, serving George Perkins Marsh alongside Marsh’s Italian secretary, Giuseppe Artoni. George Perkins Marsh completes the manuscript for his latest book, The Origin and History of the English Language, and resumes working on Man and Nature: or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action. Throughout this diary, the Marshes take sightseeing drives in and around Turin, visiting Moncalieri, the gardens at Valentino Palace, Stupenigi, Franchetti Villa, Madonna di Campagna, and Venaria Reale, among other places. Topics in this diary include Rome and the Pope, Catholicism and the prejudice against Protestantism in Italy, Princess Maria Pia, the behavior and politics of Italian royalty and elites, court etiquette in Italy and the Ottoman Empire, labor practices in Italian agriculture, education and health in rural Italy, diplomatic relations between Italians and “Northern” countries, the role of women in marriage and society in the 19th century, spiritualism, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Bettino Ricasoli, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
        • Parent Collections: Vermont Diaries, Caroline Crane Marsh Diaries


        Henry Osman Fisher Diary, 1894-1895
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          • Creator: Fisher, Henry Osman, 1872-1954.
          • Date Created: 1894-1895
          • Description: Henry Osman Fisher was born on October 23, 1872 in Addison, Vt. to Osman and Emma (Smith) Fisher. In 1894, Fisher was hired to sell Merino sheep and left Vermont for New York City. In November of that year, he and his brother-in-law, Carlton Watson Sprague, sailed to South Africa with 35 sheep. Fisher and Sprague landed in Cape Town and sold the sheep in Bloemfontein, before returning to the U.S. in April 1895. Fisher returned to South Africa the following year, selling sheep in Port Elizabeth and Molteno on behalf of C.W. Mason. Fisher made a third trip overseas in 1897, this time selling sheep in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eventually, Fisher left the sheep exporting business and returned to Vermont to run a farm in Panton, where he married Jessie May Field (1879-1967) on August 3, 1906. The couple had two children, Osman Field Fisher (1910-1993) and Ellen Bigelow (1907-1987). Fisher was a Freemason (Union Lodge No. 2, Middlebury) and was a charter member of Otter Creek Chapter No. 74 of the Order of the Eastern Star in Vergennes. Topics in this diary include the international Merino sheep trade, selling livestock in Africa and South America, the perils of turn-of-the-century sea travel, and meteorological phenomena on the Atlantic Ocean.
          • Parent Collections: Diaries


          Genieve Lamson Diary, 1908
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            • Creator: Lamson, Genieve, 1887-1966.
            • Date Created: 1908
            • Description: Genieve Amelia Lamson was born in Randolph, Vt. to Whitcomb Elisha and Hannah Amelia (Philbrick) Lamson on April 29, 1887. Lamson graduated from Randolph High School in 1905. After graduation, she taught for four terms in Vermont district schools and for five years (until 1915) in high schools in Roselle Park, NJ and Springfield, Mass. Lamson completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Chicago, receiving her B.S. degree in 1920 and an M.S. in geography in 1922. She accepted a professorship at Vassar College in 1922 and taught in the geography department until her retirement in 1952. Lamson traveled extensively during her 20s. In 1909, she visited family and friends in the Pacific Northwest and went on several sightseeing excursions in California, Oregon, and Washington. She and her sister Gail traveled through Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in 1912, and the pair took a trip to Bermuda in 1915. Lamson was an active suffragist and was appointed by the Vermont Suffragist Association to chair the suffragist convention in Orange County in 1919. Lamson remained an active member of her community throughout her life, donating her time and money to a number of social and professional organizations. She was also a historian and choir member of Bethany Congregational Church, a sponsor of Vermont Symphony Orchestra concerts in Randolph, a member of the Randolph Woman’s Club, and a member of the Randolph Garden Club. Lamson died on September 22, 1966. Topics in Lamson’s diaries include teaching (as well as the process for becoming a certified teacher in Vermont circa 1910), major cities of the West Coast, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle; turn-of-the-century fashion and home clothes-making, the sinking of the Titanic, turn-of-the-century slang, and the local history of Randolph, Vt.
            • Parent Collections: Diaries


            Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, January 1 - March 1, 1864
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              • Creator: Marsh, Caroline Crane, 1816-1901.
              • Date Created: 1864
              • Description: Mounting political and military tensions between the major powers of Europe serve as the backdrop for this diary: the Second Schleswig War breaks out, four Italians are arrested in Paris for allegedly plotting to kill Napoleon III, and “war fever” whips the rest of Europe into a frenzy. George Perkins Marsh’s brother, Charles, arrives unexpectedly in Turin and settles in with the Marshes for an extended stay. Caroline Crane Marsh closely follows the decline and death of the Marchesa Doria and Barone Giovanni Plana, two of her earliest acquaintances in Italy. The Marshes attend public lectures with their friends, and Caroline Crane Marsh collects autographs from the lecturers and other famous Italians for the U.S. Sanitary Fairs. Topics in this diary include the Count of Cavour, death and funerary practices in Italy, etiquette, the theory of evolution, women and marriage in the nineteenth century, Catholicism in Italy, the royal family of Savoy, and nineteenth-century British authors, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Charles Lamb.
              • Parent Collections: Caroline Crane Marsh Diaries, Vermont Diaries


              Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1862-1864
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                • Creator: Blinn, Charles Henry, 1843-1926.
                • Date Created: 1862-1864
                • Description: Charles Henry Blinn was born in Burlington, Vt. on January 27, 1843 to Chauncey and Edatha/Editha (Harrington) Blinn. He was educated in Vermont and was preparing to enter the University of Vermont when he entered the army. In September 21, 1861, Blinn enlisted in the 1st Vt. Cavalry. He was attached to Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps, and participated in a number of battles, including Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Winchester, and Cedar Creek. His regiment captured forty-two cannon at Cedar Creek, the largest number taken by any regiment during the war. Blinn was wounded and taken prisoner at Middletown, Va. on May 24, 1862, in a cavalry charge led by General Banks, and was held at Lynchburg and Belle Island, Va. from May 25 to September 17. After three years and four months of service, he was honorably discharged at Burlington in November 18, 1864. After the war, Blinn was chief clerk for two years at the Welden House in St. Albans, Vt. He moved to California in 1868, and for six years was employed with the Wells-Fargo Express Co. In 1875, he became an editorial writer of the “Alta California.” In 1878, he was appointed chief permit clerk in the San Francisco Custom House, a position he held until his death on May 11, 1926. On December 15, 1870, Blinn married Nellie Holbrook of Salem, NH. Nellie (d. 1909) was a suffragist and public speaker, and took the stump for Hayes, Garfield, Blaine, and Harrison. The couple had one son, Holbrook (1872-1928), who pursued a career in acting and performed on Broadway as well as in silent films. In October 8, 1910, Blinn married Vivian Bailey (d. 1944), a grammar school teacher, with whom he had one daughter, Eleanor. Topics in Blinn’s diaries include the experiences of Union soldiers in camp, on the battlefield, and as prisoners of war in Confederate prisons; the experiences of Southerners in Union-occupied towns, illness and medical practices in the military, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
                • Parent Collections: Diaries


                Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1861-1862
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                  • Creator: Blinn, Charles Henry, 1843-1926.
                  • Date Created: 1861-1862
                  • Description: Charles Henry Blinn was born in Burlington, Vt. on January 27, 1843 to Chauncey and Edatha/Editha (Harrington) Blinn. He was educated in Vermont and was preparing to enter the University of Vermont when he entered the army. In September 21, 1861, Blinn enlisted in the 1st Vt. Cavalry. He was attached to Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps, and participated in a number of battles, including Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Winchester, and Cedar Creek. His regiment captured forty-two cannon at Cedar Creek, the largest number taken by any regiment during the war. Blinn was wounded and taken prisoner at Middletown, Va. on May 24, 1862, in a cavalry charge led by General Banks, and was held at Lynchburg and Belle Island, Va. from May 25 to September 17. After three years and four months of service, he was honorably discharged at Burlington in November 18, 1864. After the war, Blinn was chief clerk for two years at the Welden House in St. Albans, Vt. He moved to California in 1868, and for six years was employed with the Wells-Fargo Express Co. In 1875, he became an editorial writer of the “Alta California.” In 1878, he was appointed chief permit clerk in the San Francisco Custom House, a position he held until his death on May 11, 1926. On December 15, 1870, Blinn married Nellie Holbrook of Salem, NH. Nellie (d. 1909) was a suffragist and public speaker, and took the stump for Hayes, Garfield, Blaine, and Harrison. The couple had one son, Holbrook (1872-1928), who pursued a career in acting and performed on Broadway as well as in silent films. In October 8, 1910, Blinn married Vivian Bailey (d. 1944), a grammar school teacher, with whom he had one daughter, Eleanor. Topics in Blinn’s diaries include the experiences of Union soldiers in camp, on the battlefield, and as prisoners of war in Confederate prisons; the experiences of Southerners in Union-occupied towns, illness and medical practices in the military, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
                  • Parent Collections: Diaries


                  Genieve Lamson Diary, 1909
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                    • Creator: Lamson, Genieve, 1887-1966.
                    • Date Created: 1909
                    • Description: Genieve Amelia Lamson was born in Randolph, Vt. to Whitcomb Elisha and Hannah Amelia (Philbrick) Lamson on April 29, 1887. Lamson graduated from Randolph High School in 1905. After graduation, she taught for four terms in Vermont district schools and for five years (until 1915) in high schools in Roselle Park, NJ and Springfield, Mass. Lamson completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Chicago, receiving her B.S. degree in 1920 and an M.S. in geography in 1922. She accepted a professorship at Vassar College in 1922 and taught in the geography department until her retirement in 1952. Lamson traveled extensively during her 20s. In 1909, she visited family and friends in the Pacific Northwest and went on several sightseeing excursions in California, Oregon, and Washington. She and her sister Gail traveled through Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in 1912, and the pair took a trip to Bermuda in 1915. Lamson was an active suffragist and was appointed by the Vermont Suffragist Association to chair the suffragist convention in Orange County in 1919. Lamson remained an active member of her community throughout her life, donating her time and money to a number of social and professional organizations. She was also a historian and choir member of Bethany Congregational Church, a sponsor of Vermont Symphony Orchestra concerts in Randolph, a member of the Randolph Woman’s Club, and a member of the Randolph Garden Club. Lamson died on September 22, 1966. Topics in Lamson’s diaries include teaching (as well as the process for becoming a certified teacher in Vermont circa 1910), major cities of the West Coast, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle; turn-of-the-century fashion and home clothes-making, the sinking of the Titanic, turn-of-the-century slang, and the local history of Randolph, Vt.
                    • Parent Collections: Diaries


                    Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, May 16 - July 24, 1862
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                      • Creator: Marsh, Caroline Crane, 1816-1901.
                      • Date Created: 1862
                      • Description: The Marshes travel extensively in this diary, passing through Biella and other Alpine towns as they hike and explore the region. On a trip to Florence, the Marshes reconnect with Hiram Powers, who sculpts a bust of Caroline Crane Marsh over several sittings. At one point between trips, the Marshes receive a visit from Lady Caroline Estcourt and her sisters in Turin. Topics in this diary include tourism and hospitality in Italy and the Alps, agriculture and rural industry in Italy, Italian court etiquette, relations between the Italian social classes, Italian marriages, Mexican politics, the Crimean War, and the effects of the American Civil War on Italy. This diary also covers several topics relating to religion in Italy, including persecution, legal protection, religious neutrality in diplomacy, religious celebrations, charitable works, and religious orders.
                      • Parent Collections: Caroline Crane Marsh Diaries, Vermont Diaries