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.

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Miniature of Cephas Kent, Jr. Diary, Undated
Cephas Kent, Jr. Diary, Undated
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    • Creator: Kent, Cephas, Jr., 1754-1813.
    • Date Created: undated
    • Description: Cephas Kent Jr. was born on April 2, 1754 in Suffield, CT (Colony) to Cephas and Hannah (Spencer) Kent. In 1773, Kent moved with his family to what later became Dorset, Vt., where his father, a deacon as well as a tavern owner, took an active role in the American and Vermont independence movements. Kent enlisted in the Continental Army during the summer of 1775 and served as an aide-de-camp on General Montgomery’s staff. His primary responsibilities included cooking and caring for the officers’ baggage, but he also participated in several skirmishes, taking up arms at decisive moments during the Siege of Fort St. Jean. On January 30, 1779, Kent married Lydia Sheldon and the couple had several children. Kent died in Dorset on January 9, 1813. The first part of Kent’s diary details his religious experiences between the ages of 12 and 21, while the remainder describes his participation in the Continental Army’s campaign into Canada in 1775, especially the Siege of Fort St. Jean (“St. Johns”).
    • Parent Collections: Diaries
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    Miniature of Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1861-1862
    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
      Part of: Diaries
      Miniature of Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1862-1864
      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
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        Miniature of Chester Way Diary, 1918
        Chester Way Diary, 1918
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          • Creator: Way, Chester Murray, 1897-1973.
          • Date Created: 1918
          • Description: Chester Murray Way was born on November 12, 1897 to Harry Abel and Helen (Phelps) Way. He attended Burlington High School and later enrolled at the University of Vermont, graduating in 1922 with a degree in economics. During his time at UVM, Way was a member of the Alpha Lambda chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Burlington chapter of the YMCA, and the editorial board for The Vermont Cynic. He also took part in UVM’s Student Army Training Corps, completing part of his service during the 1918 influenza pandemic. After college, Way ran a farm and became involved in several Vermont businesses, including the Green Mountain Mutual Fire Insurance Co. in Montpelier, the Fli-Rite School of Aviation in Swanton, and his father’s business, the Porter Screen Company, in Burlington. In 1944, Way purchased an inn in Middlebury, Vt. and renamed it the Waybury Inn; the inn was later used as a location for exterior shots for the television show Newhart. Way and his wife, Marjorie Holbrook Scott (m. 1928) were living in Middlebury at the time of Way’s death on October 4, 1973. Topics in Way’s diaries include the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, fraternities at the University of Vermont, Kake Walk, World War One and UVM’s SATC program, Vermont farm life, and male friendships and relationships in the early twentieth century.
          • Parent Collections: Diaries
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          Miniature of Chester Way Diary, 1919
          Chester Way Diary, 1919
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            • Creator: Way, Chester Murray, 1897-1973.
            • Date Created: 1919
            • Description: Chester Murray Way was born on November 12, 1897 to Harry Abel and Helen (Phelps) Way. He attended Burlington High School and later enrolled at the University of Vermont, graduating in 1922 with a degree in economics. During his time at UVM, Way was a member of the Alpha Lambda chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Burlington chapter of the YMCA, and the editorial board for The Vermont Cynic. He also took part in UVM’s Student Army Training Corps, completing part of his service during the 1918 influenza pandemic. After college, Way ran a farm and became involved in several Vermont businesses, including the Green Mountain Mutual Fire Insurance Co. in Montpelier, the Fli-Rite School of Aviation in Swanton, and his father’s business, the Porter Screen Company, in Burlington. In 1944, Way purchased an inn in Middlebury, Vt. and renamed it the Waybury Inn; the inn was later used as a location for exterior shots for the television show Newhart. Way and his wife, Marjorie Holbrook Scott (m. 1928) were living in Middlebury at the time of Way’s death on October 4, 1973. Topics in Way’s diaries include the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, fraternities at the University of Vermont, Kake Walk, World War One and UVM’s SATC program, Vermont farm life, and male friendships and relationships in the early twentieth century.
            • Parent Collections: Diaries
            Part of: Diaries
            Miniature of Erastus Root Diary, 1815-1818
            Erastus Root Diary, 1815-1818
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              • Creator: Root, Erastus, 1789-1829.
              • Date Created: 1815-1818
              • Description: Erastus Root was born on January 9, 1789 to Timothy and Patience (Gleason) Barber Root in Guilford, Vt. After two years of study under the tutelage of Rev. Jason Chamberlain, Root enrolled at Williams College in 1809, before transferring to the University of Vermont in 1811 to continue studying with Chamberlain, who had been elected UVM’s Professor of Learned Languages in the interim. Root graduated from UVM with a bachelor’s degree in 1814 and spent the next three years studying medicine: he began his studies with Dr. Willard Arms of Brattleboro for a year and a half, then returned to UVM in the fall of 1815 to attend their medical lectures and continue his studies with Dr. John Pomeroy, and finally completed his studies at Dartmouth College, receiving his medical license in 1817. Root eventually moved to Boston, where he married Lucinda Jacobs on February 1, 1821. The couple had one daughter before Lucinda’s death in 1822 and Root’s death in New York on February 24, 1829. Topics in Root’s diary include UVM’s medical program in early nineteenth century, John Pomeroy, early nineteenth-century medical practices, teaching in Vermont in early nineteenth century, and modes of travel in the early nineteenth century.
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              Miniature of Genieve Lamson Diary, 1908
              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
                Part of: Diaries
                Miniature of Genieve Lamson Diary, 1909
                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
                  Part of: Diaries
                  Miniature of Genieve Lamson Diary, 1910-1912
                  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
                    Part of: Diaries
                    Miniature of Henry Osman Fisher Diary, 1894-1895
                    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
                      Part of: Diaries