Showing 11 - 20 of 31 Records
Mary Jean Simpson Diary, 1939
-
Image nop
- Creator: Simpson, Mary Jean, 1888-1977.
- Date Created: 1939
- Description: In this diary Mary Jean spends the spring semester at UVM attending YWCA meetings, a Committee on the Worlds Fair, traveling to a Dean’s convention in Cleveland Ohio, visiting John in NYC, going to Phi Beta Kappa events, sorority luncheons, faculty meetings, and attending various student life events. Due to the busy nature of her life, some weeks in this diary are akin to a daily planner for Mary Jean. During the summer months, Mary Jean regularly goes to church, has dinner with friends, works on the Fletcher Farm, and occasionally goes out to see movies. Returning to work at UVM in the fall leaves her with a busy schedule involved in student social affairs and faculty business, once again attending regular meetings and conferences including the Ladies of Faculty, Phi Beta Kappa, and the YWCA. Ending out her year is a lively description of time spent with family around the Christmas holiday. Topics in this diary include student and faculty life at UVM, with a focus on Pan-Hellenic life, church and social life in Vermont, and brief mentions of locomotive transportation.
- Parent Collections: Diaries
Mary Farnham Diary, 1862-1863
-
Image nop
- Creator: Farnham, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, 1828-1913.
- Date Created: 1862-1863
- Description: Mary Elizabeth (Johnson) Farnham, the daughter of Ezekiel and Nancy (Rodgers) Johnson, was born in Bath, NH, on January 19, 1828. She came to Bradford with her parents at a young age and was educated at Bradford Academy and the Newbury Seminary. On December 25, 1849, she married Roswell Farnham (1827-1903) in St. Albans, Vt. They returned to Bradford to teach in the Bradford Academy, Farnham as the teacher of painting and French, and her husband as principal of the academy. The couple joined the Bradford Congregational Church in 1854 and participated in a number of its activities: both Farnhams taught in the church’s Sunday school, and Mary Farnham held a chair on its music committee and was active in its missionary efforts. Farnham spent several months during the winter of 1862-63 in Union camps near Fairfax Court House and Wolf Run Shoals, VA, with her husband, who had been appointed Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of the 12th Vermont Volunteer Regiment. Farnham returned to Vermont in April 1863 and her husband was discharged later that year, after which he entered into a career in politics. When Roswell Farnham was elected governor of Vermont in 1880, Mary Farnham became the state’s first lady and played an active role in gubernatorial social events. Farnham was involved in a number of civic organizations in her town, including Bradford’s Relief Corps. She helped found the Ladies’ Public Library and was its librarian for many years. Her interest in literature led her to enroll in the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Course, from which she graduated in 1884. She went on to earn one hundred and forty seals on her diploma and was recognized for this achievement at the 1906 Chautauqua Assembly in Chautauqua, NY. Three of Farnham’s four children lived to adulthood: Charles Cyrus Farnham (1864–1937), Florence Mary Osgood (1866–1958), and William M. Farnham (1869–1927). Her first child, Roswell Phelps Farnham Jr., died in infancy in 1861. Mary Farnham died on June 13, 1913, having suffered a stroke two weeks prior. Topics in Farnham’s diary include living conditions in Union camps and towns near the front lines, the roles and expectations of women during the American Civil War, Washington D.C. in the 1860s, mid-century modes of travel, and health and medicine during the Civil War.
- Parent Collections: Diaries
Long Pond: A History and a Diary - Westmore, VT, 1886-1903
-
Image nop
- Date Created: 1886-1903
- Description: The Long Pond Westmore diary, which spans the years 1889 to 1903, contains a partial history of a summer camp on Long Pond in Westmore, Vt., as well as inventories of the camp’s supplies and accounts of property maintenance and recreational activities undertaken by its caretakers. Topics in this diary include local flora and fauna and outdoor recreational activities, such as hiking and fishing.
- Parent Collections: Diaries
Mary Jean Simpson Diary, 1929
-
Image nop
- Creator: Simpson, Mary Jean, 1888-1977.
- Date Created: 1929
- Description: This diary is not as full as Mary Jean’s typical year but records evidence of her daily life and some fascinating moments in American history. In this diary she is busy with work but has time for several Women’s group meetings including the Daughters of the American Revolution dinner and a Women’s Union meeting in New Orleans. She witnessed the inauguration of Herbert Hoover, and her brother, John, mentions in passing some fears of the stock market in mid-October. Her summer in Vermont is quite brief but is full of gardening, dinners, and traveling around the state to speak at women’s groups. Topics of interest include American Politics, especially presidential elections and the 1929 market crash; Women’s groups in the early 20th century; and travel by train and automobile.
- Parent Collections: Diaries
Mary Jean Simpson Diary, 1944
-
Image nop
- Creator: Simpson, Mary Jean, 1888-1977.
- Date Created: 1944
- Description: This diary begins with Mary Jean getting a cast on her ankle and missing out on work and student meetings in the beginning of the year. Throughout the spring she deals with women’s issues on campus, including a past student being tried by the Washington Army Board for Insubordination and a rejection by students of the Home Economics courses. Discussion of regular lectures on conduct to her female students occur in this diary. Mary Jean also details assisting her students in getting interviews for medical school and nursing positions. Throughout the year she also mentions going to YWCA events, Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Gamma Kappa meetings, and occasional events with UVM’s President Millis. In September she included an article written about a lecture she gave to students on poor morals, underage drinking, and student promiscuity. The end of Mary Jean’s year includes descriptions of the holidays, mentions of distance created by her brother John, and worry about the grave war news. Topics in this diary include medical care and education, Vermont food, church life in Vermont, women’s issues and morals in the mid-20th century, women’s groups, and World War II.
- Parent Collections: Diaries
Mary Jean Simpson Diary, 1950
-
Image nop
- Creator: Simpson, Mary Jean, 1888-1977.
- Date Created: 1950
- Description: This diary features Mary Jean’s church and social life most prominently, with only some mention of her work on the Mortar Board society and Kake Walk affairs. Regular church attendance and the wedding of Ruth Schoppes are described throughout the diary. Mary Jean also writes a longer entry about her 62nd birthday, enjoying the festivity of it but reflecting on her age. Topics in this diary include UVM honors society programs, Kake Walk, Vermont Church life, discussion of aging, and Vermont weather patterns.
- Parent Collections: Diaries
Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1861-1862
-
Image nop
- 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
Charles H. Blinn Civil War Diary, 1862-1864
-
Image nop
- 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
Genieve Lamson Diary, 1909
-
Image nop
- 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
Mary Jean Simpson Diary, 1930
-
Image nop
- Creator: Simpson, Mary Jean, 1888-1977.
- Date Created: 1930
- Description: In this diary Mary Jean deals with some major health issues including damaged knees and a cut in her hand that landed her in the hospital for months that left much of the summer and early fall in the diary empty. Surviving a very cold winter in Washington DC, much of her daily life involves dinner parties, reading books, and visiting the movies alongside occasional visits from friends and family such as her Aunt Harriet. Mixed into descriptions of her daily life are mentions of national issues such as her brother John’s financial worries at the beginning of the Great Depression. Topics in this diary include the Great Depression, medical treatments including both home and professional remedies, and social and work life in Washington DC.
- Parent Collections: Diaries