Mary Farnham Diary, 1862-1863

Parent Collections

Diaries

Title

Mary Farnham Diary, 1862-1863

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.

Subject

Farnham, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, 1828-1913.

Diaries.

Families of military personnel.

Military camps -- Virginia.

Farnham Roswell 1827-1903.

Extent

102 pages

Note [Digital Version]

2022-02-17, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries

Genre

diaries

Form

nonprojected graphic

Type of Resource

text

Publisher

University of Vermont Library, Special Collections

Access Conditions [Local]

For further information please contact Special Collections, University of Vermont Libaries at uvmsc@uvm.edu.

Identifier [Local]

FarnhamMary_1862_1863

Digital Format

image/tiff