Diaries
Collection Overview
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...
Show moreThe 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 much more. Brief descriptions of the diaries and diarists are below, with more detailed information available within the collection along with images and transcriptions of the diaries.
Cephas Kent (1754-1813), late 18th century diary. 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”).
Erastus Root (1789-1829), medical student diary covering 1815-1818. Topics in Root’s diary include UVM’s medical program, John Pomeroy, medical practices, teaching, and modes of travel in the early nineteenth century.
Chester Way (1897-1973), two student diaries from 1918 and 1919. Topics in Way’s diaries include the 1918 influenza pandemic, fraternities at the University of Vermont, Kake Walk, World War One and UVM’s SATC program, Vermont farm life in 1918, and male friendships and relationships in the early twentieth century.
Roswell Farnham (1827-1903), UVM student diary covering 1848-1849. Topics in this diary include the curriculum, faculty, and student experience at UVM in the late 1840s; Burlington and neighboring towns in the late 1840s, UVM’s Lambda Iota fraternity, Zachary Taylor and the Whig Party, and teaching in Vermont and Canada in the mid-nineteenth century. Near the end of the diary are several essays written by Farnham during his senior year at UVM. Topics in these essays include religion, natural history, and King Lear.
Mandana White Goodenough (1826-1924), diary covering 1844-1845 and part of 1861. Topics in this diary include employment opportunities for women in the 1840s, courtship and marriage, illness and death, and the beliefs and practices of Christians in mid-nineteenth-century Vermont.
Mary S. Davis Kelley (1866-1917), diary covering 1883-1893. Topics in this diary include women’s health and other subjects relating to health and medicine; the experiences of working women circa 1890, turn-of-the-century courtship and marriages, and the local social and cultural history of Fairlee, Vt.
Genieve Lamson (1887-1966), three diaries covering 1908-1912. 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.
Charles Blinn (1843-1926), two civil war diaries covering 1861-1864. 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.
Mary Farnham (1828-1913), civil war diary covering 1862-1863. 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.
H.O. Fisher (1872-1954), diary covering 1894-1897. 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 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. 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.
Long Pond, Westmore, diary of a summer camp covering 1889-1903. 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.
Caroline Crane Marsh (1816-1901), seventeen diaries covering 1861-1865. Caroline Crane Marsh’s diaries (1861-1865) document the Marshes’ day-to-day lives during their time in Italy, particularly during their stay in Turin, when Caroline’s husband, George Perkins Marsh, began his long tenure (1861-1882) as U.S. Minister to the Kingdom of Italy. Topics in the Italian diaries include the American Civil War, race and slavery, Catholicism, European political and social relations, British-American political relations, Napoleon III and Second French Empire, King Victor Emmanuel II and Italian politics, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Italian nationalism, religious and funerary practices in Italy, the status and treatment of women in Italy and elsewhere, problems within and interactions between the Italian social classes, the experiences of Protestants, Jews, and rural peasants in Italy; health and medicine in Italy, Italian industries and agricultural practices, the Italian education system, the Italian language, crime and punishment in Italy, Italian fashion and etiquette, tourism and hospitality in Italy and the Alps, popular books and reading habits during the 1860s, George Perkins Marsh’s diplomatic and scholarly activities in Italy, and the everyday experiences of upper and lower-class Italians.
The diaries in this collection were largely transcribed during the work-from-home portion of the Covid-19 pandemic by Special Collections staff (Ingrid Bower, Erin Doyle, Hannah Johnson, Sharon Thayer) and students (Ella Breed, Dorothy Dye, Ibrahim Genzhiyev, Tabitha Ireifej, Mike Maloney). Transcription work on the Caroline Crane Marsh diaries was greatly aided by previous work conducted by Mary Alice Lowenthal.
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Sub-collections
Additional Content
- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, August 3 - October 21, 1863
- Date Created
- 1863
- Description
-
George Perkins Marsh becomes dean of the Italian diplomatic corps in this diary, following the recall of English ambassador Sir James Hudson. Diplomatic relations between Rome and Turin deteriorate during this period, while France’s interference in Mexico bears fruit with the crowning of Emperor...
Show moreGeorge Perkins Marsh becomes dean of the Italian diplomatic corps in this diary, following the recall of English ambassador Sir James Hudson. Diplomatic relations between Rome and Turin deteriorate during this period, while France’s interference in Mexico bears fruit with the crowning of Emperor Maximilian I. The Marshes travel extensively in this diary, taking trips into the Alps and the South of France.Topics in this diary include tourism and hospitality in Italy and Southern France, education in Italy, communication methods in rural Italy, agriculture and land ownership in Italy and France, foreign enlistment in the American Civil War, crime and punishment in Italy and France, the experiences of the Italian peasantry, erosion and land management in Southern France, French art and architecture, the effects of American Civil War on other countries, divorce in the 19th century, language and accents, diplomatic etiquette, and Christianity, especially Catholicism.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, December 23, 1864 - February 21, 1865
- Date Created
- 1864-1865
- Description
-
This six-page diary records the Marshes’ final days in Turin and their move to Florence in 1865. Topics in this diary include King Victor Emmanuel, Italian art and music, and tourism in Italy.
- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, January 1 - March 1, 1864
- 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...
Show moreMounting 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.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, January 1 - March 7, 1862
- Date Created
- 1862
- Description
-
The international political climate remains unsettled in this diary: political unrest continues across Europe and war seems imminent between England and the United States in the wake of the Trent Affair. The Italian political scene, however, becomes quite turbulent during the period:...
Show moreThe international political climate remains unsettled in this diary: political unrest continues across Europe and war seems imminent between England and the United States in the wake of the Trent Affair. The Italian political scene, however, becomes quite turbulent during the period: demonstrations in favor of national unification break out across Italy, the Italian ministry is dissolved, Bettino Ricasoli steps down, and Urbano Rattazzi becomes the new prime minister. Throughout all of this, the Marshes stay in Turin and continue to meet Italian elites and foreign nationals, including Rosa Arbesser, governess to Princess Margherita of Savoy. They also renew their acquaintance with Hungarian exile Lajos Kossuth and his family. The Marshes attend several political and social gatherings during this period and play their part in the Doria-Benedetti feud, “the social revolt against France” by the Torinese elites.
Topics in this diary include the status and problems of Italian women, the role of women in marriage and society in the 19th century, Italian marriages and the influence of the Catholic church on marriage, education in Italy, the etiquette of Italian royalty and elites, Catholicism, and the celebration of Carnival in Italy.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, July 24 - October 10, 1862
- Date Created
- 1862
- Description
-
Political unrest in Italy punctuates the events in this diary: Garibaldi’s failed attack on Rome (the Battle of Aspromonte) ends with his injury and surrender and the arrest of Ferenc Pulszky; demonstrations break out across Italy and martial law is declared in Sicily, and France refuses to give...
Show morePolitical unrest in Italy punctuates the events in this diary: Garibaldi’s failed attack on Rome (the Battle of Aspromonte) ends with his injury and surrender and the arrest of Ferenc Pulszky; demonstrations break out across Italy and martial law is declared in Sicily, and France refuses to give a definitive answer on the “Roman Question.” In the United States, President Lincoln announces that he will issue the Emancipation Proclamation in early 1863. These months prove eventful for the Marshes, as well. They move out of the Casa d’Angennes and take a trip to Switzerland, passing in and out of the Alps as they tour the country. After a quick trip to London to see his publishers, George Perkins Marsh rejoins his wife and niece in Switzerland and returns with them to Italy, stopping for a time in Como.Topics in this diary include education at Italian universities, political sentiments among Italian elites, relations between the Italian social classes, Italian etiquette, agriculture and rural industry in Italy and Switzerland, tourism and hospitality in Italy and Switzerland, Alpine avalanches, the English Colonial Society and English church services in Switzerland, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the marriage of Princess Maria Pia.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, June 14 - August 2, 1863
- Date Created
- 1863
- Description
-
Tensions between the major European powers, a French victory in Puebla, draft riots in New York City, and the American Civil War battles of the summer of 1863 serve as the backdrop for this diary. The Marshes receive visits at Piobesi from several friends, including writer and journalist Anna...
Show moreTensions between the major European powers, a French victory in Puebla, draft riots in New York City, and the American Civil War battles of the summer of 1863 serve as the backdrop for this diary. The Marshes receive visits at Piobesi from several friends, including writer and journalist Anna Blackwell, diplomat John A. Kasson, and journalist William James Stillman. They also take a lengthy trip into the Alps, hiking several mountains during their travels. George Perkins Marsh finishes the manuscript for Man and Nature, and he and his wife agree to lease the Casa d’Angennes again for the winter.Topics in this diary include Italian agriculture, tourism and hospitality in Italy and the Alps, gossip and etiquette in Italian high society, renting and occupying real estate in Italy, King Victor Emmanuel, the experiences of the Italian peasantry, nineteenth-century attitudes towards insanity, nineteenth-century (American) Independence Day celebrations, expatriate attitudes towards the American Civil War, and the treatment of American soldiers during the Civil War. This diary covers several topics relating to religion, as well, including Irish Catholicism, the Pope, the overlap between Church and State in Italy, Catholic attitudes towards Protestantism, conversion, and religious celebrations.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, June 7 - September 30, 1861
- Date Created
- 1861
- Description
-
This diary covers the Marshes’ first months in Italy and describes their first impressions of the country and its people. During this period, the Marshes befriend the Abbe Giuseppe Filippo Baruffi, astronomer Barone Giovanni Plana, and the Tottenham family, among others. They also meet the rest...
Show moreThis diary covers the Marshes’ first months in Italy and describes their first impressions of the country and its people. During this period, the Marshes befriend the Abbe Giuseppe Filippo Baruffi, astronomer Barone Giovanni Plana, and the Tottenham family, among others. They also meet the rest of the diplomatic corps in Turin, as well as many preeminent Italians, including King Victor Emmanuel II, Bettino Ricasoli, and Urbano Rattazzi. They learn much about Italy’s most recent prime minister, the Count of Cavour, who dies the day before the Marshes arrive in Turin. After the Marshes settle into the Casa d’Angennes (their home in Turin), they go on several sightseeing trips, hiking in the Alps and visiting Lago Maggiore and Villarbasse.Topics in this diary include the “Roman Question,” the Pope, and Catholicism; negotiations between Italy, the United States, and Giuseppe Garibaldi; the treatment of Garibaldi and Garibaldian soldiers by Italian government, the Torinese elites and their customs, rural life and rural industries, such as winemaking; the American Civil War, especially slavery and foreign enlistment; Ottoman politics, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s death, and the Great Comet of 1861.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, March 1 - May 6, 1864
- Date Created
- 1864
- Description
-
European political relations remain tense in this diary, while rumors of an imminent rapprochement between Garibaldi and the Italian government precede Garibaldi’s departure for England. In Turin, the Marshes receive a visit from Lady Caroline Estcourt and her sisters and continue to attend...
Show moreEuropean political relations remain tense in this diary, while rumors of an imminent rapprochement between Garibaldi and the Italian government precede Garibaldi’s departure for England. In Turin, the Marshes receive a visit from Lady Caroline Estcourt and her sisters and continue to attend lectures and sightsee in and around the city.Topics in this diary include charity in Italy, relations between the Italian social classes, etiquette in Italy, Italian royalty and nobility, death, grief, and memorialization in Italy; Italy’s literary circle, Italian art, spiritualism, democracy, slavery in the United States, and Catholicism.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, March 8 - May 14, 1862
- 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...
Show moreThe 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.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, May 16 - July 24, 1862
- 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...
Show moreThe 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.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, May 6 - September 22, 1864
- Date Created
- 1864
- Description
-
Negotiations between Italy and France regarding the “Roman Question” and the placement of Italy’s capital spark violent protests in the streets of Turin. The Marshes go on several trips in this diary, visiting nearby landmarks as well as hiking into the Alps. Between trips, the Marshes gather the...
Show moreNegotiations between Italy and France regarding the “Roman Question” and the placement of Italy’s capital spark violent protests in the streets of Turin. The Marshes go on several trips in this diary, visiting nearby landmarks as well as hiking into the Alps. Between trips, the Marshes gather the latest news on the American Civil War, including the details of the Battle of the Wilderness, and receive visits from the Estcourts and American diplomat David H. Wheeler, among others.Topics in this diary include the September Convention, Italian art and patronage, tourism in Italy, Italian funerary practices, relations between the Italian social classes, King Victor Emmanuel and the royal family of Savoy, the treatment of women in Italy, the Italian silk industry, George Perkins Marsh’s diplomatic duties, Greek War of Independence, differences in behavior and manners between Americans and Europeans, and the death of Nathaniel Hawthorne. This diary covers several topics relating to religion, as well, including Catholic royal marriages, convents and religious orders, conversion, and French Protestants.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, November 1 - December 31, 1863
- Date Created
- 1863
- Description
-
The Marshes and their friends speculate on the likelihood of a “European” war breaking out in the spring, following the death of the King of Denmark and years of tense relations between France, Italy, and their neighbors. After months of tense negotiations with their Torinese landlady, the...
Show moreThe Marshes and their friends speculate on the likelihood of a “European” war breaking out in the spring, following the death of the King of Denmark and years of tense relations between France, Italy, and their neighbors. After months of tense negotiations with their Torinese landlady, the Countess Ghirardi, the Marshes finally move back into the Casa d’Angennes. Once there, Caroline Crane Marsh begins hosting dance lessons for her niece Carrie and others her age in the neighborhood, befriending the Countess Gigliuicci (Clara Novello) at the first lesson. George Perkins Marsh attends another royal hunting trip to Racconigi and begins attending public lectures in Turin.Topics in this diary including renting and occupying real estate in Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi, medical care in Italy, charity work in Italy, Italian funerary practices, English politics and diplomacy, reading habits in the nineteenth century, nineteenth-century attitudes towards Jews, Wallachia (Romania), Catholicism, etiquette, the Suez Canal, and the Taiping Rebellion.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, October 1 - December 31, 1861
- Date Created
- 1861
- Description
-
Political unrest across Europe, the Trent Affair, and accusations of French interference in Italian politics serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. The Marshes continue to meet Italian elites and politicians, including the Duchess of Genoa, the Marchesa Doria, and Carlo Poerio, and...
Show morePolitical unrest across Europe, the Trent Affair, and accusations of French interference in Italian politics serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. The Marshes continue to meet Italian elites and politicians, including the Duchess of Genoa, the Marchesa Doria, and Carlo Poerio, and befriend various diplomats and expatriates in Turin, including the Pulszkys, the Benedettis, and Mrs. Stanley. The Marshes travel to Florence to attend the National Exposition, and George Perkins Marsh takes part in two royal hunting excursions at Racconigi and Stupinigi.
Topics in this diary include Rome, the Pope, and Catholicism; Victor Emmanuel, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Italian nationalism, the treatment of Garibaldian soldiers by the Italian government, rural industry and the everyday lives of Italian peasants, the behavior and manners of Italians, especially Italian women; relations between the Italian social classes, the American Civil War, especially slavery and foreign enlistment; the Suez Canal, and spiritualism.
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- Title
- Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, September 23 - December 21, 1864
- 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...
Show moreThe 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.
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