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Original handwritten pocket diary dated 1857, kept by an unidentified man apparently living in the southern New Hampshire/southeastern Vermont region.
Entries record daily weather, travel, letters sent and received, visits with acquaintances and ordinary activities. Of particular interest is an apparent courtship documented through repeated trips to visit “Libby,” culminating in the November 25 entry announcing that “Libby and I were married.” The officiant appears to be identified as a Reverend William from “Bratto,” likely an abbreviation for Brattleboro, Vermont.
Additional entries appear to mention Bellows Falls, Charlestown and other New England locations. The final section contains numerous handwritten cash accounts and memoranda recording payments, debts, merchandise, horses, shoeing, oats and other purchases. Some entries appear to involve sizable financial transactions.
The writer has not been conclusively identified. All interpretations of the difficult 19th-century handwriting are offered as possibilities rather than guaranteed transcriptions.
Original black leather wallet-style binding with flap and pencil holder. Binding and interior show considerable age-related wear, including rubbing, edge loss, staining, looseness and deterioration around the hinges. Please examine all photographs carefully for condition and content.
A fascinating piece of antebellum New England social, genealogical and economic history.
