A question the State Archives staff faces often is, “Is it possible I can find out what my ancestor was like? What did they feel and dream?” My answer to this query is, “Yes, it’s possible—particularly if they kept a diary or journal.”
Diaries and journals held by archives and libraries in the United States date as far back as the colonial period. Most of these personal narratives, particularly the earliest ones, tended to be journals that recorded farming, financial, and/or weather details. It was not until the 1700’s that girl’s and women’s diaries began to emerge; they remained rare even though statistics from the Foundation for Economic Education show that 80 percent of men and 50 percent of women in New England by 1776 could read and write.[1] In the South, literacy rates for both genders were somewhat lower but rose over time: by the mid-Nineteenth century, female diarists were common in both North and South. Their style tended to be more personal than reportorial (that is, recording inner thoughts, activities, personal feelings, and documenting relationships with others). After the Civil War, diaries and journals became more common among adolescents and young adults; Both males and females kept such personal records, but over time a pattern emerged of diary-keeping being more associated with women: after 1910, females became the primary creators of these documents.
Many state historical societies,
libraries, and archives hold multiple diaries and journals as part of their
collections. The Arkansas State Archives is lucky to hold several such. The
majority are Civil War related, but not all; the ASA’s diary and journal
holdings also illuminate unexpected, fascinating corners of the state’s
postbellum story.
One of the more interesting diaries held
at the ASA is that of Cynthia Ann Ward who, like many other women who lived
through the Civil War, faced hardships and challenges unimagined before the
years of conflict. We do not know much
about her life before or during the war. Ward began a diary on January 1, 1865
and we know that she continued keeping it for the next two years, at least
until January 7, 1867. The document gives readers a vivid sense of what one eastern Arkansas
woman experienced in the closing days of the war and in her post-war struggle
to reclaim her property. In her January 12, 1865 entry, Ward for the first time
discussed local military activity and her fear of Federal soldiers. She wrote, “... ten deserters from Hood’s
army came by here and caused the boys to stampede they thought them Fed’s.” In another entry, she mentions her eldest
son, 16-year-old Louis Montgomery, who had joined his uncle’s (unidentified)
Confederate unit. In her January 17
entry, Ward revealed the anxiety she felt for her son: “…I am getting very
uneasy about Louis, fear the Yankee’s may capture him.” Later, on January 20, she noted that “Henry
and I came home Louis and Mr. Berry back safe.”
At the archives, one can also sample the
diaries written by Ella Maria Flint Hamblen Cole. The daughter of Col. Samuel Hamblen (the
second Superintendent of the Hot Springs Reservation) and Maria Florilla Flint
Hamblen, she grew up in Hot Springs and later attended Little Rock University
(an institution associated with the Methodist Episcopal denomination), where
she met her husband Charles Finley Cole.
After marriage the couple moved to Batesville, Arkansas where they
raised their five children. Ella Cole’s diaries
begin in 1886 and end in 1952, giving us a rare 66-year window into one
individual’s life, experiencing the best that life offered, as well as the
worst. On June
17th, 1890, Ella described how she and her siblings celebrated her mother’s
birthday:
Mama’s birthday,
spent all the day up at the Reading Room … went downtown and bought a quarter
of a yard of ribbon to put on a pallet I had painted for Mama... Besides what I
gave Mama an earth ware bowl and a teaspoon holder, Papa gave her his pipe and
promised he would not smoke anymore.
Stany gave her two crash towels and Sam gave her $15.00.”
However,
through all the joys she expressed over the years with her marriage and birth
of her children, the entry that may touch the reader the most is one for
February 20, 1945. Ella’s oldest
daughter had been fighting a severe kidney infection and nothing seemed to be
helping. On that day, Ella knew her
daughter had taken a turn for the worse:
Karia was extremely restless, from bed to chair
and back again. George [George Reazin, Karia’s husband] was with her constantly
and did all he could for her. After midnight and a talk with the Dr. George
made arrangements for an ambulance to take Karia back to Presbyterian
Hospital. As she was on the stretcher
and the attendants were raising her to leave, I kissed her and she said, “Mama,
will you stay and take care of things for me?” I promised of course, little
suspecting it was my last words to her.
Karia Cole Reazin would pass away the
following day.
The Archives also preserves the diary of
Ella’s husband, Charles Finley Cole during the time they were courting. Charles born in 1871 in Wyandotte County, Ohio
and moved to White County, Arkansas in the early 1880s. His diary started in 1892 and ended in 1897. During
this period, Cole faced his own share of adversity, including the loss of a leg
because of a train accident. Entries
from March 1894 suggest some difficulties in adjusting to a new prosthetic leg:
March 3,
1894, Leg came today. Put it right on. Have been walking nearly ever
since. Went to Land Office and saw Laws.
Also took a boat ride. Leg fit well. Think and hope I’ll like it. Estimated
distance walked 1 ½ mi…March 5, 1894, … Leg hurting. Put on my old one to go to
town with. Sorry it does not fit. Surely, have my share of troubles…
The diary also preserves evidence of his
inner conflict over making the hard choice of becoming a lawyer or minister. Cole
finally made his choice in June of 1894.: “May 30, 1894, … Received letter from
Dr. Curl asking me to take charge of the [Methodist Episcopal Church] Stuttgart
circuit. … June 1, 1894, Replied to Dr. Curl[2] saying cannot consistently
accept charge and returned [Methodist Episcopal Church ministers] license…”
Ultimately, genealogy and family research is a process of searching records to find information. Keep in mind that even if you cannot find a diary/journal for your own ancestor, one from the area in which they lived can be helpful in making connections and give you information about their neighborhood and society; you may even find your ancestor mentioned! So, the next time you encounter a diary or journal originating in a time and place where your family lived, take a little while to sample it: you may find mention of your family or, just maybe, you may find some new relations!
