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DELORES DUNN : 1863 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A WEST CENTRAL OHIO WOMAN WHO MOST REMARKABLY HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE WAR BEING FOUGHT AROUND HER

32mo - over 4" - 5" tall. On offer is an interesting, rather matter-of-fact 19th Century, Civil War era diary that recounts life in middle America with the awful backdrop of an awful war. The diary measures 4.75 inches by 3 inches. It contains 122 pages of entries plus memoranda. The leather cover is worn but intact as are all of the pages. The handwriting is a combination of ink and pencil. Many of the pencilled entries are faded. Delores Dunn lives in the area of De Graff, OH, about 30 miles north of Springfield. In 1860, she is single and lives with her parents and context suggests on a farm. She notes the visits of quite a number of 'gentlemen callers' but not record their names. The church plays an important role in her life and she attends both services and Sunday School regularly. Her entries are quite matter-of-fact. She notes the weather each day and one or two notable events. Much of entries recount household tasks. "This has been a nice New Years day. I have not done much today. I sewed a while, and sung some. We had company from Degraff. Gift for my Ma. This is a New Year" [Jan 1]; "This has been a pleasant day. I was sewing, and reading in the afternoon. We had a caller in the evening. I went to preaching and heard a grand sermon" [Jan 6]; "This has been a tolerable nice day. I was at home all day. I was sewing. It was nice work. We had a visitor (and had some fun). Sam Criss called a while in the evening." [Feb 6]; "This has been a rather disagreeable day. It snowed nearly all day. I churned a large churning. Sam and [ ] Lake came up in the evening awhile. [ ] and Sam (had some more fun) this is all that happened today" [Mar 3]. The events of the outside world do not seem to intrude. The American Civil War is raging and there is no mention of some of the major battles such as Chancellorsville. The Emancipation Act came into force January 1st, freeing all slaves and she makes no mention of it. Her cash account entries are spare, perhaps reflecting her situation. However, some entries do give a sense of costs for various items such as a stamp to mail a letter (6¢), shoe repairs (20¢) and a sheet of paper (1¢). There are also some poems that she has written in the back of the diary. A historian would find this simple, straight-forward account of life in rural mid-19th century America filled with the minutiae that, taken as a whole, provides a snapshot of life at that time. A researcher looking at weather trends over a long period of time would find her daily remarks about weather an interesting point of comparison to what is experienced today.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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