During my years of genealogy searches I have become increasingly interested in all aspects of history. One part of history, that especially interests me, are journals and diaries kept by the people that were living history. Below are links to some of the sites that I have found with diaries and journals available to read online. Some are actual diaries of our family members, while others I list here for our enjoyment of immersing ourselves into the past. After researching family and reading diaries of the time it becomes evident that it wasn't that long ago that our ancestors lived.
This first Diary and Journal was written by my great-grand-aunt Laura Clark. It is very entertaining as she tells of their journeys into Ohio. Laura Clark Diary and Journal.
Mormon Pioneer Olive Harriet Otto Terry, born June 10, 1833. This takes you to the LDS Church site "Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847 - 1868", to the page about Olive Otto. On the page is a link that says "Read Trail Excerpt". The excerpt is from: Terry, Olive Harriet Otto, "A Mormon Bride in the Great Migration," ed. Orval E. Baldwin, Nebraska History, Spring 1977, 65-69. There will be further stories of her and her family later on the Knapp and Otto links.
Diary of a teenage boy in 1861. Thanks to Donna Parrish, for permission to link to her page, this diary written by a boy in Greenshade in Decatur County, Georgia, gives us a glimpse a teenager in the era where the civil came about. It appears this boy is staying with his aunt to work as he gives a daily account of her mood along with describing whether it rained or not that day. I found it very interesting reading a first hand account of how a teen saw and lived life during those times.
The Library of Congress. For your browsing pleasure. Many of the links you find here are from their site. They are making it posible for our history to be preserved for the future.
The background image on this page is a photo I took at Lake Yosemite in Merced, CA. It was taken during the off season, so no boats or people are present. The picture used for the background was lightened to make the page readable. To see a clearer photo of the pier area click here This was the meeting spot for many family picnics of the Daniel family when I was a child. It was a favorite hang with my friends when I was a teenager. This lake saw many family barbecues, picnics and reunions, over the years, for the Daniel, League, Briggs, Knapp and many other families of the area. For me it is a fitting memory for family history.
