| Dates: | 1830-1957 |
| Size: | 1.5 linear feet in 5 boxes |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | spe-n00152 |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition: | Acquired through a combination of donations and purchases between 1997 and 2018 |
| Conditions Governing Access: | Materials are open without restrictions. |
| Conditions Governing Use: | Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection. |
| Preferred Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Diaries, Letters and Manuscripts Collections, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library |
| Finding Aid Author: | Michelle McCoy, 2024 |
Abstract
Collection of diaries, letters and manuscripts that include descriptions of business dealings, daily Chicago life, family, school, weather and work in the Chicago area between 1830 and 1957.
Scope and Contents
The collection of diaries, letters and manuscripts span over a century of observations made by a variety of Chicago inhabitants from those who were born in the city to those who arrived from the East Coast or England. Among the accounts are the business letter copies in an early blotter book by James W. Ellsworth (1849-1925), an American coalmine owner, banker and art collector who would assume a prominent role on the Board of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Several accounts predate the Chicago Fire of 1871 and include banking, grain and railroad business observations in Chicago at a time of rapid growth. The railroad industry continues to attract immigrants and migrants, including Alfred Russell from England who describes his employment on Chicago’s South Side with the railroad and later with the North Chicago Rolling Mill Co. In contrast, the collection contains several diaries kept by women during the first half of the 20th century. These mostly document family life, financial matters, school, shopping and work.
Arrangement
The diaries, letters and manuscripts are arranged alphabetically by writer’s last name. The number of items with the same description is indicated in parentheses.
Related Collections
- Elizabeth Chandler Papers
- James W. Ellsworth Papers
- Kellogg Family Papers
- Slack Family Album
- D.E. Terriere Diaries
Subject Terms
- Business -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Diaries -- 19th Century
- Diaries -- 20th Century
- Ellsworth, James W. (James William), 1849-1925
- Family life -- 19th century
- Family life -- 20th century
- Great Fire, Chicago, Ill., 1871
- Work -- Illinois -- Chicago
Container List
| Box 4 | Folder 1 | Austin, George M., autograph letter signed (ALS) to his uncle on the Office of Prescott, Edwards & Co. letterhead, topics include Chicago Fire and a request for materials since the business burned, 1871 October 11 |
| Box 3 | Folders 1-2 | Bailey, Fred. H., manuscript letter copybook (blotter book) by young man who took a position in Chicago as the Assistant Secretary to railway Secretary A.S. Downs (Illinois and Wisconsin Railway and Chicago and Milwaukee Railway), includes observations of Chicago, its business, banking and inhabitants [some letter copies in book are faint and difficult to read], 1854-1855 |
| Box 4 | Folder 2 | Carpenter, George, autograph signed letters (ALS, 16), [4 letters are not complete], topics include his business dealings, Chicago life, cholera and the 1857 fire, 1857-1858 |
| Box 3 | Folder 3 | Colby, Carlos W., typescript childhood memories, typescript Colby family history, typescript military service (Civil War, Company G, 97th Illinois Volunteer), family photographs (13), Centennial Anniversary of the Congregational Church (Warner, N.H.), genealogy notes and photocopied letters, 1872-1922 |
| Box 4 | Folder 3 | Collier, Rev. Laird, autograph signed letter (ALS) to “My Dear Haskell” regarding his sermon on the Chicago Fire, written on Chicago Relief and Aid Society letterhead, 1871 October 16 |
| Box 1 | Folders 1-4 | Creutz, Ethyl, manuscript diaries (4), short entries on daily life, Chicago’s Loop, church attendance, current events and Westinghouse where her husband H.L. Creutz worked, 1937-1957 |
| Box 4 | Folder 4 | Danielson, Esther L., manuscript diaries, entries on daily life, South Chicago High School activities, summer recreation and daily and nursing training at Michael Reese Jewish Hospital, 1908, 1913 |
| Box 2 | Folders 1-5 | De Vies [née], Lucille [daughter of Olive De Vies], manuscript diaries (5), South Side Chicago resident with topics that include family life, meals, shopping and work, 1937-1941 |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 | De Vies, Olive [mother of Lucille De Vies], manuscript diary, short entries on family life, financial matters, shopping and work, 1933-1937 |
| Box 4 | Folder 5 | Edmon, Roberta Florence Adams, manuscript diary, short entries on daily life, dinners prepared, local events and shopping, 1940 |
| Box 5 | Folder 1 | Ellsworth, James W., manuscript letter copy book (blotter book) and account ledger, contains business correspondence primarily related to coal, mining, railroads, prices and shipping [some blurry and torn pages], 1872, 1876-1877 |
| Box 4 | Folder 9 | Erickson, Florence M., manuscript graduation memory book (Austin High School student), contains remembrances, drawings, ephemera, news clippings and a photograph of Erickson, laid into the book are 12 letters between Erickson and her cousins during World War I that discuss family, influenza and training camp, 1918-1919, 1926 |
| Box 3 | Folder 4 | Field, Eugene, manuscript suggestions for vignettes for his Echoes from the Sabine Farm, 1891 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | Fleming, Josie, manuscript diary, short entries include daily life, church, her work in a shop, trips to Chicago from the suburbs and an October 9 entry describing how she heard about the Chicago Fire, 1871 |
| Box 3 | Folder 5 | Ketcheval, B.B, autograph letter signed (ALS), Detroit, to David Hunter at Fort Dearborn and transcript, includes references to Maria Kinzie, 1830 October 31 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | Kimber, George A., manuscript diary, West Town resident and businessman, brief entries note financial transactions, theater or other outings and utility meter readings, 1903 |
| Box 4 | Folder 6 | [King Family], manuscript letters signed (ALS, 15) written to Moses King, topics include family affairs, finances, grain trade, leather trade, market panic, property and the Illinois Central Railroad trial, 1849-1862 |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 | Lapham, Ralph Lyon, manuscript diary, Chicago high school student with entries on automobiles, church, games, school, sports and his girlfriend, 1906 |
| Box 4 | Folder 7 | Leonard, James M., manuscript reminiscences, relates Leonard’s journey and brief settlement in Chicago, notes Fort Dearborn and Mansion House, 1835-1838 |
| Box 4 | Folder 8 | McVicker, James Hubert, autograph letter signed (ALS) to J.P. Snell on Tremont House letterhead and declines to produce a play with political references, 1860 December 9 |
| Box 5 | Folder 2 | Russell, Alfred, manuscript diary with copies of letters to his family, covers his voyage from Liverpool, England to Chicago and then contains observations about Chicago and the South Chicago neighborhood where he boards, his employment with the railroad and later with the North Chicago Rolling Mill Co. [steel industry], German immigrants, the assassination of President James Garfield, Pullman town and the weather, 1881-1883 |
| Box 4 | Folder 10 | Smith, Benjamin F., manuscript diary, entries on Chicago life, Grace Church sermons and recreational activities, includes 2 tintype photographs, 1864 |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 | Stuhlfaut, Max and Norman Back, Harley Davidson cross-country trek from Chicago to New York City, manuscript diary and photo album (50 photographs), 1913 |
| Box 1 | Folders 5-11 | Tragardh, Rudolph, manuscript diaries (7), short entries on Chicago life, opera, work and weather [1861 diary chronicles his life in Texas prior to the Civil War], 1861, 1865-1870 |
| Box 5 | Folder 3 | Unidentified author [likely a housewife in Winnetka, Illinois], manuscript diary, entries include daily life, housework, purchases from Marshall Field’s, reading materials, radio programs, current events, with various literary quotes and notes of interest at the bottoms of the pages, 1935 |
| Box 4 | Folder 11 | Wilson, Thomas Blair, autograph signed letter (ALS) to his wife Mary Blair, topics include family life and the Chicago Fire [includes transcript], 1871 October 20 |
