Historical Material from UNO Libraries' Archives & Special Collections

The diary of A.J. Van Nuys recounts the trip of A.J. and Lizzie Van Nuys to Benson, Nebraska. The diary contains brief daily entries along with some accounting of expenses. The diary includes entries from May 4-July 11 of an unidentified year in the late 19th or early 20th century. The names written inside the front cover are Mr. & Mrs. A.J. Van Nuys of Belle Mead, New Jersey and 831 Main St., Benson, Nebraska. Written inside the back cover in the same handwriting is the name Miss Della Mankwood, 2520 Downing Ave., Denver, Colorado.

The diaries of Alexander Cornell document his daily life as a twenty-something young man in Illinois in 1882 and 1884, as well as daily life when he is in his 60s living in University Place, Nebraska (part of present-day Lincoln, Nebraska) in 1918-1920. Cornell's diaries routine activities including work, visiting with friends and family, weather, and other daily activities. Selected names mentioned in the diaries include: Henry Taylor, Lewis, Mary Chapman, Bartlette, Chipman, Cole, Cookingham, Herman, Dr. Underhill, Kate Stockdale, Zartman, H. Kinney, Albert Foster, Kenny, Newcomb, John Stanton, George Wheeler, John Graham, and others.

Travel diary of a woman believed to be Anna Perainen from the Midwest visiting the West Coast of the United States. She visited Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Canada.
A partial transcription of the journal entries was provided by the seller.

The autograph album of Bethel Vaughn of Fullerton, Nebraska, includes entries to the young girl from family, friends, and a teacher. All rhymes and notes to the child are dated 1911-1913. The decorative cover of the autograph album is green with gold detail and a rural image of two cows near a small body of water.

The papers of Carl B. Whittlesey include a diary from 1965 and a multi-year diary containing entries from 1968-1970. The collection also includes two pieces of correspondence addressed to Whittlesey when he lived in Joliet, Illinois, in the early 20th century and St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1969.

Two diaries from 1965-1966 kept by a Visalia, California woman who was a teacher. She wrote entries every day documenting her daily life including work activities, purchases, social activities, household chores, interactions with friends and family, and similar information. The diaries include biographical and familial information, which with research may enable the diarist to be identified.

A scrapbook kept by white husband and wife Horace and Edith Hager on a road trip across the United States and briefly Canada in the mobile home trailer in 1948. The couple departed their New Jersey home pulling their new trailer they named "Ched." Edith or "Ede" and Horace or "Chap" along with their dog Candy are shown posing around the trailer in May 1948 before their departure. Photographs on their trip depict sites, people, animals, scenery, and other aspects of their trip. Included are photos of: bison ("buffalo") grazing east of Grand Island, Nebraska; Lookout Mountain and Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado; New Mexico; Horse Head on Blue Mountain and ranch hands in Monticello, Utah; Yellowstone National Park; and others. After Yellowstone the couple began their trip back to the east visiting Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, and New York. The final page of the album includes the notes "March – 1948 Yellowstone (indecipherable) / Omaha Neb. / Sept 30th 1948 / June".

The Edna Cole Postcards consist of nine file boxes of photographic travel postcards from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, representing more than thirty different countries. The postcards are organized alphabetically by country, and United States postcards are sub-organized by state. One German postcard includes a monument or sign related to the Third Reich.

The diary of Elgia Leila (Wittwer) Dawley from 1921-1925 spans her years teaching French and voice in New York through her marriage in 1922, and move to Olympia, Washington. The diary includes entries for the same date for five years on the same page.

Three ledgers from mercantiles or general stores in Fossil, Oregon, in the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries. The stores were Hoover and Watson and the second was identified only as K&S. The first ledger has "Ledger" stamped on the spine and first page is stamped with "Hoover and Watson Dealers in General Merchandise Fossil Or." The ledger begins with an alphabetical listing of individuals followed by 455 pages of expenses for the mercantile store dated 1884-1886. A tin type photo is taped to the top of the first page and under it is written "Our candidate for Sheriff." The second ledger is stamped "Cash and Sales" on the spine and the front is stamped, "September 19, 1900 – Nov. 1, 1901. K & S." Inside is a photograph of the inside of the store. There are a total of 500 pages with the names and goods each customer purchased. There is a great variety of goods purchased including: stovepipe, matches, shells, sugar, gloves, overcoat, wheat, thread, calico, coffee, gingham, velvet binding, skin, shoes, cigar, blots, lard, album, library paste, syrup, rice, soap, muslin, candy, gum, wagon, suit, and more. The third ledger is stamped "Cash and Sales" on the spine and the front is stamped, "K & S Jan. 1, 1903 and After." The latest entries are from 1904. This ledger has some pieces of ephemera between the pages and one cabinet photograph of a man taken at a Portland, Oregon studio. This ledger has writing up to page 65 then blank up to page 200. There are 14 pages of writing (200-214) then blank until page 460 and another 40 pages of writing after that.

The five year diary of Gardia Reta (Peaker) Bailey documents life in the western United States during the Great Depression. The family lives in a trailer and stays at auto parks, such as the Wallow Saw Auto Camp, on the West Coast including in the state of Washington. Included in the diary are various pieces of ephemera including news clippings and photographs as well as notations about family members and birthdays. The diary mentions the family traveling to sell Reta's handmade baskets, illnesses such as mumps and small pox, boat rides on the Columbia River, traveling through Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, trips to Portland, fishing trips, dances, trips to the ocean, having a float in a parade, and giving birth to a stillborn baby.

Travel album or scrapbook documenting the trip of Gertrude Ball, Ridgway Ball, and Della Clapper from Omaha, Nebraska to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Their trip is narrated with extensive handwritten text in the album and includes photographs, postcards, and ephemera.

The Harold Chenoweth Film Collection holds the digitized copies of the original films shot by Nebraskan Harold Chenoweth during the first half of the twentieth century. Most films document activities and events in Midwestern states including Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota along with some locations in the Western U.S. The subject matter of the films include: rodeos; commercials; state fairs; highlights from Aksarben including the racetack, parade, stock animals, and factory; Delco Farm Lighting; highlights from the 1941 Rose Bowl football game between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Stanford University; a 1933 California trip of Herbert Hoover; Bison to Barley; and other topics.

The memories of J.K. Marlay of Lincoln, Nebraska of his service in the U.S. Civil War as a Major in the 60th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry are captured in a journal written in 1896-1897. The collection also includes letters addressed to Marlay's granddaughter Marjorie Noble of Portland, Oregon. The letters were written in 1892 and most were pasted into the journal. Marjorie Noble's name is written inside the journal.

The papers of Joseph Francis Curtis, Jr. document the activities of the Curtis family in their mining endeavors, primarily in California. The collection includes letters from Joseph Jr. to his brother Walter, a letter from Joseph Sr. to his son, and a letter from brother Bert Curtis. The collection also includes the naturalization papers of Joseph Francis Curtis, Sr. from 1872 after he emigrated to the U.S. from Great Britain. The Curtis Brothers Mining and Milling Co. consisted of W. Walter Curtis and J. Francis Curtis and worked at the Waterman Gold Mine at Angels Camp and Royal Consolidated Mines at Hodson. They seem to have a strong connection to Oregon and Calaveras County, California. The collection also includes one legal document from the mining company and an unidentified photograph of white, African American, and Latino men in an unspecified location, but presumably somewhere in California or Latin America.

The ledger of Joseph A. Thrasher contains general accounting information, records of monies received while serving as the steward of different organizations, personal expenses and receipts, and notes on work performed on the farm and for others. Also, there are several loose leaves in the front with poems, some written by family members including one written by Martha "Belle" Bunney Thrasher, wife of Joseph Thrasher. Individuals mentioned within the ledger include D[emas] S. Booze (born 1837), H[enry] E. Brown (born 1856), L[ousia] E. Baker (born 1835), and Charles F. Bensel (born around 1860).

The papers of June Turney include correspondence written to family and friends when she was a teenager or young woman in the late 1930s during the Great Depression. The letters were sent from June Turney’s time at Moss Lake Summer Camp in Eagle Bay, New York and a later trip to California.

The diary of Lelia Ackley from July-August 1905 documents her family's move to Idaho, first to a cabin near Big Rock. The Ackleys would later move to Caldwell, Idaho and operate a general merchandise store. The Ackleys traveled via horse and wagon in July 1905 searching for a claim to stake for gold mining in the mountains southeast of Boise, Idaho. The Ackleys were searching for a cabin near Big Rock; along the way they stopped at a place called the Golden Eagle for water. Lelia Ackley describes the cabin as filthy and infested with rats, while the baby was sunburned badly on the trip. She mentions the Bender Creek property where her husband and another man went to search for a claim. They also mention a location called the Flat Creek property. Eventually Orville chose to establish a general merchandise store. There are 14 pages of entries for a store from 1927. They appeared to be doing very well. Their daughter Helen is listed as one of the payees.

The diary of Helen W. Ackley, daughter of Lelia and Orville Ackley, is from her time as a nursing student at Berkeley Hospital in California in 1933-1934. The diary shares discusses her experiences while training to be a nurse. She was excited to work in the obstetrics and maternity department helping to deliver babies. She also writes about her unpleasant experiences including the death of at least one patient, meningitis, and other diseases and conditions. She also writes about local events including the lynching of a man who kidnapped and murdered Brooke Hart of San Jose, visiting Chinatown, a boat ride on San Francisco Bay, and a large street car strike that resulted in the National Guard moving into the city with tanks and over 4,000 troops.

The autograph book of Marie Engelkew includes brief personal messages and quotations from friends in family. Most of the messages date from 1894 with others dated 1895, 1900, and 1901. The messages are predominantly from Grand Island, Nebraska and the Academy of the Visitation in Dubuque, Iowa. A cutout of a dog is pasted on the first page of the autograph book. The autograph book is in the shape of a rhombus with a wooden cover (perhaps walnut) and teal velvet binding and back cover.

The Mount Pleasant Mining Company collection is composed of two letters regarding the Mount Pleasant mine in El Dorado County, California at Grizzly Flat located 28 miles from Placerville. The first letter dated May 16, 1894, is a copy of a letter to lawyer Archibald B. McGaw in New York City from James D. Hague, president of the Mount Pleasant Mining Company describing the mine. The typewritten letter of December 12, 1896, is a cover to this copy sent to James McCaw in Chicago from Murat Masterson on Mining Securities Transfer and Registry Corporation of New York letterhead.

The collection is composed of the letters of Mrs. R.E. Moreland from her home in San Diego, California, to her mother Mrs. W.H.H. Leck in Linn, Kansas, from 1924-1925. The collection also includes a single letter from 1930 to Mrs. Byron Leck. The letters cover homelife and other matters such as the activities of the baby in the Moreland home. Additional description and research is required to determine the names of the correspondents and more details shared in the letters.

A photo album of a white family in Omaha, Nebraska includes photographs of adults in children around the home and in a rural setting. Notable photos include a series from the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha including a see-saw ride, "The Old Plantation" stage, Arch of States, streets of all nations featuring a camel, the lagoon, the administration building, and others. A photograph of a tree is identified as "the surrender tree - San Juan Hill - Santiago" in Cuba, which along with another caption referencing "Remember the Maine!" and a photo of a young man in a presumably military are references to the Spanish American War in Omaha.

The diary of Otis W. Smith documents his life beginning with his enrollment in the College of Pharmacy in St. Louis, Missouri through his working life, marriage, and family life. The diary mentions attending his first masquerade ball, taking the first woman he was not related to out, meeting his wife Mattie Dowdall and their courtship, the birth of their son, information about their home, people he meets, purchases he makes including two 'Indian clubs' and a pistol.
Transcriptions provided by the seller.

Diary of an unidentified male railroad laborer on a crew laying and repairing track along the Columbia River in Oregon. The diary entries are dated July 3-20, 1894. The writer mentions being in Arlington. Typical entries include a log of hours worked, meal breaks, and descriptions of work completed. Also included are some observations of localities like the Columbia River, descriptions of the weather, mention of the O.R. & N. Co. railway, and mentions of specific events such as a dispute when the crew was not receiving enough water and an instance when they had to move the rail cars containing their supplies in the absence of an engine.

The Seven Anderton Papers are comprised of the manuscripts, correspondence, and published works of short story author Seven Anderton, from circa 1926-circa 1958. The majority of his stories are westerns or detective fiction. One series of the collection comprises seven boxes of files containing primarily manuscripts and correspondence (both professional and personal), along with some newspaper clippings, check stubs, purchase orders, tax forms, songs, poems, magazines, cards, and family photographs.
The second series of the collection is the original issues of the pulp magazines in which his works were published, including but not limited to The Blue Book, Detective Fiction Weekly, Famous Detective Stories, Ranch Romances, Real Western Stories, Smashing Detective Stories, Super Sports, Ten-Story Sports, and Triple-X.

A pocket diary provided “Compliments of Storz Brewing Co. Omaha, Neb.” The journal includes blank pages for the owner to use as well as informational pages at the front and back of the volume providing information about the Storz Brewing Co. brewery including color illustrations of a beer bottle and a malt extract bottle, ideal serving conditions for beer, Omaha streets, populations of U.S. and world cities, U.S. presidents, shipping, and other information.

The diary of Susan Haney documents the daily activities of this young girl and teenager. She is presumed to live in western Nebraska as she mentions visiting North Platte, Nebraska. Haney’s entries in her diary reference typical childhood and youth activities such as attending piano lessons, Girl Scouts, choir practice, and hunting along with family events such as the wedding of her brother Bill, the death of her grandfather, and visiting family and friends. The diary is a five year diary, but most entries are for 1955-1957 with minimal entries for later.

A travel journal of a family’s move from near Ashland, Nebraska to near Arcata, California via train recorded in an incomplete copy of an unidentified almanac for 1874. The almanac begins with April 1874 and includes 89 pages of printed material including engravings. The journal or diary section at the end of almanac includes notes for all but seven days for 1874.

Some of the engravings include: German draught oxen, walls of Bologne, France, royal tiger, kangaroos, American elk, a fox raiding a roost, musk oxen, balloon travel, zebras, lobsters fighting, dragon fly, grand geyser of Iceland, falls of Zambesi, gathering grain, and others.

The Wolfe family collection contains letters, a scrapbook, and two autograph books created by members of the Wolfe family of Happy Camp, California and Lehman, Pennsylvania in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The family may have also lived in other locations in the U.S. The 1890s letters are predominantly from Henry Wolfe in California to his brother Alonzo Wolfe in Pennsylvania with letters to a cousin as well. Documents in the collection also mention William Wolfe, Sarah Wolfe, and other members of the family.