WELCOME TO SALLY’S DIARIES:
Before I get started describing this piece, I want to let you know that I have a podcast. I’ve taken some diaries from my private collection and shared them on our podcast called “Diary Discoveries.” We’ve got 48 episodes out now and you can find it on all the usual podcast venues. So if you enjoy the compelling and adventurous stories from vintage diaries then please check it out.
Plus, I was asked to do a TEDx talk in Vienna about this very thing, collecting diaries, and if you are interested in this sort of thing just put into the search engines “10,000 diaries” and you should come up with it. It was a privileged and blessing to be able to share what I’ve learned in the last 36 years. And with all that said……
Up for auction are 5 rare early handwritten diaries that begin in the year 1852 and end in the fall of 1857. They all belonged to Sarah Pauline Tinkham who was born in Cornwall Vermont but at the time they were written she is living in Beloit Wisconsin. These diaries were kept just 20 years after the town itself began. So you can imagine what Beloit looked like then. The village was platted in 1838 and was planned with wide streets, building on the New England model. Beloit was originally named New Albany (after Albany, Vermont) in 1837 by its founder, Caleb Blodgett. The name was changed to Beloit in 1838. The name was coined to be reminiscent of Detroit. The population of Beloit during the time these diaries were written was 4,000.
Between the 5 diaries there are a total of 237 handwritten pages. And as much as I would love to thoroughly read them all, I don’t have time but I did skim through them to gather a few example entries to quote and scan. Here’s what I can tell you….
Sarah Pauline Tinkham was born on July 1st, 1830 which makes her just 22 years old when she was writing this first diary. Her parents were Alba Tinkham Deacon and Achsah (Hopkins) Tinkham. She had 8 siblings. Her mother died when Sarah was just 16 years old and then her father died in 1859 shortly after these diaries were written. Sarah is a school teacher and living with her brother and sister but she also boards with several different families while teaching. When she talks about her teaching and her school she said it’s a “school on the prairie.” Wouldn’t I love to see her school house. Towns were so much smaller, so remote and the world was so very different back in the 1850’s, especially when it comes to travel. For instance take a look at her entry taken from the 3rd diary…
“October 6th, 1856. Started at half past four in the morning for Columbus by stage. Rather a sleepy load of passengers. Got to Columbus at ten and started on foot to find my friends. Walked about 6 miles got there about two o’clock pretty well tried out.”
She does a lot of horseback riding also where ever she goes and all this being a single young prairie school teacher. But she’s not single for long. In 1861 she marries Orris Orrin Bissell Smith and the couple had five children. Sarah’s husband passed away in 1903 and Sarah in 1915.
One thing I did notice about Sarah, (and I’m so happy it did not turn out the way she thought), she believes she will not live long. In a passage written the day after her 26th birthday, she writes this…
“July 2nd, 1856. Yesterday was my birthday, 26 years old and how little good I have done in all that time. How many sins I have committed and still go on in the same way. Oh that God’s grace were shed abroad in my heart, that all my life were dedicated to his service. Life is short, probably more than half of my days on earth are past. Yes a good deal more than half. I sometimes feel or think I feel a presentiment that I shall not live to be over thirty and the thought is by no means a painful one. Why should it be? What is there to live for in the world? Nothing is realized as we think or hope it will be and were it not for the hope of a blissful eternity how dreary and desolate this life would be.”
Then only a few days later she writes that she feels she might only live for four more years. And just think, she lived 59 more years!
It was the third diary (1856) that helped me to discover who she was. In the inside front cover it says, “Sarah P. Tinkham. Memorandum book for 1855 and 1856” and then there’s a verse, faded, written in pencil that says, “I have not loved thee lightly. I think on thee yet. I pray for thee nightly. Till life’s sun is set.”
Her first two diaries entries are just a line or two but by the third diary, the 1855 and 56 diary, her entries become longer and more like paragraphs. Plus they are more detailed and she shares her feelings much more. And please not sometimes she writes an entry for every day and some times she skips days, weeks and a few months at a time.
Here’s some facts about each one of them, then the example descriptions…..
1.) The 1852 diary says “Journal No. 2” (Have no idea where the first diary is) and starts October 8th, 1852 and writes all the way to October 14th, 1853 then there’s a space and she picks the diary back up on May 1st, 1854 and this journal ends on October 1st, 1854. This diary has 38 handwritten pages.
2.) This diary says 1854 on the front and it’s the one with the beautiful marbled cover. It’s also the one where she takes a trip to Ohio. This diary starts October 3rd, 1854 and ends on August 31st, 1855. This diary has 29 handwritten pages.
3.) This one is the thickest one, the one with the most pages. It begins on September 1st, 1855 and ends on October 21st, 1856. There is one page in this diary where it looks like she cut out/tore out a section. Not sure why but I’ve scanned that page. Here and there she also writes bible verses and poems. This diary has 99 handwritten pages.
4.) This fourth diary begins on October 22nd, 1856 and ends on March 29th, 1857. The sad part about this diary is that she has used some ink that has bled through to the reverse page and makes it tough to read some pages. And there are a few pages with ink spots. But only about 8 of the 36 pages represented in this diary are affected. I’ve scanned some examples of this. This diary has 36 handwritten pages.
5.) This last diary in the group begins on April 25th, 1857 and ends on September 27th, 1857. This diary has 35 handwritten pages.
Again, I just did some speed reading through these diaries to give you a better idea of the contents. Here are a few of those example entries…..
1853
“January 31st, Mr. and Mrs. Talbot, Jim Cowley and I went to Mr. Urguhast’s to spend the evening. Started for home about twelve (midnight) o’clock. It was very dark. We got lost and wandered around two or three hours.”
“March 2nd, Rode a horseback this morning. Laura and I went to the Stone School House to a funeral. Sarah Dye and Henry Eldrell here to stay all night.”
1854
“October 1st, Went to the Methodist church this forenoon with Mr. Dye’s people and went home with them again and staid until night. Morgan brought me home. Found Margaret gone. Washed the colored clothes and went to town with Albert. Called at Mr. Keeps. Called for Laura. Went to the bookstore bought some paper. Went to Keeps store and bought a carpet bag and went to Mr. Reynolds and waited for Albert and rode home with him.”
“October 5th, Have been washing today, very tired. Alden here; don’t know but I shall go to Ohio with him. Holmes Wyman here in the evening, talk of going to Johnstown next Thursday. Holmes, Charley, Barnes, Sarah and myself; have written two letters.”
“October 26th, (writing a bit light but readable). Started from Beloit in the morning. Louisa and Mrs. Hill came after us. Will Webster and Mr. Talbot on the cars. Stopt at Chicago and got dinner. Started out at three o’clock and rode all night. Stopt at White Pigeon and got supper.”
“October 27th, Got into Toledo in the morning. Got breakfast and started from there at 9 o’clock. I got into Cleveland at 3 o’clock. Started from there and got into Chargin Falls at 9 o’clock in the evening. Found the folks all well, much surprised to see me.” (She stays there I believe for several weeks. The writing on a few of these pages is very light and one is almost faded completely)
1855
“August 3rd, Have had some company in school today. Went to Mr. Briggs and dressed myself and rode John’s colt up to Edwards and then came over to Roscoe to stay all night. Hard thunder storm.”
“October 27th, Went down to meeting in morning and staid all day. At 4 o’clock went to the Baptist Church and heard Mr. Burhigh lecture on the antislavery and in the evening.”
1856
“February 3rd, Mr. and Mrs. Taft, Katherine and I have been over to Roscoe to meeting today. Heard Mr. Vants preach a very solemn sermon. I felt more than ever before my utter unworthiness in the sight of God. I mean by the help of his Holy Spirit to live nearer to him in future.”
“February 14th, Have been in school all day. Almost every day I hear of the death of some friend. Heard today that Esther Menger is dead. She was one of my scholars last summer and a very sweet girl indeed.”
“May 10th, Have been in my school a week and don’t know whether I like it or not but hope I shall like better than I do now. The fore part of the week has been rainy and very unpleasant. School rather noisy, have about thirty rather wild scholars. Have been boarding at Mr. Bradley’s this week. Very pleasant family. Shall make it my home this summer. I am going to be examined tonight, dread it some but guess I shall live through it….”
“July 15th,...It seems as though I had but little more time to live and I had rather be with our folks. Perhaps it is a foolish idea but for about six months past I have been impressed with the thought that I should not live more than about four years longer and how different ought I to live from what I do...” (One thing she keeps talking about is how she’ll be so happy when school is out. She does not like teaching)
“August 14th, Ten o’clock. Once more in my little room, all is still and silent, nothing but the heavy breathing of Sophy to disturb the solitude of the hour. One year ago today I was in my school at Roscoe and a pleasant school it was too. It does not seem possible that a whole year has passed away but so time passes and we hardly realize it until it is gone and then our minds are filled with regrets that our moments have not been better improved. Oh that God would give me strength to live the coming year (if my life is spared) and improve all its passing hours to his honor and glory. I went over to Deacon Watson with Delia this morning. I think some of going into her school next week. I expect to go a black berrying tomorrow with the young people on the prairie and anticipate a good time. Melissa Wright was married today to Edmund, a Frenchman. Oh what foolish people!”
“October 2nd, We all went to Janesville to the fair. I stayed at Mrs. Conrad’s all night and Fri. morn took the cars for Madison, traveled in company with a gentleman and his wife. Very pleasant people. Got to M. about noon, took dinner at the United States Hotel and went to the fair but did not see much. Found Doct. Chapman people in Madison. Stayed with them until Monday.”
“December 7th, Started for ____this morning on foot but rode with Mr. Wadsworth people and went to the Presbyterian Church and rode home with Charley and Jenny Hopkins and tonight Lu and have been over to the school house to bible class. Capital sleighing.”
1857
“January 3rd, Bently Morgan and Ira have been here. Have passed the day very pleasantly although I have seen happier days. Shall go to Mr. Nye’s on Saturday if possible.”
“April 27th, Nelson and I went to the daguerreotype gallery this morning and had father’s likeness copied. Funeral of Mr. Cochran this afternoon but I could not go.”
I’m going to stop here. I also wrote down a few names of the folks in the area and I believe most of these names came from when she was living in Beloit Wisconsin…..Will Webster, Reynolds, Clark Tyler, Wilbur Cardell, Taft, Talbot, Preacher Newton, Briggs, Keeps, Clintock, Abbott, Bradley, Elder Chamberlain, Quinby, Longfield, Sarah Stewart, Harrison, and many more.
As far as the condition of these diaries; they are all in fair to good shape. Some of the covers have stains or water marks, there is foxing to the pages, etc. What you would expect in diaries over 170 years old. The last diary (1857) has the most wear with some small tears on the outside of the pages, very small. You can also see that in the example scans above. They measure 3 1/2” x 5 1/4”.