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……

ADELINE ELIZABETH (WILSON) BURTON DIARIES

(1892-1918)

There are two handwritten diaries and between the two there are 542 handwritten pages of entries.

They belonged to “Addie” Burton who was born on September 24th, 1865 in Denmark Iowa to the parents of Lewis and Harriet (Robbins Turner) Wilson. Addie married Eugene Henry Burton in 1887 while in Iowa but the 1892 census records show the couple living in South Dakota. Now from what I gathered from speed reading, she mentions going to West Point South Dakota as if it was close by. And then when she goes to the World’s Fair in 1893 she arrived back home by train in Madison South Dakota and her husband picks her up there and they travel home. Takes a few hours by buggy. So they either live in Union County or Lake County South Dakota.

Then in the late 1800’s the couple moves to California and makes Sunnyvale their final home. Addie’s husband Eugene becomes an “Orchardist” so the census records say. They had two children: Glenn Wilson born in 1889 and Miriam (whom was born during the time one of these diaries was written) in 1892. Eugene passed away in 1945 and Addie in 1958.

I haven’t read these diaries but just skimmed through them to gather some information. The first diary dates from June 6th, 1892 and ends on September 16th, 1894. Then the second diary begins on October 7th, 1894 and goes all the way through to April 7th of 1896 and Addie is still in South Dakota. She then skips several years and does not pick up her diary again until February 1st, of 1915 so I’m assuming this is because the family has moved to California, which I believed they did at the end of the 1890’s. Only a page or two for 1915 then she skips to 1917. In this next portion of the diary she writes until November 7th, 1918.

A few things I gathered from speed reading through the diaries: Addie travels to Illinois to attend the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 and actually takes baby Miriam with her, who is just a year old. Only three pages devoted to her time in Chicago. She also struggles with Eugene’s job as he’s not home much, sometimes away weeks at a time, diphtheria scares around town, traveling, raising babies in North Dakota and much more.

Addie does a great job with her entries too, always mentioning births, marriage and the deaths of not only her family members but the folks in the area. There is also war news since WWI is prevalent in the minds of so many Americans.

In the beginning she a faithful diarist writing every day but as the years go on she sometimes skips weeks and months at a time, especially the portion of her life which she skips from 1896-1915. You still get a fascinating look at what life is like for a young woman and her family, first living in the Midwest and then heading to the West to spend the rest of her life.

The diaries are large too measuring about 5” x 8” and have tan canvas covers. They are in good shape other than a few stains on the covers.