Elizabeth Baldwin Harris diaries, 1858-1893, 1958

Navigate the Collection

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Harris, Elizabeth Baldwin Wiley
Abstract:
Elisabeth Baldwin Wiley Harris was a resident of a large plantation near Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia. The bulk of the collection consists of six volumes and fragments of a manuscript diary with daily entries from 1862 to 1893, written by Elizabeth Harris. Although there is a fragment of the diary dated 1858, the daily entries begin Jan. 4, 1862, and continue, with brief interruptions for illnesses and family crises, until Oct. 26, 1893. Harris occasionally mentions local and national politics, events connected with the Civil War, and slavery, but most of the entries concern the weather, family matters, births, deaths, illnesses, the state of her soul, and daily activities. The collection also contains one letter dated 1860, two letters dated 1957 and 1958, and a genealogy from the donor which gives background information about the author and her family.
Extent:
0.5 Linear Feet
20 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00511

Background

Scope and content:

The bulk of the collection consists of six volumes and fragments of a manuscript diary with daily entries from 1862 to 1893, written by Elizabeth Harris. Although there is a fragment of the diary dated 1858, the daily entries begin Jan. 4, 1862, and continue, with brief interruptions for illnesses and family crises, until Oct. 26, 1893. Harris occasionally mentions local and national politics, events connected with the Civil War, and slavery, but most of the entries concern the weather, family matters, births, deaths, illnesses, the state of her soul, and daily activities. The collection also contains one letter dated 1860, two letters dated 1957 and 1958, and a genealogy from the donor which gives background information about the author and her family.

Biographical / historical:

Elizabeth Baldwin Wiley Harris was born in Hancock County, Georgia, August 24, 1821, the daughter of Eliza DeWitt and William Wiley, a well-to-do planter. She was one of four children. The family later migrated to New York. In 1845 Elizabeth married James Martin Harris, also of Hancock County, who owned a plantation there of 10,000 acres. Eliza was a descendent of the DeWitt family, which came from Rochelle, France, and founded New Rochelle, N.Y. Avis and Cornelia were sisters of Eliza. Elizabeth B. (Wiley) and James M. Harris had no children, but they adopted Moses Wiley, a son of her brother Samuel Wiley and Sarah (Carnes) Wiley. Moses Wiley Harris was the father of the donor, Mrs. Elizabeth B.H. Holmes. Fate, the overseer of the Harris plantation, was the son of an African prince. [Information given by Mrs. Elizabeth Baldwin Harris Holmes and from information in the collection.]

Acquisition information:
The Elizabeth Baldwin Harris diaries were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a deposit in 1956.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff, 1957

Encoded by Paula Jeannet, April 2014

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 56-415

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Plantation life -- Georgia
Plantation owners' spouses -- Georgia
Women -- Diaries
Hancock County (Ga.) -- Genealogy
Hancock County (Ga.) -- History
Format:
Diaries
Names:
Harris family
Harris, Elizabeth Baldwin Wiley
Places:
Georgia -- Social conditions
Sparta (Ga.) -- History

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Elizabeth Baldwin Harris Diaries, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.