A Collection of Twenty-four Diaries, 1852-1899

1899. Hardcover. Near Fine. A collection of diaries spanning nearly five decades by a Centreville, Pennsylvania native, William M. Shriver, who was possibly a Civil War veteran. Twenty-four volumes, small octavo, various bindings (cloth, leather). Generally in fine condition. The brief entries are all written in pencil, with detailed household accounting lists in the back. They are mostly concise descriptions of the weather and the diarist's main activity of the day: working in the store, going to the local tavern, etc.. Shriver has signed his name with the location and date in most of the volumes. The years included are: 1852, 1853, 1869, 1870-71, 1871, 1872, 1874, 1875, 1876-77, 1877-78, 1880-1881, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1899. In the 1870 United States Federal Census, there is an entry for a William Shriver of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania with an approximate birth date of 1830. The Civil War holdings of the Pennsylvania State Archives contains the papers and military records of a William M. Shriver of Cumberland County, dating from 1855, 1862-66, 1871-72, 1877-79, 1886, 1891, and 1897. Though there is no definitive evidence that all this refers to the same man, still the possibility exists that the William Shriver born about 1830 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, is the same William Shriver who served during the Civil War, who, in turn, is the author of these diaries. Regardless, the diaries are a good resource for those curious about the daily life of an average citizen in 19th Century America.