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1906 antique DIARY DELOS S HOFFMAN st. johnsville ny FARMING FAMILY GENEALOGY
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Original 1906 handwritten diary of Delos S. Hoffman, associated with St. Johnsville, New York, measuring approximately 7 x 8.5 inches. This is an unusually substantial rural New York diary, filled with dated entries documenting virtually the entire year from January through December 1906.
Hoffman records the rhythms of everyday farm and family life in considerable detail: cutting and sawing wood, hauling loads, horses and wagons, sleighing, planting and cultivating corn and potatoes, haying, livestock, buying and selling cattle, farm machinery, sharpening tools, repairing equipment, weather, heavy snowstorms, church attendance, missionary meetings, funerals, illnesses, deaths, weddings, parties, picnics, visitors and trips into neighboring communities.
There is excellent local and genealogical content throughout. Numerous relatives, neighbors and acquaintances are identified by name, including members of the Hoffman, Beckman/Buckman, Hayes and other families. Entries repeatedly reference St. Johnsville and surrounding places and provide a remarkably personal picture of a Mohawk Valley farming family at the beginning of the 20th century.
Some especially interesting entries concern changing technology and community life. Hoffman mentions telephone activity, local business and travel, machinery, church affairs, social gatherings and day-to-day transactions. One entry records news concerning a San Francisco earthquake, giving the diary an interesting connection to a major event of 1906.
The diary also contains an original loose May 24, 1906 statement from E. A. Handy Jr. of St. Johnsville, N.Y., dealer in Drugs, Medicines, Chemicals, Paints and Oils, made out to Morgan Hoffman. The statement provides particularly strong contemporary evidence tying the Hoffman family and diary to St. Johnsville.
The inside cover contains a handwritten “Cost of Painting House 1906” account listing paint and supplies, including zinc, lead, boiled oil, ultramarine blue and other materials, together with costs and labor. This is an excellent additional piece of domestic and material-history content.
The attractive period ATHOL cover has a decorative Art Nouveau-style design, with “1906 Delos S. Hoffman” handwritten at the top.
Authentic period piece related to family, historyor local heritage - well-suited for historical collections, genealogical /genealogy research, or museum acquisition.Vintage or Antique.
CONDITION: See listing description and photos.
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LOC:
LOC2: BOOKSHELF22-MULTI(4)-TMKTK
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