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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/e9e1e3c9-88b8-4de5-97f3-843122087561
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847
Date Range
1879, 2020
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
This collection contains Frank E. Witmer's original 1879 diary, as well as a transcription and index prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace. The diary provides a detailed record of the daily activities of all members of the family. He primarily records the work involved in running a truck farm--planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops, and preparing for market. Other entries of interest include helping a neighbor move a carriage house; building a hog pen; canning; attendance at several Mennonite churches in the area; the process of moving from one house and barn to a new house and barn on the property; frequent visits between relatives and neighbors; and a few mentions of school and the leisure activities of the young men.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
Date Range
1879, 2020
Creation Date
1879, 2020
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Other Creators
Witmer, Franklin Elmer, 1855-1931
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Indexes
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Transcriptions
Indexes
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
3 items, 146 pages to scan
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0847
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use transcription and index, MG0847_F002 and MG0847_F003.
Original diary may be used by appointment--contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 1
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
PDFs of the transcription and index are attached to the correlating records.
Documents
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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/f91b95d5-85cf-482d-a6e8-871332904644
Collection
Daniel Reiber Collection
Title
Daniel Reiber Collection
Object ID
MG0210
Date Range
1805-1981
, George Oliver Subject Headings: Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) Diaries Genealogy Letters Obituaries �230 North President Avenue • Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603-3125 717.392.4633 • www.LancasterHistory.org Search Terms: Bangor Episcopal Church Caernarvon Cemetery Caernarvon Cemetery Association
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Daniel Reiber Collection
Title
Daniel Reiber Collection
Description
The Daniel Reiber Collection contains the personal papers of Martin Bickham, who married Mme. Emilie Raymonde Adeline Eugenie Rivalz de St. Antoine in 1805. Many of the documents and letters are in French, some have been translated into English. There is genealogy tracing lines of the McCamant, Jenkins, McCaa, and Andes families from 1722-1942. Obituaries, correspondence with the McCaa family, and deeds for the Caernarvon Cemetery are among other items in the collection.
Date Range
1805-1981
Year Range From
1805
Year Range To
1981
Date of Accumulation
1805-1981
Creator
Reiber, Daniel Grube, 1910-1990
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 05
People
Rivalz de St. Antoine, Emilie Raymonde Adeline Eugenie
Andes, John B.
Bickham, Alfred
Bickham, Stephen Girard
Bickman, Martin
Buchanan, James
Carpenter, William
Collins, Lavina Bickham
Curwen, Joseph
Diffenbaugh, Peter
Diller, Edwin Carpenter
Diller, John Vagan
Frailey, Charles R.
Girard, Stephen
Grube, Daniel Houder
Hull, Isaac
Hull, Louisa
Larramendi, Joseph Jean
Line, Gabriel
Marks, Elizabeth
McCaa, David G.
McCaa, David Jenkins
McCaa, James
McCaa, William J.
McCamant, Alexander
McCamant, James B.
McCamant, Thomas J.
McCamant, Wallace
McMichaels, William
Reed, George
Rivalz, Martin Stephen
Roland, George Oliver
Subjects
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Diaries
Genealogy
Letters
Obituaries
Search Terms
Bangor Episcopal Church
Caernarvon Cemetery
Caernarvon Cemetery Association
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Delaware River
Diaries
Finding aids
Genealogy
Leacock Twp.
Letters
Manuscript groups
Marriage certificates
Newspaper clippings
Obituaries
Port Louis, Mauritius
Raccoon Island, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Extent
1 box, 14 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English, French
Object ID
MG0210
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Associated Material
See collections related to Martin Bickham at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
See collections related to Martin Bickham and Stephen Girard at Girard College.
Related Item Notes
McCaa Collection (MG0281)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Daniel Reiber Collection (MG0210), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-210
Classification
MG0210
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by CF, Summer 2011. Added to database 20 February 2022.
Documents
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Finding Aid

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