Phebe Earle Gibbons was from a prominent Quaker family. The diary covers years 1849, 1854, 1855, 1856 and 1857. "MRS. PHOEBE EARLE GIBBONS, a lady of literary tastes, was born in Philadelphia, August 9th, 1821. Her father,Thomas Earle, was a man of great note in his day, and in1840 was the first candidate of the Liberty party for Vice President. The subject of this sketch was well educated in select schools in Massachusetts, and taught in Mr. Picot's French school in Philadelphia and elsewhere for some years. In 1845 she was married to Dr. Joseph Gibbons of Lancaster County. In 1861 she began the study of Greek, with Professor William M. Nevin, of Lancaster. A portion of the Odyssey, translated by her was published in the Ladies' Friend of Philadelphia. A small medical work was translated by her from the French, for Lindsay and Blakistoa, which was published in 1866. She has also translated a portion of the Herman and Dorothea of Goethe. At different times she has written articles for magazines. In 1872 she published a small volume, entitled " Pennsylvania Dutch," a portion of which originally appeared in the Atlantic Monthly. Mrs. Gibbons is an active member of the Lancaster Linnaean Society. She is a lady of varied acquirements and marked intellectual capacity." [Biographical History of Lancaster County by Alexander Harris.]
The R. Theodore Bixlers' Collection of Lancaster Authors.
Summary
The visit of this Lancaster native, Ms. Phebe Earle Gibbons, to France and Belgium in 1878 is described in detail. It includes her visit to the Paris World's Fair, though that is just one stop on a journey to absorb the way of life in these two countries.
