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Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847
Date Range
1879, 2020
  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
Less detail
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847_F003
Date Range
2020/11
  2 documents  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer, 1879.
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
2020/11
Creation Date
2021
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Indexes
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Indexes
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
1 item, 10 pages
Object Name
Index
Language
English
Object ID
MG0847_F003
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Original diary: MG0847_F001
Index: MG0847_F003
Access Conditions / Restrictions
A PDF has been provided for research purposes.
Copyright
A PDF has been provided for research purposes only.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847, Folder 3
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 3
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Index prepared in November 2020.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Transcription of the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847_F002
Date Range
2020/11
  2 documents  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Transcription of the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
Transcription of the diary of Frank E. Witmer, 1879.
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
2020/11
Creation Date
2020/11
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Transcriptions
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
1 item, 60 pages
Object Name
Transcript
Object ID
MG0847_F002
Location of Originals
Original diary at LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, MG0847_F001
Related Item Notes
Index: MG0847_F003
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use the PDF.
Copyright
A PDF has been provided for research purposes only.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847, Folder 2
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 2
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Transcribed in November 2020.
Documents
Less detail