1888 - 1902 FINE DIARIES. 12 High Content Diaries of Traveling Texas, California, Utah + Hunting in New England, etc.

An expansive grouping of 12 complete years of diaries belonging to a young man-about town businessman, hunter, and traveler based in the Boston area. And every page is full . . . hardly a single page without some interesting insight into the period. 

Our gent, unnamed for now, apparently owned a wool business, with several addresses mentioned throughout as it developed. I am sure he can be tracked down with a bit of effort. He travels to Texas, Canada, Utah, California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, etc., hunting, fishing, exploring, and buying wool from sheep farmers. 

Below is just a sliver of the content from only three diaries, and we have not even looked through a full single year of those, and nine other diaries, with similar density content, are untouched . . . though we did see one with extensive accounts of time spent in Yellowstone just flipping through.

The content is excellent; detailed accounts of hunting, fishing, and clamming in New England, travelogue of cross-continental train rides, observations of Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Antonio; hearing D. L. Moody preach on multiple occasions, early real estate and train line investing in the Boston area. 

If I parted these and shlepped them on eBay fully catalogued, these would easily be $200-$300 examples for each year. They would be far more valuable historically if intact. 

Here is just a sampling:

DIARY FOR 1888: Taking decoys and guns to go duck hunting; never had such good hunting; ducks flew well, killed five; shot a buck; left mother unpleasantly; foot and a half of snow & splendid sleighing; on train en-route to Oregon; went over to Mascoma Flannell Co and spent entire day trying to adjust claim made by them on wool sold there; read Buffalo Bill; train for Hillston Bride - Cleaned my gun; played pool all evening; Lebanon Falls, Boston; went rabbit hunting alone, saw 5 but got only a frozen toe which is decidedly uncomfortable; Great Falls; Forest Hills; checkers and backgammon; Welchville; Jones Boarding House; Auburn; Guilford; Dexter; Hallowell; a niece who is deaf and cannot speak well and who is in a pitiful condition; Dover New Hampshire; Philadelphia; Merrimac House; Lowell; dancing school; traded Maynard for W. Richard's shotgun & $20 to boot; Worcester; cleaning guns; spent the evening playing ucher [euchre]; Norwalk Connecticut; Winnipauk Connecticut; had a row with Fred & shall not see him again unless he apologizes; Greenland; Newburyport; Haverhill; Andover; Framingham; went to a spiritual meeting with mother; up to Lawyer's to testify in Stone Wynn case at 10am; Mame & I had a row & I hurt her badly & came near giving her up [the next few days, he speaks about her recover; it seems he may have beat her, though it's unclear]; Braintree; did considerable shooting with revolver & shot gun & killed one red squirrel; saved a man's life at Providence who was under a moving train; went up to Leicester & spent the night 1,000 feet above sea; Holyoke; puttered with guns etc until nearly night. Traded 16 shot Winchester for a new 22 cal single shot Winchester& bought a new Scott gun for $30.00; sailed via Mallory Line for Galveston, Texas. Got very sick like many others; machinery gave out & we had to lay at anchor; we are in sight of land all day, of the Florida coast; hauling into dock at Key West, could not go ashore owing to quarantine restrictions against Yellow Fever. Highest point above sea on Island only 7 feet. 20,000 inhabitants, sponge & coral gathering, etc.; saw a large sea turtle and some man-eaters; buying wool in San Antonio and Houston, Taylor, and Austin; tried new 22 Winchester today; out of 36 shots I killed 3 sparrows & 1 blue bird; bound for Austin to witness dedication of new State Capitol; nothing but Mexicans in this section; went over to New Laredo Mexico and witnessed my first Bull & Cock fight, the former is specially grand; train for San Diego; made $5.00 on Baseball at Beach in Dallas; went to a meeting of wool growers and commission men in evening to organize against free trade; went shooting with rifle in P.M. shot a jack running with my Winchester; sent Lizzie a cactus by rail; went shooting & killed 2 rabbits running, a killdeer, hit a can thrown in air, went to dance at court house; awaiting train for Colorado but it did not come owing to a freight train wreck at dead man's cut; went fishing  and caught 12 German Carp; also did some shooting & got; I fired my rifle and horses jumped . . . killed the rabbit & fire at. Shot 42 prairie dogs and 6 rabbits coming over with my 22 Winchester; could get no other conveyance so I hired a mustang & rode over to San Saba a distance of 25 miles; boards for a bed and a stone for pillow; did a good deal of shooting going over - killed 1 owl, 1 dove, 1 rabbit, 1 buzzard, and about a dozen dogs; made a breakfast off of bread we cooked last night but found it so full of mice leavings cooked in & unnoticeable in darkness, that we departed without breakfast; killed 77 prairie dogs, 3 rabbits, and 3 birds with my 22 Winchester; arrived Colorado at 6.40pm, put up a Pacific - 16 year old boy came near shooting a sheepman in hotel; train for Salt Lake City arrived at noon and put up at Continental Hotel; went to the Tabernacle of "Mormon Church;" had 2 baths in the Great Salt Lake; Went to Temple; Brigham Young's Grave; spent AM among sheep men at Lehi Utah, but could do not business so drove over to American Fork; passed through Black Canyon, Marshall Pass, Royal Gorge, etc.; went out fishing on Cooks ground with George's boat. Took me 1 1/2 hours to bail boat out. Caught 31 chocksett . . . went over to Marion House, Bird Island, Rd Book & down home. Got back at 6pm, good hard, SW wind & rain had a delightful sail. Mable & I played checkers & backgammon in evening; etc. etc. etc. 

DIARY FOR 1890: Saw and had a long talk with Stanley about Cape Cod land scheme; spent day writing answers to questions in the Willard case; drew samples & finished questions in the Willard case; headed to Boston; train to Adams Massachusetts; Holyoke; Springfield; Warwick; Brookfield; shot 7 quail & 2 partridges - plucked birds and cleaned guns; Providence; broke my engagement in Cape Cod Land deal; got a letter from mother saying that Luther Wise was dangerously sick with pneumonia; spent evening playing high low jack; Fitchburg; sold 19,000 lbs of wool; Sears Building burned down today; bought 126 acres from Captain Drummisch [?]; spent day at sock board & at Stanley's office - bought 20 shares R & W at 22.75; bought bonds of Flax Pond land from Stanley for $100; spent day buying land all oer South Pocasset; spent day buying land and succeeded in buying 5 acres more of less from Weyman Swift - 15 acres from Forbes Howard - 15 acres of David Nye; Horatio; letter from Texas containing a bid for $300 for my house there - another for $400; went to Carpenter's dancing school on Chestnut Street; went to a dance at Broad & Columbia Ave - had some rum after and enjoyed ourselves very much; Al Wing came in & we played checkers until noon. I skunked him 3 times & quit 8 games ahead; went to Scraggy Neck Beach [Cataumet, MA] gunning & I got 4 sheldrake; lightning strike within a hundred yards Manchester New Hampshire,; I went to the light-house & got a shiff & tipped over in the river, wetting his money, watch, etc., & getting him pretty mad; I went clamming in the AM. I got 1/2 bushel; Port Chester; Woodbury; Bristol; etc. [This is only content from the first few months]

DIARY FOR 1891: Took 9am train to Worcester, went to Cluny Valley, and rode back with Knowle the loom man; Millbury, Uxbridge, went over to the Art Museum with Clarke; shaved and dressed and went to a dance at Berkeley Hall in the evening - home at 12.30 and ate 12 large oranges; went down to Tremont Temple [Boston] and heard D. L. Moody preach; like him very much; Laconia, New Hampshire; Franklin, Tilton, Lebanon, Hartford; Splendid sleigh ride of 20 odd miles today - sold Green Bank 30/40 bays of wool; Wilton; spent entire day among buyers of foreign wools - about town with Mr. Stansfield - out of store at 6.40 - supper at Hotel Garfield; Mame & I got supper & dressed and went to a full dress Party at Berkeley Hall in the Evening - Commonwealth Party; got 1/2 bushel of clams at mouth of river in P.M & went up to Phinney Gibbs in evening to see Avery about going rabbiting in A.M.; got breakfast and went into the woods with Al & Avery - I got 1 rabbit & 1 partridge, they nothing. Total 63 partridges & think. Did some target shooting with rifle and dog training in P.M.; spent entire day attending to personal business - bought an option on 125 chares Riley Railway Construction Co. at $15 - at $5 a share for 6 months; Chelsea; stayed in during evening and picked 3 big lice off my person, after which I took a bath and went to bed; went & **** 2 Portuguese girls at 1225 Washington Street; Sanford, Berwick, Great Falls; took electric car to Ddover at 11.20; went to Prebles at Jamaica Plain & played whist all night; had some maple sap right from the tree today, and sad stuff it was; took Mame to hear Moody at Tremont Temple tonight; learned when I got home that Barbara Hare had been at my house and made all manner of threats against me, claiming I had her in trouble & she would make me suffer; Ipswich; went to north side of Neck and staid until noon - got 8 sheldrake & he 3; went decoying and stand all day - got 4 sheldrake; took Freddie & Eds boat & went to Nick with a view of going decoying, but wind was right on the north shore & smacks well on the South side, so gave it up & went home - took Rex & went up around Flose Pond, brot little rifle & found 4 partridges, but he took no notice of them - went to Neck and killed 4 or 5 sparrows & 2 robins with rifle; borrowed Pickham's dory & took her across the neck in wagon - loaded 100 shells - had a terrible time with Rex trying to get him to with me - whipped him most to death; took boat and went off between the islands - shot down one loon & got a sheldrake on shire by Neck coming home, crept down on him right back of old Washburn Place, hard & difficult creeping - shooting being poor some gunners & I went ashore on Washburn & had a clam bake - left at 12 & went to Cooks ground against a hard L.E. wind - got a good mess of fish & wet through; took Rex & gun & went off between the Islands and staid all day - god a good mess of fish but no ducks; wind hard NW & cool, very, for the season - I took rifle & Rex after breakfast and went up around the Flox & Lily Pond - saw a duck in Lily Pond & 1 Partridge - home at 2pm - cleaned rifle & took a nap - after dinner spend an hour on dog yard - then just before dark Mame & I went oystering & got a peck - shaved and eat about 7 dozen raw oysters before going to bed; got into Montreal at 10am - took things to other station  and hunted up Belle - found her at 12 - had dinner & then Mr. Palton took me up on Mount Royal & all over the City - had a very nice time - Montreal is quite a pretty city - met his folks in evening - Belle walked half way to station with me in the evening - I took 8.40 train Canadian Pacific RR for Vancouver B.C. - order for ticket was wrong & had much trouble, but finally off; pleasant cool day on train all day - passed through a most rocky rough country, heavily timbered, and abundant lakes and streams - a paradise for the sportsman evidently, but good for little else evidently; got to Port Arthur, ticket at Fort Thompson after much trouble - very pretty view of Lake Superior from the train as we passed along the North shore - moose, caribou, deer, plenty of trout & trapping in this section, country full of lakes and streams of pure cold water - Lake Superior a beautiful clear body of water; Fort William to Winnepeg, Manitoba - passed through a country much resembling that between Ottawa, Fort Thompson, only more **** and not so stony, well timbered & lots of water, hunting, fishing, trapping about the same - got into Winnipeg - while there saw old Hudson Bay Fort, etc,. population about 3,000 - the Red River Valley looks very green; spent entire day in observation car and passed through some of the finest scenery I ever saw - glaciers 500 to 1000 feet thick - solid ice and covering miles in extent - snowed hard here - grand mountain scenery in great variety - fine fishing and shooting; entire A.M. in observation car - passed across Columbia River - saw Indians catching salmon in the river and washing gold on the sand bars - took boat at 4 & went to Victoria Vancouver Island - 84 miles, nice sale and had beautiful view of the Olympic Mts in Oregon - took boat at 8 for Tacoma; Cool day - came down through Puget Sound to Seattle and Tacoma & got into the latter place at 7am - Tacoma quite a town - train to Portland - went up on Mountain & got a good view of city. Crossed the Columbia at its mouth coming down on cars in a **** mighty River, but very muddy - train to San Francisco; all day aboard train from Portland to San Francisco - went over some very fine Engineering on the line of the Oregon & Cala RR - splendid view of Mt Shasta, which is nearly 15,000 ft high & well covered with snow; arrived Sacramento & got to San Francisco at 8.15 - went to Presideo - we took a horse ride out to the Golden Gate - had a splendid view; train to Salt Lake; etc. etc. [Content from first 6 months]