Papers, 1823-1830.

ArchivalResource

Parks family. Papers, 1823-1830.

Papers, 1823-1830.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/214092288

Parks' diary, 1827-1829, is accompanied by a typescript copy which includes a subject index, a glossary of terms, and a summary of Parks' peddling itinerary. The diary itself contains terse entries, several describing Parks' duties at the gunpowder mill, including charging the water-powered mill, sorting and packing powder, working on the coal mortar and on the press, pounding and sifting coal and brimstone, and "corning," i.e., the process of granulating the mixture into gunpowder. There are also entries which refer to the part he played in stemming flood threats at a nearby dam; other entries refer to his chopping wood and drawing logs to the mill; hunting, fishing, and working odd jobs, especially for Asher Sackett (1748-1830) of Russell. Several sections pertain to Parks' social life, e.g., dances, shooting matches, visits to nearby towns (especially with Hannah Sophia Gowdy), and to his career as a tin and rag peddler in 1829. The latter carried him to many towns in New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as the western Massachusetts towns of Westfield, Northampton, and Norwich. There are also references to his occasional attendance at Shaker meetings and militia duty in Russell. The diary contains a call to militia duty, dated 18 April 1825. The collection also contains two letters concerning family deaths, etc., written by the Rev. Dudley Worthington ( - ), 1828, in Colchester, Conn.; and Harmon Bradley (1792-1878), 1830, in Brimfield, Ohio. Both were related by marriage to Vestus Haley Parks. Bradley includes a description of financial and farming difficulties in Brimfield. There is also a photocopy of a map of Russell, Mass., and a typescript genealogy of the Bradley family, as well as copies of family letters, compiled by Edward Eugene and Jean A. Bradley in 1979. Edward Eugene Bradley is a great grandson of Vestus Haley Parks.

1 folder (7 items)

American Antiquarian Society