Diaries of Edward Holyoke, 1742-1747.

ArchivalResource

Holyoke, Edward Augustus, 1728-1829. Diaries of Edward Holyoke, 1742-1747.

Diaries of Edward Holyoke, 1742-1747.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/589227026

Five interleaved almanacs for the years 1742, 1743, 1744, 1746, and 1747 written mainly while Holyoke was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The diaries are handwritten in English with occasional use of undeciphered shorthand. Holyoke also includes symbols for the weather and indicating days of class recitations. There are two references to the Holyoke family's slave Juba. The 1742 diary is interleaved in Nathaniel Ames' An astronomical diary, or, An almanack for the year of our Lord Christ, 1742. Each page, representing one month, is divided into three columns with a section for the weather, the direction of the wind, and finally notes on the day and Holyoke's undeciphered shorthand. The diary begins before Holyoke's admittance to Harvard and concludes in his freshman year. The earlier months have more entries, and by later months there are no records of the weather and only sporadic entries. Holyoke notes travel events, community news, and interactions with Harvard faculty. The diary includes a chart titled "The signification of the characters used for the weather" that provides a key for roughly sixty different symbols Holyoke used to describe the weather. On the last page, Holyoke provides "An account of our examination the 13 day of July 1742: viz: [Daniel] Foxcroft [Joseph] Green myself and [James] Putnam. The 1743 diary is interleaved in Nathaniel Ames' An Astronomical Diary, or, An almanack for the year of our Lord Christ, 1743. The pages of the diary are separated into two columns: the first to display symbols indicating when class recitations occurred. Entries include information about student life and occasional references to community deaths and illness. The 1744 diary is interleaved in Poor Richard, 1744, An almanack for the year of Christ 1744. The entries are focused on Holyoke's life as a college student with mention of his professors and daily events. The months of May, July, October, November, and December have no entries. The 1746 diary is interleaved in Poor Richard, 1746, An almanack for the year of Christ 1746. More consistently filled out, the diary continues information about Holyoke's senior year at Harvard, and his appointment as a schoolteacher in Lexington, Massachusetts. The September and October entries reference local military movements of King George's war. The 1747 diary contains brief records (usually one or two a month) written in a small booklet of blank pages. The entries focus on local deaths and community news. The November page recounts the Boston Knowles Riot.

.03 cubic foot (5 volumes).

Harvard University Archives.