The collection consists mainly of Thomas Nichols' twenty-seven diaries, which begin in 1841 and run through 1869, although there are several gaps. Thomas Nichols' diaries consist of very brief entries, typically of two or three lines per day, which contain comments on the weather, visitors, and daily chores necessary for the operation of his farm. The farm chores mentioned have a recurring cycle of seasonal activities, which although clearly documented as consuming much of Nichols' time, are also accompanied by other entries related to his marble business. Activities related to this business included regular trips to Danby Borough to obtain raw material and sell finished stones as well as time spent cutting, shaping and lettering tomb stones. One of his regular routes took him to Fort Ann, New York; another took him up to Middlebury, Bristol, and Huntington, Vermont. Thomas Nichols' diaries are focused almost entirely on the minutiae of his daily life and there are almost no diary entries about the events of the world mentioned. The collection also includes at least one diary authored by Nathan Round Nichols, which was written in 1867 while he was at Middlebury College. In his diary, Nathan Nichols speaks in brief entries of attending lectures, concerts, studying the Bible, and observing Friday fast day. The collection also includes two account books and a Pastor's Manual, with notes, belonging to Nathan Nichols. The account books contain very detailed records of his expenses from 1863 to 1866 and clearly indicate where he obtained his funds. An additional seven diaries with unidentified writers are also part of the collection. At least two of these writers can be identified as distinct; however, it is also possible that some diaries belonged to additional people. Several of these diaries date from the late 1840s and 1850s and may have been written by either a Nichols or a frequent visitor of the Nichols family, judging from the references of who came to visit. The other unidentified writer was the author of diary entries in almanacs from 1882, 1884, and 1889, and made fairly cryptic notations, which included mainly names and numbers.
