Alcesta Huntington Diaries

Ephemera items are some of my favorite materials, they show what people from the past valued and collected, often revealing they are not much different than we are now. The child drawings and writing fragments give a glimpse into the mind of 19th and early 20th century childhood, and how they interacted with their family members. In this collection there are diaries from Alcesta Huntington (1837-1919) spanning almost her whole life, from when she was a pre-teen until she was elderly. These diaries give a glimpse into almost all stages of her life, allowing many viewers of the exhibit to find something to relate to. 

In her 1849 journal, which is the earliest in the collection, Alcesta is away at boarding school in Rome, New York. Her young handwriting describes a cold winter filled with homesickness, and a longing to receive more letters from her family. 

As a teenager, she kept track of her laundry and what she washed when. This list gives an interesting glance into what a girl her age wore day-to-day in 1854. Her daily wardrobe seemed to consist of two white skirts, two chemises, two drawers, two pairs of stockings, a flannel skirt, and two knight dresses; which she washed weekly, along with bed linens and handkerchiefs. This journal entry shows just how little people owned (even relatively wealthy people), compared to modern times. 

Diaries from her early twenties recount visits with friends and family, and lazy days described as “loafing generally.” Entries from this time in her life also show an interest in the oil business. She describes going with a male friend to search for an oil well, but coming up short. She continues to describe her efforts of mapping oil fields, and how she thought “strongly of making endeavors in that way myself as I think I could make good wages at the business,” 

A diary entry from her 71st birthday: “it was my birthday–I suppose no one else will remember it.” I found this to be quite sad, and how aging can cause a loss of confidence or sense of self-importance, and especially how as women age they begin to feel more invisible. 

A constant throughout her life was reading and spending time with her family, them most often being the subject of her diary entries.