A Wisconsin farmer's diary, 1866-1871

Mason, Jeremiah, 1838-1913. Papers, 1861-1878 (diary, 1866-1871)

This diary is typical of many 19th-century daily journals. It was kept by Jeremiah Mason (1838-1913), who came to Wisconsin as a child about 1845. His family was among the early settlers of Fort Atkinson, in Jefferson County. In the early 1850s, they built a log cabin and began farming about three miles northwest of the town in what today is Dorothy Carnes Park. In 1861, 22-year-old Jeremiah enrolled in writing classes and began to keep a diary. For the next 18 years, he faithfully noted the daily routine of life on a Wisconsin farm, his jobs at small factories in town, and social activities around Fort Atkinson. In 1898, Mason moved downriver to Beloit, where he was living with a daughter at the time of his death in 1913. 

The diary entries are short and precise rather than long and thoughtful, and convey many concrete details about pioneer life in southern Wisconsin. The volumes given here, 1866-1871, total 300 pages. Because they are quite small and Mason usually wrote in pencil, we have enhanced some images to improve legibility. Click anywhere on a page to zoom in.

View the Document

---