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Preferred Citation:

George W. Fetterman Diaries, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information:

Purchase.

Processing Information:

Accessioned and minimally processed by Benjamin Bromley in September 2010. Processing completed by Lisa Sparks Carpenter in December 2010 and January 2011.

Scope and Contents

Contains a sixty-year account of the life of George W. Fetterman, a western New York farmer. He started out as a laborer in Clarkson, NY, working for local farmers, including the Dennison, Garland, Garrison, Moore, Green, and King families. He later moved to Pendleton, NY, where he had a farm with his wife Eliza Prosser and daughter Dorothy. He frequently mentioned the nearby city of Lockport where he conducted business.The brief daily diary entries describe events of the day, chiefly work accomplished. Some of his main farming duties included working in orchards, threshing wheat, and harvesting corn. In the earlier diaries (between 1890 and 1910), his main form of recreation was attending church, prayer meetings, and "sings" several times a week, as well as reading books in the evening. In later years, he tended to listen to the radio for evening entertainment.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Diaries
• Farm life--New York (State)
• Farms--New York (State)