Martha's Vineyard Museum
A Finding Aid to the George Haskell Willoughby Diaries, 1879-1886, 2008
Table of Contents
Descriptive Summary
Repository | Martha's Vineyard Museum,
Gale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508)627-4441 |
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Call Number | RU 431 |
Creator | Willoughby, George Haskell, 1855-1930 |
Title | George Haskell Willoughby diaries |
Date | 1879-1886, 2008 |
Extent | 1/2 box |
Language | The materials are in English. |
Abstract | The collection contains three diaries, 1879-1886, kept by George Haskell Willoughby of Edgartown, Massachusetts, which describe the weather, daily chores, social encounters, excursions and provide detailed household accounts. A 2008 biographical sketch of Willoughby and transcripts of the diaries are also included. |
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use and Reproduction Restrictions
Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to the library's staff. Reproduction fees may apply.
Preferred Citation
Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 431, George Haskell Willoughby Diaries.
Acquisition Information
Gift of George Haskell Willoughby's great-granddaughter, Liz Willoughby Fitzsimmons in 2008. (Accession no. 2008.042)
Publication Information
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Gale Huntington Research Library59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508)627-4441
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared by Insley Julier January 2013. Machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick April 2014.
Processing of this collection and creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury through the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act. Machine-encoding of the finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Index Terms
Family Name(s)
- Willoughby family
Genre(s)
- Diaries
- Transcripts
Geographic Name(s)
- Chappaquiddick Island (Mass.)
- Edgartown (Mass.)
- Rumney (N.H.)
Personal Name(s)
- Fitzsimmons, Elizabeth Willoughby
Subject(s)
- Agriculture
- Daily life
- Weather
Biography/Historical Note
George Haskell Willoughby was born August 14, 1855 in Lowell, Massachusetts to Edward Kendall Willoughby and Georgianna Richards Willoughby. He was the youngest of four children, including, Ella, Mary and Edward Oliver. After his birth Willoughby's parents moved to Woburn, Massachusetts, where Willoughby grew up. On April 21, 1878, George Willoughby married his first cousin, Maria Ann Downing. In 1879 the couple moved to Martha's Vineyard, settling on Chappaquiddick, where they ran a farm and raised vegetables, poultry and bees. They sold eggs and often bartered for other provisions. Willoughby also spent time hunting, trapping, clamming and fishing. George Willoughby and Maria had six children, Walter Irving, Leo Alfred, Mona Helen, Violet Ada, Elroy Kendall and Hattie Edna. In 1883, the family moved to east Rumney, New Hampshire. By 1885 they had returned to Martha's Vineyard. Willoughby worked as a gardener and landscaper. Eventually the couple separated, with George Willoughby splitting his time between New Hampshire and Edgartown. Maria remained in Edgartown until she died in 1925. George Willoughby died in 1930.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains three diaries kept by George Haskell Willoughby, 1879-1882. The 1882 diary also contains some 1885-1886 accounts. Willoughby makes brief daily entries in the diaries recording the weather, his work, property repairs, excursions, fish, fowl and game he has captured, social encounters, provisions purchased and other daily household income and expenses. The collection also includes a biographical sketch of George Willoughby and typed transcripts of the diaries created by Willoughby's great-granddaughter, Elizabeth (Liz) Willoughby Fitzsimmons in 2008.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Collection Contents
Box | Folder | |||
Diary, 1879-1880 | 1 | 1 | ||
Diary, 1881 | 1 | 2 | ||
Diary, 1882, 1885-1886 | 1 | 3 | ||
Biographical Sketch and Transcript, 2008 | 1 | 4 | ||