1877 Handwritten Essay Oneida Indians Plus 1879 Diary

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1877 Handwritten Essay Oneida Indians Plus 1879 Diary Picture(s) and Description:

This auction is for the contents of an antique lady's writing desk - it has 2 boxes - one filled with old letters, essays, and an 1879 diary quite full, also an old candy box with over 150 Victorian calling cards or trade cards. CLICK ANY IMAGE TO SUPERSIZE PHOTOS - YOU ARE BIDDING ON ALL THE ITEMS IN THE PHOTOS BELOW IN THIS ONE AUCTION - in short there is one candy box with over 150 little Victorian calling cards, and another letter box with the diary, letters and handwritten essays. The two essays appear original by the lady who kept all this in her desk and almost like manuscripts of antique topics about America - I have not read the diary except I looked in the back where she kept a record of her money and there appears to be some strange large disbursements or receipts with just a mysterious name beside that entry.

I now have a chance to read a bit of the diary - it belonged to Mrs. Libbie Randall. She is a country woman married 20 years to Johnnie, and she writes down almost every day what she did and what happened. This is an adorable little miniature book and makes wonderful reading too! Skimming it briefly, she appears to be a rugged pioneer woman: she writes - "Helped saw 4 large logs with cross cut. The man sawed wood today and Johnie shot up roosters so I sawed in his place."

Now the TWO 1877 ESSAYS - handwritten in ink and fastened at the top with little ribbons, appear to be the type of speech a lady prepared perhaps for a woman's meeting. The author signs her name M.A.H. and M.A.M.H. and has impressive raised home embossed in her letterhead. She worked hard preparing these speeches and they are her original work - not something copied from another place - you can see the thought she has put into them and penned in editing and corrections and she struggled with portraying the topic well. SHE LIVED IN STOTTVILLE NEW YORK STATE AND WROTE THE TWO SPEECHES IN 1877. The first essay or little speech, is entitled: AMERICA. 15 pages long and it is about the Oneida Indians, and the history of them, She concludes with a statement to the effect that the red men should have as prominant a place as Christopher Columbus in the history of America. Here is an excerpt:

We will speak briefly about the history of Oneida County. I believe there is but one battlefield within its limits and that is at Oriskany Creek, where General Herkimer fought the Tories and Indians and were victorious, though with the loss of 2,000 killed and many wounded. A score or more of years ago, a gun was found, upon the battlefield at Oriskany Creek, that had been there for 81 years. This country was the home of the Oneida Indians (hence the name). The Oneidas were one of the bravest tribes of the "six nations" and the only one which during the revolution, maintained friendly relations with the United States. .Judge Dean was a native of New England, but spent several years of his boyhood among the Oneida Indian; by whom he was adopted. Dean intended to become a missionary to the tribe, but accepted the office of Indian agent and interpretor; and rendered efficient aid to the American cause. The state granted him a tract of land in Westmoreland and he resided upon it during the remainder of his life. Two or three years after Judge Dean removed to Westmoreland, an incident occurred which furnishes a parallel to the often related rescue of Capt john Smith by Pocahontas."

A wonderful archive - original and handwritten in 1877 by someone who had seen the history first hand.