William C. Holgate papers

The diaries of William C. Holgate (father) span the years 1833 through 1852. The diaries of his son span the years 1868 to 1894, with the two account ledgers dating from 1878 to 1880 and 1924 to 1948. The diaries are not complete for all years covered, thus the information available on these two men's lives is somewhat incomplete. The diaries, despite this one weakness, contain valuable and interesting information on local events as well as those of national importance. Both men traveled frequently and were good recorders of what they did and saw on their trips. Places visited in addition to Ohio include New York, the New England states, the Southwest, the West Coast, and Europe. Cities described in detail include New York City, Burlington, Buffalo, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Virginia City, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, and numerous other small cities and towns.

The major portion of the father's diaries cover his personal and business affairs in Defiance and vicinity, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in Ohio and New York. As demonstrated in Maumee River 1835, by Louis Simonis, the father was a part of, and in contact with the men and events which shaped the settlement and development of Northwest Ohio and Defiance County and these events and issues are detailed in the diaries.

The same can be said of the information in the son's diaries. He began his record keeping at the age of thirteen, and the earlier entries reflect the interests and lighter thoughts of an adolescent. The later ones are more informative with fewer short repetitive entries. Of special value are the accounts of his trip to the Southwest and West coast (parts of it on horseback in wilderness areas without the benefits of civilized lodging and roads), his honeymoon in Philadelphia at the Centennial Park, and his account of a four month tour of Europe in 1902. The two account books are of lesser value, with the possible exception of the farm account book for 1878 to 1880. This record contains lists of expenses, types of crops, and livestock being raised, and an accounting of hours and pay to farm hands and for hired services. The last account book is a small automobile pocket record. It contains some miscellaneous addresses and service and mileage records on the automobile. Some of the later entries are probably of the grandson, who also was named William C. Holgate.