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Stutley S. Parmater Diary

 Collection
Identifier: RH-A-3975

Scope and Contents

In the diary Parmater mainly records the weather and his daily chores on the farm. He occasionally writes about large purchases, visits from neighbors, the death of friends, the health of his family, and trips to Decatur and Dowagiac Michigan to visit friends, attend fairs, or shop. Most entries are four or five lines long, though he sometimes records just one line about the weather. On January 1st of each year Parmater writes a longer entry about his family, the holidays, and the start of a new year. At the end of most years recorded in this diary he writes a summary of the previous year’s major events. The last few pages were used to keep some sort of record with dates, names of family members, and amounts of money. There is also a poem and a short account of the life of his father, John Parmater, written on these final pages.

Dates

  • Creation: 1894-1897

Biographical / Historical

Stutley Parmater was born on March 30, 1833 in McKean, Erie County, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Louisa Irvine on December 20 1868 and soon after moved to Keeler Township in Van Buren County, Michigan. After moving to Michigan, Stutley and Mary had five daughters, Emma May, Anna Belle, Jeanette Maude, Carrie Blanche, Josephine Irvine, Sarah Nevada, and Mary Agnes. Stutley Parmater was a farmer in Van Buren County. He died at the age of 83 on April 26th, 1916 in Hamilton, Michigan.

Extent

1 Volumes ; 11½” x 7”

Language of Materials

English

Physical Description

The diary is 11 ½” by 7” in size. The entries are written mainly in pencil with occasional entries in ink. Overall the diary is in good condition with the binding still intact, however the pages are yellowed and in some places torn or creased and some of the pencil entries are smudged and difficult to read.

Provenance

This collection consists of a diary kept by Stutley S. Parmater, a farmer in Van Buren County Michigan. This diary was written between January 1, 1894 and December 31, 1897.

General

This item was purchased with funds from the Starring Endowment.

Title
Stutley S. Parmater Diary Finding Aid
Status
Completed
Author
Anna Yacullo
Date
2016-09-28
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository

Contact:
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490