When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
1868 antique DIARY addison steuben co ny GILBERT HOUGHTALING labor wages FAMILY
SCROLL DOWN for MORE PHOTOS in DESCRIPTION
ClickHEREto view or search ANTIQUE.COTTAGE listings.
AI-assisted description: This listing was prepared with the help of AI research tools. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, historical details may contain errors or omissions. Please review all images carefully and ask questions before purchasing.
Original 1868 daily diary and account book, kept in Addison, Steuben County, New York, by Gilbert Houghtaling, whose full name and family details are recorded within the volume.
This is a workingman’s manuscript, written contemporaneously throughout 1868, combining daily diary entries, labor records, cash accounts, and a handwritten family register.
Diary Content
Daily entries document:
Manual shop labor, typically 8–10 hours per day
Wages paid, hours worked, and employers noted
Regular references to meals, travel, errands, and church
Weather recorded almost daily (heat, snow, rain, severe cold)
Visits to Addison, LeRoy, Elmira, and surrounding towns
End-of-year entries continuing through December 31, 1868
Entries are practical and factual, offering an unfiltered look at rural New York working life immediately after the Civil War.
Family & Genealogical Content
A dedicated Memoranda section records the Houghtaling family, including:
Birth dates for multiple family members
Infant deaths with exact ages noted
Entries written in the same hand, indicating family authorship
Later annotations extending beyond 1868
This section alone makes the diary highly attractive to genealogists and local historians.
Financial & Account Pages
Includes:
Cash account pages for January–February 1868
Itemized purchases (food, clothing, tobacco, tools)
Wages received and debts paid
Named local merchants and businesses
Physical Description
Pocket-size diary
Original black leather binding with heavy wear, edge loss, and surface rubbing
Pages age-toned with scattered staining
Writing legible throughout
Binding intact despite wear; used hard as intended
Why it matters
This is not a later memoir or copied record. It is a day-by-day, primary-source manuscript combining diary, ledger, and family record, firmly tied to a named individual and place.
Authentic period piece related to family, historyor local heritage - well-suited for historical collections, genealogical /genealogy research, or museum acquisition.Vintage or Antique.
CONDITION: Sparce entries. Book fabric splitting at spine. See listing description and photos.
- International buyers are responsible to pay VAT or other Taxes to their countries as required.
- collects and remits sales tax on behalf of several states.If you are a dealer, you can write to to file a form to become tax exempt.
LOC:
LOC2: MEDIUMBOOKS09-TMKTK
Powered by SixBit\'s eCommerce Solution
