The sixteen journals in this series cover a range of topics. Prominent are the travel journals of Edward H. Bonsall (1794-1879) and Spencer Bonsall, which describe voyages to Washington DC, the Ohio Valley, and Calcutta, India. The collection also contains a Civil War journal by Spencer Bonsall, written between March 1 and April 17, 1863 during his service as a hospital steward in the 81st Pennsylvania Regiment. Further additions include a book of genealogical tables, the legal journal of John Crosby (written between 1803 and 1816), and a handful of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century account books containing the costs for such mundane expenses as rent, hair dressing, and laundry. The collection also contains the composition books of Spencer Bonsall, his mother, Lydia McIlvain, and a Rebecca B. Thomson, whose connection to the family is unclear.
Box 5 Folder 1 to 2
Bonsall, Edward H. (1794-1879)--Travel Journals and Letter Books, 1824-1875, (2 Folders)
Box 5 Folder 3
Bonsall Family--Genealogy Book, 1903-1908
Box 5 Folder 4
Bonsall, Mercy--Copy of Writings, 1785-1805
Box 5 Folder 5 to 7
Bonsall, Spencer, 1832-1863, (3 Folders)
(includes composition books, travel journals, Civil War diary; and a poem by Edward H. Bonsall, 1828)
Box 5 Folder 8
Crosby, John--Legal Notebook, 1803-1816
Box 5 Folder 9
Martin, William (1765-1799)--Account Book, 1787-1796
Box 5 Folder 10
McIlvain, Lydia--Composition Book, 1812
Box 5 Folder 11
Thomson, Rebecca B.--Composition Book, 1824-1826
Box 5 Folder 12
Wroth, William and Elizabeth--Account Book, 1794-1824
(includes records of James and Mrs. McKeever, and Sarah Thompson)