LYDIA VINTON:

Lydia Henshaw was born November 27, 1822 in Ellicottville, New York. She married Austin Vinton on December 30, 1844. Austin was born June 19, 1817 in Chesterfield, Massachusetts. The Vintons had two sons: Wilfred (1843-1915) and W. H. (William H., b.1847), both born in the state of New York. The Vintons farmed in Cattaraugus County, New York until moving to Minnesota in 1856 and settling in September of that year on a farm located east of Waseca in Section 36, Woodville Township. Austin died on October 24, 1891. Lydia and Wilfred and his family lived on the farm until 1896, when they moved to a house in Owatonna, Minnesota. Lydia died in 1899.

Wilfred Vinton was born December 11, 1843. He married Ada Beebee, a native of Mt. Vernon, Ohio in 1874 or 1875. They had one son, Herbert, born May 24, 1879. Wilfred, Ada, and Herbert lived with the elder Vintons and helped operate the Woodville Township farm. During the Civil War Herbert served in Company F, First Battalion Minnesota volunteers. He then spent two or three years as an instructor on an indian reservation in Dakota Territory, and some months on a large Dakota farm, before returning to the Waseca County farm. Ada died October 30, 1892. Wilfred died of tuberculosis at his home in Owatonna in December 1915.

W. H. Vinton, often referred to in the diaries as "Will" or "Willy," was born November 17, 1847. He married Emma Garver, a native of Billingsville, Ohio, on October 16, 1872. The couple had a daughter, Julia, born October 8, 1874. W. H. operated a drugstore in Owatonna.

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Lydia Vinton's diaries give a detailed look over a twenty-year period at nineteenth century farm life from the perspective of a farm wife. Of particular interest are the diaries of Wilfred as a teenager (1858) and Herbert as an 8- and 9-year-old boy. The diaries all focus on farm work, weather conditions, and the activities of the individual diarists and of other family members. There is, unfortunately, no information about Wilfred's Civil War service nor his years in Dakota Territory, with the exception of a pencil diagram of Fort Berthold and a letter written to him on U.S. Indian Agency stationery (1878). Nor is there any information about William's years in the drugstore business.

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Access Restrictions:

Originals are closed. Access and use requires the curator's permission.

These files are located off site in Remote Storage. Advance arrangements are required in order to view the files.

Please consult reference staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Lydia Vinton and Family Diaries. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,567

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, November 2000

Digitized by: Minnesota Historical Society, June 2019

Catalog ID number: 990017368540104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Children -- Diaries.

Family life.

Farm life -- Minnesota -- Waseca County.

Farmers' spouses -- Minnesota.

Farms -- Minnesota -- Waseca County.

Rural children -- Minnesota.

Rural families -- Minnesota.

Teenagers -- Diaries.

Women pioneers -- Minnesota.

Places:

Owatonna (Minn.).

Minnesota -- Social life and customs, 1858-1918.

Waseca (Minn.).

Waseca County (Minn.).

Woodville Township (Minn.).

Persons:

Vinton, Austin, 1817-1891.

Vinton, Herbert, 1879-.

Vinton, W. H. (William H.), 1847-.

Vinton, Wilfred, 1843-1915.

Drum family.

Vinton family.

Organizations:

United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Fort Berthold Agency -- Pencil drawing.

Types of Documents:

Diaries.

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