Summary Information
Solomon A. Dwinnell Papers
1775-1879
Wis Mss CJ
0.4 c.f. (2 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of S. A. Dwinnell, a temperance organizer, Congregational minister, and local historian of Spring Prairie and Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Among them is a Revolutionary diary by Dwinnell's grandfather of the same name; his own diary for 1834-1836 while at the Millbury (Massachusetts) Academy and near South Bend, Indiana; eleven letters to his wife, Lydia Gove Dwinnell, from relatives and friends in New Hampshire; and the records of the Walworth County (Wis.) Temperance Society, 1839-1841. The bulk of the collection however consists of pioneer sketches written by Dwinnell in preparation for a history of Walworth County and for a comparative account of Wisconsin in 1836 and 1866.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000cj ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Scope and Content Note
The pioneer sketches are in one bound volume in Box 1 and on unfoldered pages in Box 2. These sketches deal with the writer's trip from Massachusetts to Indiana in 1835, the year he spent as an Indiana schoolmaster, his arrival at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1836, and his subsequent life in that region and in Reedsburg. They describe numerous incidents of pioneer life, early privations, schools, churches, temperance societies, abolition sentiment, hotels, mail service, roads, and other topics. There are also historical sketches of separate townships and of county leaders and a number of letters written mostly in 1867 in response to letters from Dwinnell or to his printed questionnaire on early church history. Sketches of Reedsburg in the Civil War complete this portion of the the collection. Many of the sketches are in the form of newspaper clippings from the Reedsburg Free Press and these form the contents of the bound volume. A bibliography compiled by Darrel Hanold is also present.
The earliest item in the collection is the diary of Dwinnell's grandfather; the original diary, a photostat copy, and a typed transcription are all present. The diary dates 1775-1777 when he engaged in the battles of White Plains, Morristown, Princetown, Saratoga, and many others. The 1834-1836 diary kept by the younger Dwinnell contains reflections on religious matters while attending an academy in Millbury, Massachusetts and teaching school near South Bend, Indiana. The Walworth County Temperance Society records are a few sheets containing the constitution and minutes, 1839-1841.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mrs. S. A. Dwinnell, 1883; by E. E. Elliott, March 8, 1936; and by F. H. Dwinnell, August 24, 1936. Bibliography presented by Jack Holzhueter, July 24, 1984.
Contents List
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Box
1
Volume
1
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Reedsburg Free Press clippings and manuscripts, 1874-1879
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Box
1
Folder
1
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“Resumé and Catalog of Works by the Rev. Solomon A. Dwinnell Appearing in the Reedsburg Free Press 1872 to 1879” compiled by Darrel Hanold
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Diary, 1775-1777
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Diary, 1834-1836
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Correspondence, 1837-1857
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Box
2
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Unfoldered material consisting of pioneer sketches and Walworth County Temperance Society records
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