The majority of the collection consists of thirty journals that Marsh wrote in almost daily
from 1966-1995. The entries contain details about the daily operations of the farm she and
her husband ran for over forty years. She also discussed family and local events as well as
reflected on national and world affairs. The journals document the changes in Marsh's life
as she aged and worked to remain independent on her farm after her husband's death. Many of
the journals have preprinted dates, but Marsh frequently did not adhere to those dates.
Four additional journals in the collection contain lists of farm and household expenses
and income. The journals are for the most part lists and contain little information beyond
farm items and their prices. These journals do not appear to have been used as faithfully as
Marsh later tended to her personal journals.
Marsh's childhood is documented through three school composition books that she and her
older sister Bina Merkley used. The books contain school assignments from a number of
subjects as well as informative letters the students wrote to friends and family as part of
their schoolwork.
The correspondence was sent to Marsh when she was no longer working on the farm. The
newspaper clippings are in the collection from a local newspaper at the time of her 100th
and 102nd birthdays and were written by her daughter, Dorothy Plautz. Dorothy Plautz
published three novels, several family genealogy books, as well as numerous newspaper
articles under her married names Dorothy Brunka, Dorothy Marsh Ogrizovich, and Dorothy
Plautz. Many of the newspaper articles contain further information about Eleanor and Elwin
Marsh and their extended families. The articles are part of the Dorothy Plautz Papers (UWM
Manuscript Collection 170) in the Archives.
