LibGuides: Primary Sources: Letters & Diaries

Letters & Diaries as Primary Sources

Letters and diaries provide a personal angle on history and often give voice to the common person such as the WWI soldier in the trenches or the sweetheart on the homefront. Like all sources, letters and diaries follow the convention of their times and must be considered in light of the writer's motivations and biases. There are a number of published collections of letters especially those written by well-known historical figures (Walt Whitman or Winston Churchill).

Finding Published Letters & Diaries

To find published letters and diaries search the Story Library Catalog and use the terms diaries or correspondence in conjunction with your topic. For example:

correspondence and civil war
diaries and pioneers
disraeli and correspondence

Digitized Collections of Letters & Diaries

Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress
"The complete Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 20,000 documents."

Many sources for digitized letters and diaries are available online:

Correspondence between John and Abigail Adams
Adams Family Papers, an Electronic Archive from Massachusetts Historical Society
Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress
"The collection contains over 145,000 items. The online version contains 4,695 items (equaling about 51,500 images), consists of correspondence, scientific notebooks, journals, blueprints, articles, and photographs documenting Bell's invention of the telephone and his involvement in the first telephone company, his family life, his interest in the education of the deaf, and his aeronautical and other scientific research."
Canadian Letters & Images Project
"The Canadian Letters and Images Project is an online archive of the Canadian war experience, from any war, as told through the letters and images of Canadians themselves."
Clara Breed Collection from the Japanese American National Museum
"The online collection of Clara Breed, or "Miss Breed" as she was known by her young library patrons, includes over 300 letters and cards received by Breed from Japanese American children and young adults during their World War II incarceration."
Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler from University of Glasgow
"Currently available: Letters of J. McN. Whistler 1855-1903; A.M. Whistler, 1829-1881."
Darwin Correspondence Project
"Read and search the full texts of more than 8,500 of Charles Darwin’s letters, and ﬁnd information on 6,500 more. Discover complete transcripts of all known letters Darwin wrote and received up to the year 1872."
DoHistory
"DoHistory invites you to explore the process of piecing together the lives of ordinary people in the past. It is an experimental, interactive case study based on the research that went into the book and film A Midwife's Tale."
Emilie Davis Diaries
"Emilie Davis was an African-American woman living in Philadelphia during the U.S. Civil War. This website is a transcription of Emilie’s three pocket diaries for the years 1863, 1864, and 1865."
Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress
"The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher."
George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress
"he papers of army officer and first U.S. president George Washington (1732-1799) held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress constitute the largest collection of original Washington papers in the world."
Iowa Byington Reed Diaries
Collection of diaries from the turn of the 20th century
James Madison Papers, 1723 to 1859, at the Library of Congress
"James Madison (1751-1836) is one of 23 presidents whose papers are held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. The Madison Papers consist of approximately 12,000 items, spanning the period 1723-1859, captured in some 72,000 digital images."
Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition
Collection of journals spanning the years of the expedition: 1803-1806
The Linnaean Correspondence (Carl Linnaeus)
Contains the written correspondence to and from Carl Linnaeus.
Pacific Northwest Historical Documents Database
"The Pacific Northwest Historical Documents database is a collection of original, diaries, letters, reminiscences and political documents drawn from various sources within the Special Collections Division. These documents recount the early settlement of Washington and the establishment of homesteads and towns and describe the hardships faced by many of the early pioneers. Some writings also focus on political and societal issues that challenged the settlers of the Pacific Northwest, such as, the women's suffrage movement."
Papers of Sir Joseph Banks at the State Library of New South Wales
"The present work is limited to those papers of Sir Joseph Banks which are held in the Mitchell and Dixson collections at the State Library of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia. These amount to approximately 10,000 manuscript pages and include correspondence, principally letters received, but also reports, invoices and accounts, journals, plus a small quantity of maps, charts and watercolours."
Prairie Settlement: Nebraska Photographs and Family Letters, 1862-1912, at the Library of Congress
"This digital collection integrates two collections from the holdings of the Nebraska State Historical Society, the Solomon D. Butcher photographs and the letters of the Uriah W. Oblinger family. Together they illustrate the story of settlement on the Great Plains."
Samuel F. B. Morse Papers at the Library of Congress, 1793-1919
"Approximately 6,500 items from the Samuel F. B. Morse Papers in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress have been digitized, including correspondence, diaries, printed matter, maps, drawings and miscellany."
Thomas Jefferson Papers, 1606-1827, at the Library of Congress
"The papers of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), diplomat, architect, scientist, and third president of the United States, held in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, consist of approximately 27,000 items, making it the largest collection of original Jefferson documents in the world."
Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers at the Library of Congress
"This selection of Wilbur and Orville Wright’s papers at the Library of Congress comprises about 10,121 items (approximately 49,084 digital images) documenting the lives of the Wright brothers and their pioneering work leading to the world's first powered, controlled and sustained flight."
The William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896
"The National Museum of American History is engaged in a long-term project to create the first publicly accessible, annotated online edition of William Steinway's remarkable diary."

"William Steinway’s Diary—nine volumes and 2,500 pages—provides a unique perspective on the second half of the 19th century as it documents William’s transformation from a young immigrant witnessing history into a successful industrialist whose influence shaped current events."