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Monday, March 27, 2006

Diary Update - 1910

The Local Historical Society acquired this diary from the Town Clerk, who retrieved it from the old town hall attic. (The old town hall will soon be destroyed when the new one is completed and occupied). The diary is dated from 1900. Marjorie Strohsahl reads from it in 2003.
NOW THERE IS AN UPDATE! The author is discovered!
It turns out, the son of Mary Carrier Griswold (the author) lived in Lake Mohawk (Sparta, NJ) and died here. Somehow, this diary, a part of his belongings, came to be in the possesion of the township and found its way to the town hall attic. Mrs. Griswold died while vacationing in Florida in 1965. She was then a resident of the Merriam Home in Newton, New Jersey. She was a member of the Newton Presbyerian Church. At the time of her diary (1900), she was then recently married to Rev. Tracy Beadle Griswold and was living in Auburn, N.Y. His second pastorate was in Albany, Oregon, but we think this diary relates only to Auburn. Mary Carrier Griswold - 1872 - 1965. A PDF file is HERE, so you can read more about this amazing woman. Please feel free to add your comments using the link under this post!
There are more presentations by the Sparta Historical Society that will appear soon. (type "history" in the "search this blog" box above left) Short history features and the film "Voices of The Land" are available on DVD. You can order HERE.

1 comment:

Buzz Creek said...

Republicans - Calvinists - Confederates - What a world ..
I have cousins in www.chumuckla.com who are Griswold's. Vickie (a few years younger than me) married Jeff Miller who is now congressman from our area ... Jeff Miller (R) Chumuckla. Vickie's folks are Copeland and Winona Griswold. Griswold Family Farms is one of the largest and most successful agricultural enterprises in the Southeast now. Cotton and Peanuts are the main crops. Winona was a Salter. Her Father and my Grandfather (Campbell) were first cousins. Jeff and Vickie would make Mary Carrier Griswold proud. She would have appreciated the conversion to Republicanism that happened in the South and would very much appreciate the persons of Jeff and Vickie who are principled, gracious and humble people. The story of Mary Griswold in the PDF file is full of humor and insight. I can imagine the nuns who cared for her in sickness "nearly" being swayed to Calvinism.

Our Congressman, (Scott Garrett (R) - soon to be featured on me3tv.com)and his family are good friends of the Millers in Washington. I have personally been a Republican since I knew what one was - even though there was nobody Republican to vote for in the South until I was departing the South to "reverse-carpet-bag" the North. We never had Lincoln's Birthday Lunches in the South ... but now I can say at the age of 56, that at long last, I have attended one. Great Grandpa Robert Knight Carswell (39th Alabama) rolled over in his grave. It is said he converted to Republican on his deathbed because he felt that if anybody was going to die, it should be a Republican (oh my).

Vic Campbell
www.me3tv.com