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Civil War |  Lighthouses | Diaries | Wickie

What is a diary?

A diary is a record of events, transactions or observations kept daily or at frequent intervals. A form of a diary is a journal, which tends to be a daily record of personal activities, reflections or feelings. A diary is usually in a written, book format.

What are the uses of diaries in learning about history?

By reading the diaries of people from the past, we can take a look at historical events through a personal lens. Diaries and journals can give us perspective on not only the facts from past events, but also the fears, emotions and feelings of the people who lived through that particular part of history. Thus, we are better able to understand what we may have felt if we traveled back in time and lived like Wickie in a divided family in pre-Civil War Delaware.

How likely is it to record historical events truthfully and accurately? Does it matter?

Famous Diaries of other young people:

Anne Frank, a young girl in the Holocaust During the Holocaust in Europe in the 1940's, a young Dutch girl, named Anne Frank kept a diary for several years while in hiding from the Nazis. In the diary she describes her daily life in hiding: the isolation, the fear of being discovered, as well as just normal teenage emotions. After Anne's death in a concentration camp in 1945, her diary was discovered and given to her father (the only survivor from her family). In 1947 the first edition of the diary of Anne Frank was published in Dutch, and since then has been published in over 55 languages. Lewis and Clark, brave explorers of the Western frontier Captain Merriweather Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark were explores at the turn of the 19th century who made the first United States overland expedition to the Pacific Coast and back. Along their long journey (which took several years!) they kept a journal the documented, the distance they traveled, their adventures with the Native Americans as well as their feelings about the hard journey that kept them away from their families for so long. Louisa May Alcott, poet and author Born in 1832, Louisa spent most of her time as a child going back and fourth between Concord, MA and Boston, MA. At a very young age, Louisa's father (who was a teacher) encouraged her to begin to write and keep a diary. Louisa later claimed that her diary helped her to discover a love for writing, and provided many ideas for plots and characters. Louisa first began publishing short stories and poems as a teenager, and later went on to achieve fame by writing Little Women and Little Men. Charles Lindbergh, early airplane pilot Most people recognize the name Charles Lindbergh as a famous pilot who made the first oversea airplane flight, but few know that he also kept a boyhood diary from 1913-1916 while growing up in Minnesota. Charles' diary details his childhood adventures such as riding on a passenger train, camping along the Mississippi River and an automobile road trip his family took around rural Minnesota. Are there any other famous diaries and journals that you have heard of?

Here is a passage from Wickie's diary:
"Tuesday, December 25, 1860 Stormy. Wind S.E. Moderate Christmas morning passed pleasantly. While Father, Keeper Dunne and I cleaned the glass in the lantern room, Mother baked and made a good meal for us. Her happy presence in the kitchen cheered me mightily. We gathered for Christmas dinner in the early afternoon, downstairs, in Keeper Dunne's quarters. Everything is dark there. Heavy draperies hang across his windows. Not even the light of the sea gets through. And Keeper Dunne looks just like his surroundings. Dark eyes droop at the same angle of his mustaches. But our Christmas was so pleasant, even Keeper Dunne smiled during our party"

Can you write a journal entry that tells about your joyful day?