This site is dedicated to the study of several diaries written by Jane Minerva Tillotson in the 1850s and 60s. I am attempting to reconstruct, as much as possible, the world of this mid-western woman, her towns, family, and friends. The site will ultimately contain transcriptions of the three diaries and historical and genealogical data about the places she lived and the families of her friends and relatives. This site must be considered to be under construction and information is presented as tentative while the study is being done. While I have worked on this project for several years, this is the first attempt to begin bringing information together. I am utilizing the resources of the internet to hopefully make contact with others interested in some of the people and towns associated with these diaries.

The diaries do not contain any dramatic revelations or any special comments on the happenings of the times. Indeed, the two diaries written during the Civil War make virtually no mention of the war, except for a couple of indirect references. The diaries reveal more about the day to day life of a rural Brunswick, Medina County, Ohio widow in 1858 and 1861 who married a second time in the nearby town of Nelson, Portage County, and then moved with her husband to small town life in Ionia County, Michigan in 1864. The people are unremarkable. My primary interest in them is obviously family history and genealogy. As a history teacher I am also interested in American social history and these diaries provide a vehicle to study a typical lifestyle from American History.

In transcribing the 1864 diary I have added capitalization and punctuation when needed. Some words are unreadable and have, therefore, been omitted but noted with an elipsis. The 1858 and 1861 diaries were transcribed by my mother in the 1950s and the original diaries are apparently now lost (although I still hope only misplaced).

Anyone interested is encouraged to add to the information when they can. Anyone who finds the information useful, has something to add, or who has questions about the project is encouraged to E-mail me.

• Sewing/Quilting/Spinning/Clothing
• Farm Work
• Health
• Going to Church in Brunswick
• Recreation

Biographical sketches and photos

• Mary C. (Thomas) Tillotson - wife of Leonard Tillotson and Jane's mother (bio and photo)
• Jane Minerva Tillotson (bio and photo)
• Daniel H. Francis - Jane's first husband (bio and photo)
• Jane Tillotson and her brother, William, and sisters (photo and information)
• Henrietta (Etta) Irene (Linzee) Fuller (bio and photo)
• Jane and Belden Linzee, Etta and Emory Fuller (photo)
• Map showing Tillotson farms in Brunswick

People

• Tillotson genealogy (ancestors, counsins, uncles/aunts, siblings, etc.) of Jane Minerva Tillotson
• Colton genealogy of Jane's second husband, Belden Colton Linzee
• List of people mentioned in the Brunswick diaries
• List of people mentioned in the Nelson - Ionia diary
• Brunswick families with partial information
• Brunswick families still unidentified
• Nelson families with partial information
• Nelson families still unidentified

Links to related sites

• The Tillotson Project - Don Tillotson's collection of Tillotson genealogy and history
• Pib Burns' Tillotson information (genealogy, coat of arms, map of Duplain, Michigan; Elsie, Michigan cemetery records; related obituraries, etc.)
• Medina County, Ohio GENWEB Project Homepage

Last revision: 30 December 1997

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