Outstanding 90-page travel journal kept by Andrew Clark, Jr. of Methuen, Massachusetts. Clark recorded the details of his trip throughout the southern United States, apparently taken “for his health,” from January through May of 1840, including riding from Methuen to Boston by stage, to Mobile by schooner, to Tuscaloosa by river boat, and to Columbia and northward to Memphis, Nashville, and into Kentucky by horseback. From Kentucky, Clark journeyed from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh by steamboat, and crossed Pennsylvania by rail and canal. Along the way he filled the pages in his diary with descriptions of the places he visited, along with his thoughts on various topics - including slavery. Having been raised in New England in the heart of anti-slavery country, Andrew was taken aback by the what he found in Mobile:

“I am disappointed in seeing a less number of negroes than I expected & in seeing them looking more neat & well dressed, manifesting more intelligence & activity & appearing more contented & happy that I had any idea. This is my honest impression from what I have seen. The whites appear active & civil to others but, as I learn, are villainous. Gambling & intemperance are very prevalent. There are many thieves. The thieves are the whites. The slaves are noted for their honesty.”

Clark’s journal is filled with keen observations about the developing south, and was completely transcribed and researched by a prior owner. It is clean and legible throughout.





[Revolutionary War, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Founding Fathers, American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, Society of the Cincinnati, War of 1812, American West, Native American, Indian] [Abolition, Slavery, Abolitionist, Emancipation of Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln]