Autograph diary by William Fisher (1788-1878). New York City; Savannah, Georgia; Satilla, Georgia, et al, 28 June 1859-13 May 1861. Approx. 214 pages, 12mo. Original leatherette with envelope flap closure.

An interesting antebellum diary kept by William Fisher (1788-1878), a farmer, state legislator, and cotton mill manager who lived in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Fisher had many business holdings, including a sawmill on the Satilla River in Georgia. Much of the diary concerns operations of the sawmill as well as Fisher's travels to the Deep South. Notable content in the diary relates to runaway slaves, a sermon given by abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, and life in the south.

The diary opens in late June 1859, when Fisher has arrived in Brooklyn, New York from Georgia. While in the city he says he attended "H.W. Beecher's Church," meaning Plymouth Church, a center of abolitionism helmed by social reformer and reverend, Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887). Fisher relates that he "heard Beecher upon the claims of Colored people on the church for help to educate and build [a] church & school [for the colored people]." Fisher notes that Beecher read the text "God hath made of one blood all nations of men that are on all the faces of the earth."

Fisher remained in New York through the early fall, traveling to Manhattan regularly which he muses had "much to admire and much to regret" (4 July). Fisher is consumed with business engagements during this time, but is sure to visit his family often and attend church services. On Tuesday 8 November 1859, he sailed on the Steamer "Alabama" for Savannah with his family. He remarks on the trip: "Sea rough at night. All seasick. Dirty, uncomfortable ship. 22 horses and 1 cow stomping on deck. A set of drunken gamblers making noise all night." Fisher and his family reached Savannah on the morning of November 11th, and stayed a few days, before heading further south to Cabin Bluff. They reached Satilla on 16 November, with "all tired and nearly sick."

The winter and coming year is spent tending the sawmill. Though Fisher states his family "feel[s] measurably contented" (17 November), he laments, "Sunday is spent in reading and wishing we had a church to attend." (20 November).

It does not appear that Fisher was a slaveowner himself, but he does appear to have hired white laborers directly and Black laborers indirectly through their enslavers. Black laborers (many named) are mentioned with frequency throughout Fisher's logging entries. In late May 1860, he records that "Negroes in the woods [are] playing truant" (28 May) and sends "Fred after runaway Negroes" (30 May). After continued pursuit, he notes on 4 June that there is "no return of runaways." In one fascinating entry, Fisher notes at a funeral that the "Negroes...[had] a queer time- danced, shouted, and had a merry time." Although Fisher does not explicitly share his thoughts on slavery, some entries betray racist sentiments: "Some n-----s - not persons - stole our bee hive and after robbing it in part of its contents, left it in the road near the house. They also visited the melons as they had done before, testing their quality."

On 30 July 1860, Fisher notes that he and his wife are preparing for "a tour of health and pleasure via Savannah, Macon, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville & Louisville to Belpre, Ohio." Noting the comfort of the sleeping cars, they arrived in Macon on August 1st, and he notes the advertisement of a slave trader: "On entrance to the city, saw painted on a high board fence in large capital letters, "J.B. Allgood's Slave Yard. And on the side of the house within the yard in still larger letters, 'Negroes Bought and Sold.'" They continue north, via Cincinnati to Belpre (on the present border with Parkersburg, West Virginia), and later travel to Niagara Falls, supplying a lengthy entry on his experience of the "wonderful scenery".

Fisher and his wife returned to New York on 1 September 1860. Interestingly, he attended the Republican Ratification meeting at Cooper Union on 13 September 1860 where he heard Carl Schurz's speech "The Bill of Indictment," criticizing Senator Stephen A. Douglas. Later, he notes the 6 November 1860 presidential election without commentary. After brief sojourns throughout New England, he returns again to Satilla, arriving on October 18th.

The entries, made nearly daily, are an excellent record of the regular operations of a sawmill. In addition to the labor, Fisher includes details of deliveries, shipments, and more. A particularly interesting client is Mr. Ybarra, evidently a Cuban agent arranging for lumber for the Havana market. Another entry provides revealing attitudes toward women and poor working whites: "Tremendous gale blew down much fence on both sides of the lot. Let in a gang of hogs which do much damage to the growing crop. The ladies turned out like true heroines and helped put the fences up but Master Fred & Gussey reproved them for degrading themselves in such a manner calling them crackers &c. and saying they ought to be ashamed &c. but offering no assistance themselves." (April 12)

Fisher's diary ends on 13 May 1861 right as the Civil War begins. Fisher's own family typified the experience of "brother against brother." His son-in-law Emory Holbrook Penniman and two of his sons enlisted with the 4th Georgia Cavalry, while two other sons and another son-in-law served in Connecticut Infantry regiments.

A comprehensive antebellum account.

[Manuscripts, Diaries, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Abolition, Enslavement, Emancipation, 1860 Election, Abraham Lincoln]