Montgomery Rollins Diaries, 1900-1915

Title:

Montgomery Rollins Diaries, 1900-1915

Creator:

Rollins, Montgomery, 1867-1918

Accession / Call Number:

2011.053

Object ID:

2011.053

Date:

1900-1915

Physical Description:

2 boxes ; 0.54 linear feet

Scope and Content:

The Montgomery Rollins Diaries about Tidewater Farm in Rollinsford, New Hampshire, were kept between 1900 and 1915. There are also additional, undated sketches about the same topic with titles such as "The Tribulations of Housekeeping." All pages are typed, and some have been lightly edited, perhaps intending eventual publication. Entries, usually made from spring to fall (as the family's primary residence was in the Boston area) describe activities on the farm and include character studies of local inhabitants and anecdotes about local happenings. Most people so described are named. Rollins provides background about Rollinsford and his family's history there - though Tidewater Farm was not itself the 'old homestead' (which was sold in 1889 upon his father's death), it was across the street from it. Other materials seem to have similar subject matter, but are titled short sketches, perhaps excerpted from the larger diaries or written separately to be published. An undated, untitled autobiographical section [Box 2, folder 8], in addition to descriptions of the family home in Concord, New Hampshire, contains an extensive description of visits to a family property on Fort George Island, Florida, starting in the 1870s. It appears to have been written in retrospect and includes undated (but probably late 1800s to early 1900s) photographs of the property and the people living on it. This piece has descriptions of structures, landscape, and people, including the African American residents, some of them formerly enslaved. The property was owned originally by someone referred to as "Mr. Kingsley" and stories about this man's pre-civil war management of the plantation are recounted. Although Montgomery Rollins was the son of U.S. Senator Edward H. Rollins and brother of Governor of New Hampshire Frank Rollins, their political lives and concerns are not mentioned in the diaries. Memories of extended family members and recollections of events, however, are nostalgically recalled.

Subjects:

Bankers , Diaries , Farm life , Farmers , Plantation life--Southern States , Slavery

Locations:

Concord, NH
Fort George Island, FL
Rollinsford, NH

People:

Rollins, Montgomery, 1867-1918

Organizations:

Rollins family

Credit Line:

Gift of Edward and Montgomery Childs, and Ellen West Lovejoy.

Restrictions:

Available for research.

Level Description:

Collection

Finding Aid Link:

RS62613_Rollins_Montgomery_Diaries_2011.053.pdf