- Creator
- Brown, William Little, 1789-1829
- Call number
- MssCol 417
- Physical description
- .13 linear feet (2 volumes)
- Preferred Citation
- William Little Brown diary, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Manuscripts and Archives Division
- Access to materials
- Advance notice required. Request access to this collection.
William Little Brown kept this diary while living in the home of his father, Dr. Morgan Brown, at Palmyra, Montgomery County, Tennessee, and in Kentucky; later as a student at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky (1810-1811); while studying law under Joseph H. Hawkins in Kentucky; and while practicing law in Tennessee from the autumn of 1812 until October 4, 1813, when he joined the army at Camp Beatie, Mississippi Territory, for a brief term, under the service of General Coffee Following his army service, Brown settled in Clarksville, Tennessee. The diary mentions assistance he gave his father in operating a grist mill, an iron furnace, and a farm; the names of bedfellows who passed the night in his home; the sale of medicine to patients; setting bird traps; playing cards; cock fighting; slavery - notably a conspiracy among the negroes in December 1810; his studies and general reading; and his law library Entries date from January 1, 1805 through November 22, 1814. In addition, the diary includes clippings from the Clarkesville Leaf-Chronicle weekly editions dated October 5, 12, 19, and 26, 1916, when portions of Brown's diary were published. A typed transcription of the diary is available for consultation
Key terms
Names
- Brown, William Little, 1789-1829
- Brown, Morgan, 1769-1841
- Coffee, John, 1772-1833
- Hawkins, Joseph H., 1786-1823
- Transylvania University
- United States. Army
Subjects
- Books and reading
- College students -- Diaries
- Law -- Study and teaching -- United States
- Lawyers -- Diaries
- Slavery -- Tennessee -- History -- 19th century
Places
- Clarksville (Tenn.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
- Kentucky -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
- Montgomery County (Tenn.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Material types
Using the collection
Location
Manuscripts and Archives DivisionStephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328