- 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
- Request an in-person research appointment.
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