This blog is taken directly from a set of Journals written by Henry H. Swetland. Mr. Swetland lived in the village of Mills, which is in Potter County, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Swetland was a bit of a Renaissance man of his day. He was a farmer, a carpenter, a Justice of the Peace, and a general jack-of-all-trades. Plus, fortunately for us, he faithfully kept a daily journal for more than 42 years.
The journals cover Jan 1, 1900 to Dec 31, 1942. Unfortunately, the journal for 1912 is missing.
Here is a bit of genealogy for background history: Henry was married to Anna (Smith) Swetland. The couple had 5 children – Miner, Howard, May (Mae), Helen & Mildred.
At the beginning of the story, only Miner and Howard are with us. The girls join us along the way.
This is the story of their lives – a family memoir, if you will.
Each week starts with Monday and ends on Sunday.
Here is what a typical entry looks like in the journal:
Below is a map of Potter County. Mills is in the NE corner.
Click on the “April 2008″ link to the right to start the journey. Do not use the calendar link, as the postings will not be in order.
This is an interesting project, and I applaud you for taking all the time to transcribe Mr. Swetland’s journals. For writers he may be an interesting character study for his time period in rural America.
Will you be publishing more of these journal entries or is there another site where I can read more about Henry Swetland?