This collection of diaries serves as a window into the life of Oscar M. Henry, a California rancher, farmer and miner. Henry wrote the diaries on his farm in Amador County, California from 1885 to 1915. In daily entries, Henry documented his social and business dealings, listed daily and weekly visitors, and reported the weather. He also recorded the various tasks he completed from day to day, from slaughtering hogs and hauling wood to plowing, gardening and maintaining the fences. The diaries reflect his attention to detail; for example, he cited from whom and for how much he bought the books he used as his journals. In general, the journals illustrate the life of a prosperous Californian in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Oscar M. Henry was a farmer and mine owner in Amador County, California during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Henry family first arrived in the United States in the 1720s from Scotland, settling first in Virginia, then in Tennessee. Oscar Melbine Henry was born on October 21, 1851 in Cherokee County, North Carolina. The extent of his education is unknown.

Number of containers: 2 document boxes

Linear feet: .8 linear feet

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.

Collection is open for research.