HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG3294.AM: John Lewis Cushman, 1834-1907
Diaries and journals: 1865-1904
New York and Colfax County, Neb.: Soldier, farmer
Size: 7 volumes on 1 reel of microfilm
BACKGROUND NOTE
John Lewis Cushman was born in Martinsburg, New York, on July 29, 1834. He was married to Miss Helen A. Johnson at Copenhagen, New York, on April 11, 1860. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted in Co. I of the 5th New York Heavy Artillery and served until discharged on June 24, 1865. Cushman came to Nebraska in 1872 and took a homestead in Wilson Precinct, Colfax County, where he engaged in farming. In 1892 he moved to Schuyler where he lived until his death on November 19, 1907. His wife Helen had preceded him in death on May 29, 1904. Four children survived the couple.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of the diaries and journals of John L., and Helen Cushman, arranged in two series on one reel of microfilm: 1) Diaries and Journals, 1865-1904; and 2) Miscellany. The 1865 diary relates to the Civil War experiences of John L. Cushman during his service with the 5th New York Heavy Artillery. The entries deal mostly with daily camp life. The two journals spanning the period 1877-1878, appear to have been compiled by Cushman also and relate to events and activities in his farming business in Wilson Precinct, Colfax County. The Helen Cushman Journals, 1899-1904 deal with routine household and social activities of the family in Schuyler, Nebraska. Typical notations throughout all the journals include daily work, the weather conditions and prices paid for commodities. The single miscellaneous volume is a record book of Sheridan Post #34, G.A.R., Schuyler, Nebraska, of which Cushman was a member.
The collection was loaned for microfilming in February of 1974. History Nebraska does not hold the original diaries and journals.
INVENTORY
Series 1 – Diary and Journals, 1865-1904
Reel 1
Volume
-
- Journal of Helen Cushman, 1900, Jan. 1 – 1902, Feb. 3 (Includes miscellaneous accounts of the Wilson Cheese Co., 1891)
Series 2 – Miscellany
Subject headings:
Colfax County (Neb.) — History
Cushman, Helen A. (Johnson), -1904
Cushman, John Lewis, 1834-1907
Farm life — Nebraska — Colfax County
United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
JEP/ht 04-09-1974
Encoded TMM 03-20-2010