John Lewis Cushman, 1834-1907 [RG3294.AM]

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

1. 1. Civil War Diary, John L. Cushman, 1865

1. 1. Journal of John L. Cushman, 1877, Jan. 1-Dec. 31

1. 1. Journal of John L. Cushman, 1878, Jan. 1-June 18

1. 1. Journal of Helen Cushman, 1899, Jan. 1-Oct. 25

1. 1. Journal of Helen Cushman, 1900, Jan. 1 – 1902, Feb. 3 (Includes miscellaneous accounts of the Wilson Cheese Co., 1891)

1. 1. Journal of Helen Cushman, 1902, Feb. 1 – 1904, Feb.

Series 2 – Miscellany

1. 1. Financial Records of Sheridan Post #34, G.A.R., Schuyler, Nebraska, 1886-1892

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