Item 13: Booklet, titled, “A Visit to Wilkes-Barre by a Young Philadelphian in the year 1840,” by B. B. Reath, 1840 August 7
Item — Box: 17, Folder: 7
Dates
- Created: 1840 August 7
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Booklet
Condition Note:
Poor. Eight unconnected pages.
Measurements:
9 ¼ in. x 6 ¼ in.
Title:
A Visit to Wilkes-Barre By a Young Philadelphian in the year 1840.
Description:
This booklet describes diary entries from B.B. Reath’s trip to Wilkes-Barre. Reath departed from Shickshinny, traveled through West Nanticoke, and finally arrived at Wilkes-Barre. The book is in a very poor quality. The diary entries date from 1840 with notes from 1915 providing historical context. The diarist, B. B. Reath describes his brief stay in Wilkes-Barre. He meets or discusses with prominent local figures of this time, such as the Osterhouts and Woodward. The Osterhouts were a wealthy Wilkes-Barre family, who were involved in local charities. Most notably the Osterhout Library in Wilkes- Barre was founded by them after their deaths. Another well-known figure that the diarst mentions is George W. Woodward. Woodward was a lawyer, and later a Supreme Court and Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. While these people were respected inhabitants of Northeast Pennsylvania, Reath only mentions them in passing when describing his trip. This diary entry was included in the 15th publication of “Proceedings and Collections of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society.” It was published in 1917, 77 years after the original diary entry was recorded.
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu