Ritchie, Letitia, Diary, 1878 (C1216)

2 volumes

INTRODUCTION

The diary, written between May and August 1878, describes Ritchie’s travels from London to Chicago and back. The volumes include daily entries, ship log readings, photographs, postcards, and newspaper clippings. The ocean voyage was made aboard the Steamer Alsatia.

DONOR INFORMATION

Donor unknown.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The diary was written by Letitia Ritchie to document her round-trip voyage from London to Chicago, May through August 1878, to visit her son Alex Ritchie, who resided in Chicago. It should be noted that while the volumes have identical daily entries, each diary contains different images, postcards, and newspaper clippings compiled by Ritchie. According to Ritchie’s introduction, one volume was created for her son and the other for her.

Ritchie left London on May 16, 1878, aboard the steamer Alsatia. Her diary includes the daily ship log notating the date, latitude, longitude, and distance traveled. She disembarked in New York City before traveling via railroad to Chicago, where she arrived on May 31, 1878. Entries contain description of travel and of the countryside from New York to Chicago. The daily passages for June and July detail her experiences in Chicago and trips to Wisconsin and Canada. In July, Ritchie returned to England upon the Alsatia, and arrived in London on July 29, 1878.

The diary includes very little biographical information, though passages for July 5 and 6 describe a visit to her former home in Concord, Wisconsin. A photograph of Letitia can be found in Volume 1. The volume offers a rare glimpse into 19th century world travel and a view of American life, culture, and customs in the 1870s through the eyes of a foreign national.

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

Index Terms	Location
Alsatia (Steamer)	v. 1-2 (pictorial material)
Diaries--Travel, 1878	v. 1-2
Fires--Illinois--Chicago	v. 1-2
Illinois, Barrington	v. 1-2
Illinois, Chicago--Description and travel, 1878	v. 1-2
New York, New York, 1878	v. 1-2
Ocean travel, 1878	v. 1-2
Railroad travel, 1878	v. 2 (pictorial material)
Railroad travel, 1878	v. 1-2
Ritchie, Alex	v. 1-2
Ritchie, Letitia	v. 1 (pictorial material)
Ritchie, Mary	v. 1-2
Statue of Liberty, 1878	v. 1 (pictorial material)
Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1878	v. 1-2

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Last updated: December 15, 2011