Collection Dates: 1863
1 diary of 1 inch
This document describes a collection of materials held
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Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
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Posted to Internet: January 1998
Acquistion
Note:
This diary was a gift of Philip D. Sang in 1955.
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Silas B. Silver
was a physician in Glenville, Harford County, Maryland, in the mid-nineteenth
century. Silver’s political leanings, while not blatantly anti-Union,
were decidedly Copperhead. He owned slaves (one of whom ran away and joined
a black regiment in Baltimore) and was very much opposed to the Emancipation
Proclamation. He opposed martial law in Maryland, was anti-draft, and
was appalled by Maryland’s unopposed Union Party ticket of 1863.
A gentleman farmer, Dr. Silver hired a man to work his land. However,
Silver kept close track of his investment recording farm prices as well
as the specific activities of “my farmer.”
Scope
and Content
Dr. Silver’s
diary for the year 1863, includes his observations on the Civil War and
politics, farming, gold prices, social events, and medicine. Dr. Silver
often mentioned social gatherings, church meetings, and trips. One trip
to the oceanside at Cape May, New Jersey, was described in some detail,
from their swimming costumes and people they met to their travel arrangements
and expenses. Finally, Dr. Silver’s medical practice was noted in
his diary. He listed each patient’s illness, his prescribed treatments,
and often made some personal comment about the patient’s life.
Box List