Letters, Journals, & Poetry
Dinsmore Farm has over 90,000 original source documents that are largely comprised of journals and letters. In addition, many of the family members had published books. Below are a small samplings of some of these documents.
See our Additional Resources for selection of some of the published works by or about the Dinsmore family members.
James Dinsmore Journals
James Dinsmore kept sporadic journals during his life. Below are four of his journals for your perusal. They were meant only for himself and were at times a way for him to remember business accounts, and at others, a way to push himself mentally.
1814 Journal - (read pdf)
In 1814 James Dinsmore left New Hampshire to pick up his brother, John, somewhere around the Big Sandy River in eastern Kentucky. John had been staying with his Uncle Silas in the Mississippi Territory for a few years. James describes the places he visits and the people he meets along the way.
Natchez Journal - (read pdf)
James Dinsmore moved to Natchez, Mississippi in 1816 and befriended the Minor family, with whom he would later own the Bayou Black plantation in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. This journal is from the 1820s and contains interesting information about Dinsmore trying to keep abreast of the Minor plantations while also conducting their financial and legal business.
Journal of 1839-1842 - (read pdf)
As James Dinsmore was preparing to move to Kentucky and was trying to sell his plantation in Louisiana, he kept this journal of his travels and his plans for the future.
Kentucky Fruit Journal - (read pdf)
Soon after moving to Kentucky, James Dinsmore began a fruit journal that included the varieties of trees and vines he was planting and weather-related information.
Silas Dinsmoor Journal
Several of Silas Dinsmoor’s journals were destroyed in the Great Mobile Fire of 1826. This journal, from the early 1840s, is a later account. The entries are brief, but will give the reader a window into the joys and hardships of the lives of small farmers in antebellum Northern Kentucky.
Julia Stockton Dinsmore Journals
Julia Dinsmore kept a daily journal beginning in January 1873 and lasting until 1926. We are still in the process of transcribing these journals, but will be uploading them as they become available. In December of 1872, James Dinsmore died and Julia inherited the farm which was 372 acres.