Special Collections Department
Rae Lawton Diary
1905
Manuscript Collection Number: 097,
Item #155
Accessioned: Purchase 1956
Extent: 1 volume, 61 pages
Content: Travel diary
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: March 2003 by Carrie
L. Foley
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Special Collections
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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Table of Contents
Descriptive Note
The diary of
Illinois-native Rae Lawton’s travels through California in 1905 consists of one
volume (61 pages) of autograph ink entries. The date span is 23 September 1905
to 17 December 1905, with almost daily entries.
Historical Note
This brief
journal offers a thorough chronicle of twenty-five year old Rae Lawton’s trip
to California in the fall of 1905. Lawton (1879-1975) traveled by train to California
from Bloomington, Illinois, with plans to spend a year with family and friends.
Her first stop was Santa Rosa, located about fifty miles north of San Francisco.
She later traveled with her aunt and other companions to San Francisco, then on
to Los Angeles and its environs, and finally settled in Riverside in late November.
Her diary includes descriptions of daily activities, including tours of Los Angeles
and San Francisco, daytrips out of the city, visits with family and friends, shopping
and chores, and church attendance. Lawton’s diary will be useful to historians
researching early twentieth-century travel and tourism in Los Angeles and San
Francisco. Such scholars may be interested in Lawton’s impressions of these cities
and her descriptions of local tourist attractions. In general, Lawton does not
offer extensive reflection and analysis of California culture; rather, her writing
is often limited to descriptions of her daily experiences. She also writes frequently
about religious topics, including sermons she heard at various local Protestant
churches.
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Last modified: 04/20/04