Cleaver, Joseph, 1833-1909.
Diary of Joseph Cleaver, Jr., kept at Delaware College1853 August 31–1854 November 21
MSS 097, Item
014
1 v. (66 p.) ;
24 cm.
This typed transcript of a diary kept by Delaware College student Joseph Cleaver for the period 1853-1854 describes student life at the college, the curriculum, and Cleaver’s involvement in the Athenaean Literary Society.
Materials entirely in
English.
University of Delaware
Library -
Special Collections
Source
Gift of the estate of Carl P. Patterson, 1950.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Use of materials from this collection beyond the
exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use
clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the
copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections
Department, University of Delaware Library,
http://www.lib.udel.edu/cgi-bin/askspec.cgi
Citation
MSS 097, Item 014, Diary of Joseph Cleaver, Jr., kept at Delaware College, August 31, 1853 to November 21, 1854, Special Collections, University of
Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Shelving Summary
- Item 014: Shelved in SPEC MSS 097
Processing
Processed and encoded by Evan Echols, January 2009.
Biographical Note
Joseph Cleaver was born in 1833, the son of Joseph and Catherine Cleaver of Port Penn, Delaware. He attended Delaware College in Newark in the mid 1850s.
After leaving the college, he began working on his family farm near Port Penn, which was left to him after his father’s death. He married Josephine E. Reybold (September 6, 1838–February 23, 1916) with whom he had four children. Late in his life, Cleaver moved to Delaware City, Delaware, where he died on November 13, 1909. Cleaver is buried at St. Georges, Delaware.
Cleaver, Joseph.The diary of a student at Delaware College, August, 1853, to November, 1854. Edited by William Ditto Lewis. Baltimore: J.H. Furst Co., 1951.Scharf, J. Thomas. History of
Delaware: 1609-1888. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards, 1888.Additional biographical information also derived from the collection.
Scope and Content Note
This typed transcript of a diary kept by Delaware College student Joseph Cleaver for the period 1853–1854 describes student life at the college, the curriculum, and Cleaver’s involvement in the Athenaean Literary Society.
The entries are, with a few exceptions, daily and written in a narrative style. Cleaver related his everyday routine as well as various experiences at the college, such as making new acquaintances, attending lectures, and becoming involved in student organizations. He documented many of the pranks played by the students over the course of the year, with frequent references to faculty and others who lived in Newark near the college.
Two letters are tipped into the bound volume: one undated from Miss Florence C. Hall, niece of Joseph Cleaver, and a second, 1950, from Miss Jane C. Clark, a "distant cousin," both of Delaware City. The diary, edited by William Ditto Lewis, was published in
Delaware Notes and later by J.H. Furst Co. in 1951. In his foreword of the book, editor William Ditto Lewis noted that the original manuscript of Joseph Cleaver's diary has "perished."
Selected Search Terms
Corporate Names
Delaware College.
Delaware College. Athenaen Literary Society.
Topical Terms
Delaware College--19th century--Sources. Delaware College--Students--19th century--Sources.
Geographic Names
Newark (Del.)--History--19th century--Sources.
Form/Genre Terms
Diaries.
Occupation
Students.
Related Materials in this Repository
This item forms part of MSS 097 Diaries, Journals, and
Ships' Logs collection.
Publication Note
Cleaver, Joseph.
The diary of a student at Delaware College, August, 1853, to November, 1854. Edited by William Ditto Lewis. Baltimore: J.H. Furst Co., 1951.
Cleaver, Joseph. “The Diary of a student at Delaware College, August, 1853, to November, 1854.”
Delaware Notes 24 (1950): 1–40.