As soon as the temperatures warm up, wanderlust seems to take hold and our minds drift toward exciting adventures. Once an unavoidable necessity, travel for pleasure became popular in Victorian high society during this era, especially among female members. Recording intimate details about ones excursions was a popular pastime among ladies – if you have your ancestor’s travel diary or journal be sure to preserve and archive it properly; alternatively Duke University offers their Digital Repository which features thousands of digitized women’s travel diaries from 1827-1991 and browse them anytime whenever needed!
According to the website, this digital collection consists of diaries written by British and American women who documented their travels around the globe; including India, West Indies countries in Europe Africa Middle East as well as US states.” Taken from Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library part of Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History & Culture Sallie Bingham Center’s Sallie Bingham Center For Women’s History and Culture Sallie Bingham Center these 165 travel diaries have been beautifully digitized for online browsing or research.
Diary Excerpts of Wander-ful Women Writers mes Please be aware: these women’s travel diaries are original scans from rare books. Unfortunately, transcriptions are not available for most of the texts (although I had some fun giving it a go – see excerpts below), due to old-fashioned cursive and time’s wear on text (though I made an attempt). Yet just the descriptions alone of these diaries can send your imagination wandering to far-off places and leave you curious to learn more about these women who made journeys; many journals also contain photographs, maps and sketches by their authors as well as sketches by themself!
Join a few of these brave ladies on their incredible adventures without needing a passport!
Mary C. Parks Journal (1827-1832, vol. 1) Over time, Mary C. Parks traveled extensively through Germany, France and Switzerland with friends and family. While on this journey she kept two journals that recorded everything from local landscape to histories of historical sites as well as sketches and extracts from letters she came across along her travels.
Harriet Sanderson Stewart Diary, “Western Wanderings,” 1906-1907, Vol. 2
In 1906, British woman Harriet Sanderson Stewart set off with her father on an extended visit of the West Indies, Canada, and United States (Boston, New York City and Washington D.C). Ms. Stewart documented this journey in two volumes with entries that covered native plants to entertainment to customs – she even included watercolor paintings by Stewart as well as clippings postcards maps menus dried flora!
Jeanette Reid Healy and Augustine (referred to in her diary as “G”) Healy were an affluent couple from Chicago, made possible by Lyon & Healy’s successful harp manufacturing business which allowed for plenty of travel time and funds during 1920-1922; including Japan, Korea and China as well as Africa and Europe. Mrs Healy kept four journals during her journey; this one covered Asia where she recounted encounters such as Kimono wearers, public baths patronized by members of Korean Independence Movement members, The Great Wall as well as setting up house with servants in Peking China.
Now that you’ve been inspired by these women’s travel diaries from the past, it’s time to think ahead! Consider recording your own experiences during a special vacation or family journey and creating your own travel diary as a keepsake to pass down through generations – Bon voyage!
