Most of us are not fortunate to have inherited family diaries or journals, however, more and more of these personalized treasures are available for research, and many have been published. By reading the firsthand accounts of others who were close to our ancestors, we can better understand the experiences of those who came before us.

When old diaries and journals are not found among the personal belongings passed down in families, a search of published manuscripts is a logical first step. While the journals of less-prominent people may be hard to find, a surprising number are being published as they are discovered. Biographical books such as Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, A Midwife’s Tale (Knopf, 1990) and Stephen B. Oates’ Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War (The Free Press, 1994) draw very heavily on the diaries of their subjects. Of more general interest is American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals, vol 1, 1492—1844; vol 2, 1845—1980, edited by Laura Arksey, Nancy Pries, and Marcia Reed (Gale Research 1983, 1987). The "Biographies" chapter by Kory L. Meyerink in Printed Sources (Ancestry, 1998) provides a number of suggestions for finding both published and unpublished personal accounts.

As Laura Pfeiffer suggests in Hidden Sources (Ancestry.com, 2000), "If nothing turns up in the family collections, a search of manuscripts held by public libraries and historical societies may turn up a relative’s papers or those of an individual who shared a similar lifestyle or experience. The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1962—present), or NUCMUC and the Index to Personal Names in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections 1959—1984 (Alexandria, Va.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1988), which can be found in large reference libraries, are good places to start."

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