Diary of to Amos A. Lawrence: August 1, 1859

Fine day. Annoyed by being forced to decline several applications for money. My experience leads me to know that the greater part of those who apply for loans or for gifts of money either live more expensively than their means warrant or they are unwilling to fix themselves down to one pursuit. If we should undertake to criticise cases, there would be found very few where hardship does not follow bad management and where relief can be anything but temporary.

SOURCE: William Lawrence, Life of Amos A. Lawrence: With Extracts from His Diary and Correspondence, p. 162

Diary of to Amos A. Lawrence: January 4, 1858

Rode over to Jamaica Pond to see about skating. Found it good. Met the omnibus driver, Mr. Kemp, to whom I gave a hundred-dollar bank bill by mistake. Told him to give half of it to Duffy the blacksmith for the poor.

SOURCE: William Lawrence, Life of Amos A. Lawrence: With Extracts from His Diary and Correspondence, p. 148

Diary of 5th Sergeant Alexander G. Downing: Tuesday, March 14, 1865

I went out early this morning with the foraging party of our division, in search of feed for the horses and mules. We came to a rich plantation about four miles out, with corncribs well filled, and in a short time we had the wagons loaded. Some of us had been put to loading the wagons while others went to get the chickens and other things. After the boys had caught and loaded all the chickens and upset fully a hundred beehives, they called out, “The rebels are coming!” We had just finished loading the wagons, but that call was enough to frighten the teamsters, and they put the whip to the mules, starting off on a dead run. The road ran through a heavy timber, but it was wide and perfectly level, and they galloped the teams the whole way back to our bivouac. It was every fellow for himself, and I never ran faster in my life. A commissioner from Cornell College¹ was in camp today for the purpose of raising money to educate the orphan children of soldiers and sailors. Our company raised $229.00.

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¹ College at Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 261