Dibble, Diana Adelia Calkins diary, 1868
Scope and Contents
Diana Adelia Calkins Dibble’s 1868 diary volume measures three inches by four and one-half inches, with three days for each page. Diana Adelia writes entries for each day of the week. She occupies most of her day with sewing and quilting, occasionally going to the village to purchase cloth and sewing supplies. She describes the weather and writes of her loneliness, not feeling well, and about corresponding with friends and family in Pennsylvania. She occasionally receives letters from home. Diana Adelia often writes of visits by a Mrs. Gilbert to the Dibble home and William being away working or hunting.
Diana Adelia records that her relationship with her sister-in-law is stormy. Because of this Diana Adelia moves out in April and boards with her friend, Mrs. Gilbert. Her relationship with William also appears to be unsettled as well, as he continues to reside at his brother’s home. While living with Mrs. Gilbert, Diana Adelia helps with the household chores and continues to sew and knit, but is often ill. Entries end on August 25th, presumably due to the birth of her son, William Jackson Dibble the following day.
Dates
- 1868
Creator
Biographical Note
Diana Adelia Calkins Dibble, also known as Adelia, was born on April 13, 1835 in Keating Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania to Charles and Judith [Judea] Ann Otto Calkins. Diana was six years old when her mother passed away, and her father remarried soon thereafter. Diana remained with her family, but by 1860 was residing with another family in Port Allegany, Pennsylvania.
William Dibble, Diana Adelia’s husband, was born in Guilford, Chenango County in December of 1831 to Ira and Charlotte Root Dibble. In 1850 he was working as a farmer on his uncle’s farm in Caton, Steuben County, New York and was later employed (1860) as a lumberman in Delmar, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The couple lived in the household of William's brother George Dibble and his wife Melissa (Spencer) Dibble of Guilford, Chenango County for several months in 1868.
On August 26, 1868, the couple had a son, William Jackson Dibble, who was born in Gilbertsville, Otsego County, New York. While living in Otsego County William learned the masonry trade. Two years later Diana Adelia and William moved to Diana Adelia’s hometown of Keating Township where William continued to work as a stonemason. The family remained in Keating until 1882, when they moved to Port Allegany, Pennsylvania. William passed away on October 24, 1895. After William’s death Diana Adelia lived with her son until her death on May 9, 1912 at the age of seventy-nine.
Extent
From the Collection: 1 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase, 2020.
Bibliography
1850 U.S. Federal Census. Keating, McKean, Pennsylvania, image 16, Diana Calkins. Ancestry.com.
1860 U.S. Federal Census. Delmar, Tioga, Pennsylvania, image 50, William Dibble. Ancestry.com.
1860 U.S. Federal Census. Keating, McKean, Pennsylvania, image 7, Diannia A. Dibble and William W. Dibble. Ancestry.com.
1870 U.S. Federal Census. Keating, McKean, Pennsylvania, image 15, Adelia and William Dibble.
1880 U.S. Federal Census. Keating, McKean, Pennsylvania, image 17 Diannia A. and Wm W. Dibble.
1900 U.S. Federal Census. Keating, McKean County, Pennsylvania, image 7 15, Linis A. [Diana A.] Dibble. Ancestry.com.
1910 U.S. Federal Census. Keating, McKean County, Pennsylvania, image 1 15, Diana A. Dibble. Ancestry.com.
Settler and Pennon, April 29, 1841, page 2. Judea Ann Calkins death notice.
Pennsylvania Deaths and Burials, 1720-1999, image 32, William Warner Dibble. FamilySearch.org
Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1967, Diana A Dobbie [Diana A. Dibble], image 3230. Ancestry.com
Diana Adelia Calkins. Family Tree. FamilySearch.org https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/L6PZ-NDQ
Dibble Famliy Tree. Ancestry.com https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/111402947/person/190088859040/facts.
Jordan, John Woolf. Genealogical and Personal History of Northern Pennsylvania, Volume 2. Pennsylvania: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913.
Creator
Repository Details
Part of the Binghamton University Libraries Special Collections Repository