The diaries span the majority of Baily's adult life. As a young man, Baily was very involved in the Philadelphia community, and many of his early entries are related to the Philadelphia Historical Society, the Eromathean society, the Pennsylvania Prison Society, which advocated for the health and safety of incarcerated people and prison reform, The Philadelphia Society for Employment and Instruction of the Poor, and the Moyamensing House of Industry. In later entries, Baily is largely concerned with temperance efforts, prohibition, and city government. In old age, Baily's focus shifts to news of his family, and he increasingly records international affairs and political or military events, particularly in the years leading up to World War I. Two volumes, for the years 1879 and 1880, are the diaries of Theodate Lang Baily, the wife of Joshua Baily's. Her diaries largely focus on social calls and family news, as well as descriptions of her husband and children and their health.
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