Call Number:

Ms. Codex 1824

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

5 volume(s)

Language Note:

Four volumes in French. One volume in English.

Preferred Citation:

Maberly family diaries, 1817-1870, Ms. Codex 1824, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1817-1870 (inclusive)

Creator:

Maberly, Alexander Cahill and Maberly, Charles Hensley

Form:

Reading lists, Photographs, Drawings (visual works), Diaries, Codices (bound manuscripts), and Quotations

Abstract:

Small collection of family diaries comprises five volumes written by two authors, presumably father and son Charles Hensley Maberly and Alexander Cahill Maberly. The first four volumes were written in French by Charles Hensley spanning the years from 1817 to 1821. The fifth volume was written by Alexander Cahill Maberly in 1870 during a European tour.

The authors of these diaries were possibly two members of the Maberly family. Charles Hensley Maberly, who was the vicar and perptual curate of Owslebury in Hampshire, England and his son Alexander Cahill who was a barrister at Lincoln's Inn, London. Charles Hensley married Charlotte McNaughton of Northern Ireland in 1825 and they had twelve children, nine girls and three boys. Alexander Cahill Maberly, the third son of Charles and Charlotte, attended Queen's College at Oxford. He reccieved his M.A. in 1868 and was called to the bar in 1871. He married Jessie Bremmer Ewart in 1876. They lived in Lancashire and had at least one daughter.

This small collection of family diaries comprises five volumes written by two authors, presumably father and son Charles Hensley Maberly and Alexander Cahill Maberly. The first four volumes were written in French by Charles Hensley spanning the years from 1817 to 1821. Volume 1 was initiated on January 1, 1817. Maberly stated at the beginning of the volume the journals would be written in French for the purpose of his education and study. He recorded course of study in a numbered list. Maberly stated his intentions were to learn the languages of French, Italian, German; the history of Greece, Rome, and France; and to learn astronomy and music. The daily entries follow Maberly's education and experiences across Europe. He wrote of lectures, professors, and texts with names and notations. He noted each country and city, meetings with professors and clergy, and visits to cathedrals and historical sites. In Volume 1 Maberly wrote of his journey to the Netherlands where he stayed in Amsterdam and Utrecht. In January 1818 Maberly wrote of his stay in Moscow. Volume 2 constitutes a separate hand-made paper book with a cover title. This volume recorded Maberly's two-month stay in Austria from June to July, 1818. Volume 3 spans from 1818 to 1819. Maberly had an extended stay Aix-la-Chapelle, Aachen, Germany. Volume 4 contains Maberly's stay in Paris beginning in August 1819 and commencing in February 1820. At the end of fourth volume Maberly travels to Dublin, Ireland for a two-month stay in 1821. Maberly notes his twenty-first birthday on September 2, 1819. There are lists of books at the beginning and end of the volumes. Maberly illustrated the journals with small ink drawings. Each year Maberly noted the execution of Louis XVI with an illustration. The initials C. M. and the name C. Maberly appear in the volumes. Maberly noted expenses and correspondence he sent and received at the end of the volumes. The travel diary written by Alexander Cahill Maberly is a single volume signed Alex C. Maberly spanning two months from August to October 1870. Maberly traveled through France, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium. "Journal Dieppe, Août, 1870" is written on the first leaf of the volume, followed by quotations, and a photograph of four men. The photograph is captioned with each man's name: "Edward Hall, H. Mann, Richard Janion, and A.C.M" The four men journeyed together and Maberly mentions each of them in the journal. Maberly wrote of the Prussians advancing on France, observations of people, the hotels, letters he received, and expeditions on his journey. There are some small ink drawings Maberly employed to depict some of his descriptions.