A Guide to the Ebenezer E. Mason Diary, 1864-1865
A Collection in
Special Collections
Collection Number
Ms2012-063
![[logo]](http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/logos/vt.jpg)
Special Collections, Virginia Tech
© 2012 By Virginia Tech. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Hannah Bochain, Student Assistant, and Kira A. Dietz, Archivist, Special Collections
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from the Ebenzer E. Mason Diary must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Ebenzer E. Mason Diary, Ms2012-063, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Acquisition Information
Ebenzer E. Mason Diary was purchased by Special Collections in September 2012.
Alternate Form Available
This collection has been digitized and is available online .
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Ebenzer E. Mason Diary was completed in October 2012.
Biographical Note
Ebenezer Erskine Mason was born August 29, 1829, in Maine. He married Elizabeth Thompson (1825-1913) prior to 1860. Mason later became a local magistrate and a member of the Accotink Home Guard, a company that remained loyal to the Federal Government throughout the Civil War. Notably, Mason served as a delegate to the Second Wheeling Convention and was sergeant of arms to the Senate in 1863. In 1864, Mason served as delegate to the Restored Virginia Government Convention where a new constitution was put in place that abolished slavery and recognized West Virginia as a loyal state. Mason died in 1910 was buried in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Scope and Content
The collection includes the diary of Ebenezer E. Mason, a standard leather bound pocket size edition with three dates per page that covers his experiences from January through August 1864 as well as a few entries in February 1865. The entries typically note the weather of the day as well whether or not Congress was in session. The diary also includes a short poem (original?) and some account information in the back. The diary contains a pocket that holds a period newspaper clipping of an article Mason wrote for the State Journal, making a defense for adopting a new constitution, as well as several receipts and clippings.
Index Terms
- Civil War
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Diaries
- Diaries.
Subjects:
Genre and Form Terms:
Contents List
This collection has been digitized and is available online .