George Perkins Marsh Online Research Center

Collection Overview

The George Perkins Marsh Research Center provides access to transcriptions and images of selected letters in Marsh's correspondence. With a generous grant from the Woodstock Foundation we have transcribed over 650 letters from the University...
Show moreThe George Perkins Marsh Research Center provides access to transcriptions and images of selected letters in Marsh's correspondence. With a generous grant from the Woodstock Foundation we have transcribed over 650 letters from the University manuscript collection and from Marsh's letters located at other institutions.

Major topics in the correspondence selected for electronic publication are:

The American Civil War. The letters present the war from two perspectives: as it was experienced by those in Europe and by those in New England, particularly in Vermont. Marsh, an ardent Unionist, wrote from Italy, where there were many active Confederate sympathizers in the American expatriate community and among English residents. The view from Vermont is represented by Albert G. Peirce, a Burlington grocer, who sent Marsh detailed accounts of the war as it affected the city. Other Vermonters and Charles Eliot Norton, the Harvard luminary and an active abolitionist, also wrote of their hopes and opinions as the war progressed.

Vermont geography. Creating an accurate geographical description of the complex Vermont landscape remained a problem throughout the nineteenth century. Marsh and his brother Charles, a Woodstock, Vermont, farmer, made several attempts to measure the elevation of Vermont mountains, and Marsh kept in contact with leading geographers of the day to find more accurate instruments to measure temperature and ascertain the exact landmass of the state.

Nineteenth century sculpture. Marsh's friendship with Hiram Powers, begun when both were children on neighboring Woodstock farms, led to a correspondence in which Powers not only described the trials and tribulations of a working sculptor, but discussed his ideas about classical and contemporary works in some detail. Powers's aesthetics are most clearly expressed in his letters to Caroline Crane Marsh regarding the bust he made of her, now in the Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont. In addition, Marsh corresponded with Larkin G. Mead, then a young sculptor from Barre, who designed the statue of "Agriculture" atop the State House, and with John Norton Pomeroy of Burlington about the statue of Ethan Allen, carved in Italy under Marsh's supervision, that now stands above Allen's grave in Burlington's Green Mount Cemetery.

Nineteenth century public architecture. The rebuilding of the Vermont State House in 1857 provides a detailed picture of how American connoisseurs and architects designed public buildings. The collection contains over ninety letters by Thomas W. Silloway, the architect, to Marsh, one of the building commissioners, discussing appropriate forms for each element, as well as the politics involved in construction. These are enhanced by letters from the building superintendent, Thomas E. Powers of Woodstock, from another commissioner, Norman Williams of Woodstock, and from state legislators and private citizens caught up in what was a highly controversial undertaking.

Creation of the Smithsonian Institution. The evolution of the museum and its support for scientific expeditions and collection development are documented in the correspondence between Marsh and Spencer Fullerton Baird which began in 1847 and ended with Marsh's death in 1882. Marsh was instrumental in securing a post at the Smithsonian for Baird, who eventually became its second director and founded the Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The two men also worked together to increase the Smithsonian's collections and facilitate the exchange of scientific information with Italy.

In addition the letters provide information on nineteenth century domestic life, the politics surrounding Vermont's railroads, local and national social and political developments, the tangled relationships between the European powers, and other subjects of interest to educated and engaged individuals of the time.

The Center also includes the full text of contemporary publications that are related to the major topics of the letters.

Biography: When Man and Nature was published in 1864 it was immediately hailed as a major contribution to the field of physical geography. Now a classic of environmental literature, its author, George Perkins Marsh, was one of the first to recognize and described in detail the significance of human action in transforming the natural world.

Lawyer, diplomat, and scholar, Marsh, was born on March 15, 1801 at Woodstock, Vermont. In 1820 he graduated with highest honors from Dartmouth. He immediately tried teaching, but finding it distasteful, studied law with his father, Charles Marsh. Admitted to the bar in 1825, he practiced in Burlington, Vermont, where he became prominent in his profession. On April 10, 1828, he married Harriet Buell of Burlington. They had two sons; the eldest died a few days before his mother in 1833. Marsh immersed himself in the study of Icelandic and other Scandinavian languages, beginning a life long career as a philologist and linguist. Six years after his first wife's death, he married Caroline Crane of Berkley, Massachusetts. Already well known as a lawyer, business man and scholar, in 1835 he was elected to the Governor's Council. In 1843 he ran for Congress as a Whig, and during three successive terms proved himself a cogent speaker in support of a high tariff and in opposition to slavery and the Mexican War. He served on the committee that established and guided the future of the Smithsonian Institution.

In 1849 President Taylor appointed Marsh U.S. Minister to Turkey. He aided refugees from central European revolutions of 1848, and in the summer of 1852 he was sent to Athens on a special mission. He collected specimens for the Smithsonian during an intensive tour of Egypt and Palestine.

Recalled by a new administration in 1854, Marsh labored to mend his bankrupt fortunes, to act as Vermont railroad commissioner, fish commissioner, and to lead a commission formed to rebuild the Vermont State House. He lectured throughout the northeast and mid-West and taught courses on the English language at Columbia College and the Lowell Institute. Having joined and campaigned for the Republican party in 1856, he was sent by President Lincoln as the first United States minister to the new kingdom of Italy in 1861, a post he held for the remaining twenty-one years of his life. He won admirers in the Italian government and a greater reputation as a scholar by his mastery of Italian affairs and his writings on language and environmental matters. He died on July 23, 1882 at Vallombrosa, near Florence, and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Rome.

David Lowenthal's George Perkins Marsh: Prophet of Conservation. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000.
Caroline Crane Marsh's Life and Letters of George Perkins Marsh. Vol. I. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1888.
Biographical sketches can also be found in national biographical dictionaries.

Technical Information The text files were created using WordPerfect 7.0 as an SGML editor and the DTD for historical documents developed by Dr. David R. Chesnutt of the University of South Carolina and the Model Editions Partnership (MEP). The SGML publication used DynaText, a software package developed by EBT Corporation of Providence Rhode Island and granted to the University of Vermont under their educational grant program. WordPerfect 9.0 was used as the final editor and parser.

The actual coding depended largely on programs James P. Tranowski wrote to process the letters. Ellen Mazur Thomson did the bulk of it, although Cheryl Morrison and several graduate students connected with the MEP project at the University of South Carolina also worked on the letters. William Hicks of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, provided additional coding of the Correspondence Lists. Aaron Shamp coded the footnotes, entered copy editing corrections, parsed and cleaned all the SGML files and entities.

Paul Philbin and Marcie A. Crocker, at the Howe Library and Hope A. Greenberg, at the Academic Computing Service served as technical advisers for the hardware and software.

Original web publication came through DynaWeb, also an EBT grant program.

On November 26, 2008 The George Perkin Marsh Online Research Center was migrated from its original location http://bailey2.uvm.edu/specialcollections/gpmorc.html to its new home at the CDI. Documents were migrated from SGML to XML using openSP and XSL.

Contributors David A. Donath, the Advisory Board of Directors, and the Board of Trustees of the Woodstock Foundation provided the financial support that made this project possible. Bruce Kirby, archivist at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and archivists at the Houghton Library, Harvard University, the New York Historical Society, and the Archives of American Art provided copies of Marsh correspondence in their collections for us to transcribe and publish. The Vermont Historical Society allowed us to reproduce photographs in their collection.

Connell Gallagher, head of the Special Collections Department, and Dr. Elizabeth H. Dow, created the project; Dr. Dow acted as Project Director. Ellen Mazur Thomson was Project Manager.

Faculty and staff members of the Special Collections Department gave us specialized and expert reference: David Blow, Ingrid Bower, Sylvia Bugbee, Karen Campbell, Sylvia Knight and Jeffrey Marshall.

Dr. Robert H. Rogers of the Classics Department, transcribed and annotated many of the Greek and Latin phrases used in the letters. Dr. Ralph H. Orth translated German materials, Ellen Mazur Thomson translated those in French.

Dr. Ralph H. Orth, Professor Emeritus of the University of Vermont, created the transcription protocols for the letters. He transcribed most of the Powers and Norton letters and provided notes for their correspondence with Marsh. John Thomas transcribed Marsh's letters to Baird and Jacob Colie transcribed the Peirce letters. Eileen N. Brown contributed notes.

Ellen Mazur Thomson selected the letters, designed the [original] web pages and wrote the introductory text.

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Title: George Perkins Marsh Online Research Center
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Description: The George Perkins Marsh Research Center provides access to transcriptions and images of selected letters in Marsh's correspondence. With a generous grant from the Woodstock Foundation we have transcribed over 650 letters from the University manuscript collection and from Marsh's letters located at other institutions. Major topics in the correspondence selected for electronic publication are: The American Civil War. The letters present the war from two perspectives: as it was experienced by those in Europe and by those in New England, particularly in Vermont. Marsh, an ardent Unionist, wrote from Italy, where there were many active Confederate sympathizers in the American expatriate community and among English residents. The view from Vermont is represented by Albert G. Peirce, a Burlington grocer, who sent Marsh detailed accounts of the war as it affected the city. Other Vermonters and Charles Eliot Norton, the Harvard luminary and an active abolitionist, also wrote of their hopes and opinions as the war progressed. Vermont geography. Creating an accurate geographical description of the complex Vermont landscape remained a problem throughout the nineteenth century. Marsh and his brother Charles, a Woodstock, Vermont, farmer, made several attempts to measure the elevation of Vermont mountains, and Marsh kept in contact with leading geographers of the day to find more accurate instruments to measure temperature and ascertain the exact landmass of the state. Nineteenth century sculpture. Marsh's friendship with Hiram Powers, begun when both were children on neighboring Woodstock farms, led to a correspondence in which Powers not only described the trials and tribulations of a working sculptor, but discussed his ideas about classical and contemporary works in some detail. Powers's aesthetics are most clearly expressed in his letters to Caroline Crane Marsh regarding the bust he made of her, now in the Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont. In addition, Marsh corresponded with Larkin G. Mead, then a young sculptor from Barre, who designed the statue of "Agriculture" atop the State House, and with John Norton Pomeroy of Burlington about the statue of Ethan Allen, carved in Italy under Marsh's supervision, that now stands above Allen's grave in Burlington's Green Mount Cemetery. Nineteenth century public architecture. The rebuilding of the Vermont State House in 1857 provides a detailed picture of how American connoisseurs and architects designed public buildings. The collection contains over ninety letters by Thomas W. Silloway, the architect, to Marsh, one of the building commissioners, discussing appropriate forms for each element, as well as the politics involved in construction. These are enhanced by letters from the building superintendent, Thomas E. Powers of Woodstock, from another commissioner, Norman Williams of Woodstock, and from state legislators and private citizens caught up in what was a highly controversial undertaking. Creation of the Smithsonian Institution. The evolution of the museum and its support for scientific expeditions and collection development are documented in the correspondence between Marsh and Spencer Fullerton Baird which began in 1847 and ended with Marsh's death in 1882. Marsh was instrumental in securing a post at the Smithsonian for Baird, who eventually became its second director and founded the Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The two men also worked together to increase the Smithsonian's collections and facilitate the exchange of scientific information with Italy. In addition the letters provide information on nineteenth century domestic life, the politics surrounding Vermont's railroads, local and national social and political developments, the tangled relationships between the European powers, and other subjects of interest to educated and engaged individuals of the time. The Center also includes the full text of contemporary publications that are related to the major topics of the letters. Biography: When Man and Nature was published in 1864 it was immediately hailed as a major contribution to the field of physical geography. Now a classic of environmental literature, its author, George Perkins Marsh, was one of the first to recognize and described in detail the significance of human action in transforming the natural world. Lawyer, diplomat, and scholar, Marsh, was born on March 15, 1801 at Woodstock, Vermont. In 1820 he graduated with highest honors from Dartmouth. He immediately tried teaching, but finding it distasteful, studied law with his father, Charles Marsh. Admitted to the bar in 1825, he practiced in Burlington, Vermont, where he became prominent in his profession. On April 10, 1828, he married Harriet Buell of Burlington. They had two sons; the eldest died a few days before his mother in 1833. Marsh immersed himself in the study of Icelandic and other Scandinavian languages, beginning a life long career as a philologist and linguist. Six years after his first wife's death, he married Caroline Crane of Berkley, Massachusetts. Already well known as a lawyer, business man and scholar, in 1835 he was elected to the Governor's Council. In 1843 he ran for Congress as a Whig, and during three successive terms proved himself a cogent speaker in support of a high tariff and in opposition to slavery and the Mexican War. He served on the committee that established and guided the future of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1849 President Taylor appointed Marsh U.S. Minister to Turkey. He aided refugees from central European revolutions of 1848, and in the summer of 1852 he was sent to Athens on a special mission. He collected specimens for the Smithsonian during an intensive tour of Egypt and Palestine. Recalled by a new administration in 1854, Marsh labored to mend his bankrupt fortunes, to act as Vermont railroad commissioner, fish commissioner, and to lead a commission formed to rebuild the Vermont State House. He lectured throughout the northeast and mid-West and taught courses on the English language at Columbia College and the Lowell Institute. Having joined and campaigned for the Republican party in 1856, he was sent by President Lincoln as the first United States minister to the new kingdom of Italy in 1861, a post he held for the remaining twenty-one years of his life. He won admirers in the Italian government and a greater reputation as a scholar by his mastery of Italian affairs and his writings on language and environmental matters. He died on July 23, 1882 at Vallombrosa, near Florence, and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Rome. David Lowenthal's George Perkins Marsh: Prophet of Conservation. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000. Caroline Crane Marsh's Life and Letters of George Perkins Marsh. Vol. I. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1888. Biographical sketches can also be found in national biographical dictionaries. Technical Information The text files were created using WordPerfect 7.0 as an SGML editor and the DTD for historical documents developed by Dr. David R. Chesnutt of the University of South Carolina and the Model Editions Partnership (MEP). The SGML publication used DynaText, a software package developed by EBT Corporation of Providence Rhode Island and granted to the University of Vermont under their educational grant program. WordPerfect 9.0 was used as the final editor and parser. The actual coding depended largely on programs James P. Tranowski wrote to process the letters. Ellen Mazur Thomson did the bulk of it, although Cheryl Morrison and several graduate students connected with the MEP project at the University of South Carolina also worked on the letters. William Hicks of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, provided additional coding of the Correspondence Lists. Aaron Shamp coded the footnotes, entered copy editing corrections, parsed and cleaned all the SGML files and entities. Paul Philbin and Marcie A. Crocker, at the Howe Library and Hope A. Greenberg, at the Academic Computing Service served as technical advisers for the hardware and software. Original web publication came through DynaWeb, also an EBT grant program. On November 26, 2008 The George Perkin Marsh Online Research Center was migrated from its original location http://bailey2.uvm.edu/specialcollections/gpmorc.html to its new home at the CDI. Documents were migrated from SGML to XML using openSP and XSL. Contributors David A. Donath, the Advisory Board of Directors, and the Board of Trustees of the Woodstock Foundation provided the financial support that made this project possible. Bruce Kirby, archivist at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and archivists at the Houghton Library, Harvard University, the New York Historical Society, and the Archives of American Art provided copies of Marsh correspondence in their collections for us to transcribe and publish. The Vermont Historical Society allowed us to reproduce photographs in their collection. Connell Gallagher, head of the Special Collections Department, and Dr. Elizabeth H. Dow, created the project; Dr. Dow acted as Project Director. Ellen Mazur Thomson was Project Manager. Faculty and staff members of the Special Collections Department gave us specialized and expert reference: David Blow, Ingrid Bower, Sylvia Bugbee, Karen Campbell, Sylvia Knight and Jeffrey Marshall. Dr. Robert H. Rogers of the Classics Department, transcribed and annotated many of the Greek and Latin phrases used in the letters. Dr. Ralph H. Orth translated German materials, Ellen Mazur Thomson translated those in French. Dr. Ralph H. Orth, Professor Emeritus of the University of Vermont, created the transcription protocols for the letters. He transcribed most of the Powers and Norton letters and provided notes for their correspondence with Marsh. John Thomas transcribed Marsh's letters to Baird and Jacob Colie transcribed the Peirce letters. Eileen N. Brown contributed notes. Ellen Mazur Thomson selected the letters, designed the [original] web pages and wrote the introductory text.
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Date: 1812-1929
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Title: An Act to Provide for Rebuilding the State House

Title: Address to the Agricultural Society of Rutland County

Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diaries
Date Created: 1861-1865
Description: Caroline Crane was born on December 1, 1816 in Berkley, Massachusetts to Benjamin and Alinda (Briggs) Crane, and was the eldest daughter of ten children. She received her education from schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as from her older brothers, until the age of sixteen, when...
Show moreCaroline Crane was born on December 1, 1816 in Berkley, Massachusetts to Benjamin and Alinda (Briggs) Crane, and was the eldest daughter of ten children. She received her education from schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as from her older brothers, until the age of sixteen, when she moved to Middlebury, Vermont to live with her eldest brother, Silas, and his family. In 1837, she and her brother’s family moved to Burlington, where she taught at a local Episcopal boarding school run by Silas. In 1839, after teaching for a short time at the school of a family friend in New York City, Caroline married George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) and returned to Burlington to live with him and his son, George Ozias Marsh. When George Perkins Marsh was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843, Caroline, her husband and his son, and her sister, Lucy, all moved to Washington D.C., with all but George Ozias remaining in the city until 1849.
Caroline lived abroad for most of the next 34 years of her life. In 1849, her husband was appointed U.S. Minister to Turkey, a position he held until 1853. During this period, the Marshes, along with George’s son, his niece Maria Buell, and family-friend Caroline Paine, traveled extensively through Turkey, Egypt, the Levant, and Southern Europe, remaining in Greece for several months in part to complete a diplomatic mission there. Caroline returned with the rest of her party to the United States in 1854, residing in Burlington once more until 1861. In that year, her husband was appointed U.S. Minister to the Kingdom of Italy, and the couple traveled to Europe that June in the company of Caroline’s niece, Caroline “Carrie” Crane. While in Italy, the Marshes took several sightseeing trips through northern Italy, southern France, Switzerland, and western Austria. They also moved several times to stay near the capital of Italy, which moved from Turin to Florence in 1865 and then to Rome in 1873. George Perkins Marsh died in 1882 at the Marshes’ home in Vallombrosa, and Caroline returned to the United States the following year, living with her nephew Alexander Crane and other relatives until her death on October 27, 1901.

Throughout her life, Caroline suffered from several health challenges, including strokes, eye ailments, and difficulty walking and sitting for long periods without pain. Before the latter ailments were corrected through surgeries in 1866 and 1873, they hindered her ability to read and move without help, yet they did not prevent her from becoming an accomplished poet and translator or from participating in various philanthropic projects. She learned French, Italian, Swedish, and German by having others read aloud to her, which enabled her to read widely and prodigiously even during periods of near-blindness. In 1856, after mastering the German language, she translated The Hallig or, the Sheepfold in the Waters: A Tale of Humble Life on the Coast of Schleswig by Johann Christoph Biernatzki. Three years later, she published a collection of original poetry, The Wolfe of the Knoll, and other Poems, and later compiled and edited a collection of her husband’s correspondence, which she published as Life and Letters of George Perkins Marsh, Vol. 1 in 1888. During the latter years of her life, she became involved in several charitable ventures: she collected autographs from famous Italians to donate to the U.S. Sanitary Fairs, which supported sick and wounded Union soldiers during the Civil War; she served for many years in Florence as president of the board of managers of the Collegio Ferretti, an orphanage for Protestant Italian girls founded Salvatore Ferretti, and in 1876, she and her husband became the adopted parents of a Swedish toddler, Carlo Rande, who they raised as their own during their final years together in Italy.

Caroline Crane Marsh’s 17 “Italian” diaries (1861-1865) included here document the Marshes’ day-to-day lives during their time in Italy, particularly during their stay in Turin.

Topics include the American Civil War, race and slavery, Catholicism, European political and social relations, British-American political relations, Napoleon III and Second French Empire, King Victor Emmanuel II and Italian politics, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Italian nationalism, religious and funerary practices in Italy, the status and treatment of women in Italy and elsewhere, problems within and interactions between the Italian social classes, the experiences of Protestants, Jews, and rural peasants in Italy; health and medicine in Italy, Italian industries and agricultural practices, the Italian education system, the Italian language, crime and punishment in Italy, Italian fashion and etiquette, tourism and hospitality in Italy and the Alps, popular books and reading habits during the 1860s, George Perkins Marsh’s diplomatic and scholarly activities in Italy, and the everyday experiences of upper and lower-class Italians.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, April 8 - June 14, 1863
Date Created: 1863
Description: The Marshes explore Piobesi Castle and its gardens in this diary. George Perkins Marsh commutes from the castle to Turin to attend to diplomatic business and meets for a second time with King Victor Emmanuel. Caroline Crane Marsh continues to receive updates on the latest battles in the American...
Show moreThe Marshes explore Piobesi Castle and its gardens in this diary. George Perkins Marsh commutes from the castle to Turin to attend to diplomatic business and meets for a second time with King Victor Emmanuel. Caroline Crane Marsh continues to receive updates on the latest battles in the American Civil War, as well as the rising tensions between England and the U.S., France’s interference in Mexican affairs, and the “doings” of Richard M. Blatchford and J.C. Hooker in Rome.
Topics in this diary include funerary practices in Italy, Catholicism and religious celebrations in Italy, the everyday experiences of the Italian peasantry, Italian marital norms, the behavior and treatment of women in Italy versus the United States, Italian medical practices, Italian agriculture, relations between the elites of Naples and those of Savoy, Turin court life and etiquette, and life as an expatriate in Italy.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, August 3 - October 21, 1863
Date Created: 1863
Description: George Perkins Marsh becomes dean of the Italian diplomatic corps in this diary, following the recall of English ambassador Sir James Hudson. Diplomatic relations between Rome and Turin deteriorate during this period, while France’s interference in Mexico bears fruit with the crowning of Emperor...
Show moreGeorge Perkins Marsh becomes dean of the Italian diplomatic corps in this diary, following the recall of English ambassador Sir James Hudson. Diplomatic relations between Rome and Turin deteriorate during this period, while France’s interference in Mexico bears fruit with the crowning of Emperor Maximilian I. The Marshes travel extensively in this diary, taking trips into the Alps and the South of France.
Topics in this diary include tourism and hospitality in Italy and Southern France, education in Italy, communication methods in rural Italy, agriculture and land ownership in Italy and France, foreign enlistment in the American Civil War, crime and punishment in Italy and France, the experiences of the Italian peasantry, erosion and land management in Southern France, French art and architecture, the effects of American Civil War on other countries, divorce in the 19th century, language and accents, diplomatic etiquette, and Christianity, especially Catholicism.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, December 23, 1864 - February 21, 1865
Date Created: 1864-1865
Description: This six-page diary records the Marshes’ final days in Turin and their move to Florence in 1865. Topics in this diary include King Victor Emmanuel, Italian art and music, and tourism in Italy.

Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, January 1 - April 7, 1863
Date Created: 1863
Description: Troubles within the Church of England, the Polish Revolution, and widespread dissatisfaction with the Italian government and King Victor Emmanuel serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. After a little more sightseeing in and around Pegli, the Marshes head to Piobesi and move into the...
Show moreTroubles within the Church of England, the Polish Revolution, and widespread dissatisfaction with the Italian government and King Victor Emmanuel serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. After a little more sightseeing in and around Pegli, the Marshes head to Piobesi and move into the Castello di Piobesi Torinese for the summer.
Topics in this diary include Protestantism in Italy, crime in Italy, acquiring and occupying real estate in Italy, music and performance in Italy, the climate and culture in Piobesi, Italian elite’s attitudes towards liberalism, Italian social etiquette, tourism and hospitality in Italy, women’s education and occupations in the 19th century, and Italian and international attitudes towards the United States and the American Civil War.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, January 1 - March 1, 1864
Date Created: 1864
Description: Mounting political and military tensions between the major powers of Europe serve as the backdrop for this diary: the Second Schleswig War breaks out, four Italians are arrested in Paris for allegedly plotting to kill Napoleon III, and “war fever” whips the rest of Europe into a frenzy. George...
Show moreMounting political and military tensions between the major powers of Europe serve as the backdrop for this diary: the Second Schleswig War breaks out, four Italians are arrested in Paris for allegedly plotting to kill Napoleon III, and “war fever” whips the rest of Europe into a frenzy. George Perkins Marsh’s brother, Charles, arrives unexpectedly in Turin and settles in with the Marshes for an extended stay. Caroline Crane Marsh closely follows the decline and death of the Marchesa Doria and Barone Giovanni Plana, two of her earliest acquaintances in Italy. The Marshes attend public lectures with their friends, and Caroline Crane Marsh collects autographs from the lecturers and other famous Italians for the U.S. Sanitary Fairs.
Topics in this diary include the Count of Cavour, death and funerary practices in Italy, etiquette, the theory of evolution, women and marriage in the nineteenth century, Catholicism in Italy, the royal family of Savoy, and nineteenth-century British authors, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Charles Lamb.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, January 1 - March 7, 1862
Date Created: 1862
Description: The international political climate remains unsettled in this diary: political unrest continues across Europe and war seems imminent between England and the United States in the wake of the Trent Affair. The Italian political scene, however, becomes quite turbulent during the period:...

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The international political climate remains unsettled in this diary: political unrest continues across Europe and war seems imminent between England and the United States in the wake of the Trent Affair. The Italian political scene, however, becomes quite turbulent during the period: demonstrations in favor of national unification break out across Italy, the Italian ministry is dissolved, Bettino Ricasoli steps down, and Urbano Rattazzi becomes the new prime minister. Throughout all of this, the Marshes stay in Turin and continue to meet Italian elites and foreign nationals, including Rosa Arbesser, governess to Princess Margherita of Savoy. They also renew their acquaintance with Hungarian exile Lajos Kossuth and his family. The Marshes attend several political and social gatherings during this period and play their part in the Doria-Benedetti feud, “the social revolt against France” by the Torinese elites.

Topics in this diary include the status and problems of Italian women, the role of women in marriage and society in the 19th century, Italian marriages and the influence of the Catholic church on marriage, education in Italy, the etiquette of Italian royalty and elites, Catholicism, and the celebration of Carnival in Italy.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, July 24 - October 10, 1862
Date Created: 1862
Description: Political unrest in Italy punctuates the events in this diary: Garibaldi’s failed attack on Rome (the Battle of Aspromonte) ends with his injury and surrender and the arrest of Ferenc Pulszky; demonstrations break out across Italy and martial law is declared in Sicily, and France refuses to give...
Show morePolitical unrest in Italy punctuates the events in this diary: Garibaldi’s failed attack on Rome (the Battle of Aspromonte) ends with his injury and surrender and the arrest of Ferenc Pulszky; demonstrations break out across Italy and martial law is declared in Sicily, and France refuses to give a definitive answer on the “Roman Question.” In the United States, President Lincoln announces that he will issue the Emancipation Proclamation in early 1863. These months prove eventful for the Marshes, as well. They move out of the Casa d’Angennes and take a trip to Switzerland, passing in and out of the Alps as they tour the country. After a quick trip to London to see his publishers, George Perkins Marsh rejoins his wife and niece in Switzerland and returns with them to Italy, stopping for a time in Como.
Topics in this diary include education at Italian universities, political sentiments among Italian elites, relations between the Italian social classes, Italian etiquette, agriculture and rural industry in Italy and Switzerland, tourism and hospitality in Italy and Switzerland, Alpine avalanches, the English Colonial Society and English church services in Switzerland, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the marriage of Princess Maria Pia.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, June 14 - August 2, 1863
Date Created: 1863
Description: Tensions between the major European powers, a French victory in Puebla, draft riots in New York City, and the American Civil War battles of the summer of 1863 serve as the backdrop for this diary. The Marshes receive visits at Piobesi from several friends, including writer and journalist Anna...
Show moreTensions between the major European powers, a French victory in Puebla, draft riots in New York City, and the American Civil War battles of the summer of 1863 serve as the backdrop for this diary. The Marshes receive visits at Piobesi from several friends, including writer and journalist Anna Blackwell, diplomat John A. Kasson, and journalist William James Stillman. They also take a lengthy trip into the Alps, hiking several mountains during their travels. George Perkins Marsh finishes the manuscript for Man and Nature, and he and his wife agree to lease the Casa d’Angennes again for the winter.
Topics in this diary include Italian agriculture, tourism and hospitality in Italy and the Alps, gossip and etiquette in Italian high society, renting and occupying real estate in Italy, King Victor Emmanuel, the experiences of the Italian peasantry, nineteenth-century attitudes towards insanity, nineteenth-century (American) Independence Day celebrations, expatriate attitudes towards the American Civil War, and the treatment of American soldiers during the Civil War. This diary covers several topics relating to religion, as well, including Irish Catholicism, the Pope, the overlap between Church and State in Italy, Catholic attitudes towards Protestantism, conversion, and religious celebrations.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, June 7 - September 30, 1861
Date Created: 1861
Description: This diary covers the Marshes’ first months in Italy and describes their first impressions of the country and its people. During this period, the Marshes befriend the Abbe Giuseppe Filippo Baruffi, astronomer Barone Giovanni Plana, and the Tottenham family, among others. They also meet the rest...
Show moreThis diary covers the Marshes’ first months in Italy and describes their first impressions of the country and its people. During this period, the Marshes befriend the Abbe Giuseppe Filippo Baruffi, astronomer Barone Giovanni Plana, and the Tottenham family, among others. They also meet the rest of the diplomatic corps in Turin, as well as many preeminent Italians, including King Victor Emmanuel II, Bettino Ricasoli, and Urbano Rattazzi. They learn much about Italy’s most recent prime minister, the Count of Cavour, who dies the day before the Marshes arrive in Turin. After the Marshes settle into the Casa d’Angennes (their home in Turin), they go on several sightseeing trips, hiking in the Alps and visiting Lago Maggiore and Villarbasse.
Topics in this diary include the “Roman Question,” the Pope, and Catholicism; negotiations between Italy, the United States, and Giuseppe Garibaldi; the treatment of Garibaldi and Garibaldian soldiers by Italian government, the Torinese elites and their customs, rural life and rural industries, such as winemaking; the American Civil War, especially slavery and foreign enlistment; Ottoman politics, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s death, and the Great Comet of 1861.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, March 1 - May 6, 1864
Date Created: 1864
Description: European political relations remain tense in this diary, while rumors of an imminent rapprochement between Garibaldi and the Italian government precede Garibaldi’s departure for England. In Turin, the Marshes receive a visit from Lady Caroline Estcourt and her sisters and continue to attend...
Show moreEuropean political relations remain tense in this diary, while rumors of an imminent rapprochement between Garibaldi and the Italian government precede Garibaldi’s departure for England. In Turin, the Marshes receive a visit from Lady Caroline Estcourt and her sisters and continue to attend lectures and sightsee in and around the city.
Topics in this diary include charity in Italy, relations between the Italian social classes, etiquette in Italy, Italian royalty and nobility, death, grief, and memorialization in Italy; Italy’s literary circle, Italian art, spiritualism, democracy, slavery in the United States, and Catholicism.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, March 8 - May 14, 1862
Date Created: 1862
Description: The threat of war between Italy and Austria, increasing opposition to Urbano Rattazzi and the new ministry, and new negotiations between France, Rome, and the Italian government regarding the “Roman Question” serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. The Marshes receive a visit from...
Show moreThe threat of war between Italy and Austria, increasing opposition to Urbano Rattazzi and the new ministry, and new negotiations between France, Rome, and the Italian government regarding the “Roman Question” serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. The Marshes receive a visit from sculptor Hiram Powers and his family, and Green Clay arrives to replace Romaine Dillon as Secretary of the U.S. Legation, serving George Perkins Marsh alongside Marsh’s Italian secretary, Giuseppe Artoni. George Perkins Marsh completes the manuscript for his latest book, The Origin and History of the English Language, and resumes working on Man and Nature: or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action. Throughout this diary, the Marshes take sightseeing drives in and around Turin, visiting Moncalieri, the gardens at Valentino Palace, Stupenigi, Franchetti Villa, Madonna di Campagna, and Venaria Reale, among other places.
Topics in this diary include Rome and the Pope, Catholicism and the prejudice against Protestantism in Italy, Princess Maria Pia, the behavior and politics of Italian royalty and elites, court etiquette in Italy and the Ottoman Empire, labor practices in Italian agriculture, education and health in rural Italy, diplomatic relations between Italians and “Northern” countries, the role of women in marriage and society in the 19th century, spiritualism, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Bettino Ricasoli, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, May 6 - September 22, 1864
Date Created: 1864
Description: Negotiations between Italy and France regarding the “Roman Question” and the placement of Italy’s capital spark violent protests in the streets of Turin. The Marshes go on several trips in this diary, visiting nearby landmarks as well as hiking into the Alps. Between trips, the Marshes gather the...
Show moreNegotiations between Italy and France regarding the “Roman Question” and the placement of Italy’s capital spark violent protests in the streets of Turin. The Marshes go on several trips in this diary, visiting nearby landmarks as well as hiking into the Alps. Between trips, the Marshes gather the latest news on the American Civil War, including the details of the Battle of the Wilderness, and receive visits from the Estcourts and American diplomat David H. Wheeler, among others.
Topics in this diary include the September Convention, Italian art and patronage, tourism in Italy, Italian funerary practices, relations between the Italian social classes, King Victor Emmanuel and the royal family of Savoy, the treatment of women in Italy, the Italian silk industry, George Perkins Marsh’s diplomatic duties, Greek War of Independence, differences in behavior and manners between Americans and Europeans, and the death of Nathaniel Hawthorne. This diary covers several topics relating to religion, as well, including Catholic royal marriages, convents and religious orders, conversion, and French Protestants.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, November 1 - December 31, 1863
Date Created: 1863
Description: The Marshes and their friends speculate on the likelihood of a “European” war breaking out in the spring, following the death of the King of Denmark and years of tense relations between France, Italy, and their neighbors. After months of tense negotiations with their Torinese landlady, the...
Show moreThe Marshes and their friends speculate on the likelihood of a “European” war breaking out in the spring, following the death of the King of Denmark and years of tense relations between France, Italy, and their neighbors. After months of tense negotiations with their Torinese landlady, the Countess Ghirardi, the Marshes finally move back into the Casa d’Angennes. Once there, Caroline Crane Marsh begins hosting dance lessons for her niece Carrie and others her age in the neighborhood, befriending the Countess Gigliuicci (Clara Novello) at the first lesson. George Perkins Marsh attends another royal hunting trip to Racconigi and begins attending public lectures in Turin.
Topics in this diary including renting and occupying real estate in Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi, medical care in Italy, charity work in Italy, Italian funerary practices, English politics and diplomacy, reading habits in the nineteenth century, nineteenth-century attitudes towards Jews, Wallachia (Romania), Catholicism, etiquette, the Suez Canal, and the Taiping Rebellion.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, October 1 - December 31, 1861
Date Created: 1861
Description: Political unrest across Europe, the Trent Affair, and accusations of French interference in Italian politics serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. The Marshes continue to meet Italian elites and politicians, including the Duchess of Genoa, the Marchesa Doria, and Carlo Poerio, and...

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Political unrest across Europe, the Trent Affair, and accusations of French interference in Italian politics serve as the backdrop for the events in this diary. The Marshes continue to meet Italian elites and politicians, including the Duchess of Genoa, the Marchesa Doria, and Carlo Poerio, and befriend various diplomats and expatriates in Turin, including the Pulszkys, the Benedettis, and Mrs. Stanley. The Marshes travel to Florence to attend the National Exposition, and George Perkins Marsh takes part in two royal hunting excursions at Racconigi and Stupinigi.

Topics in this diary include Rome, the Pope, and Catholicism; Victor Emmanuel, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Italian nationalism, the treatment of Garibaldian soldiers by the Italian government, rural industry and the everyday lives of Italian peasants, the behavior and manners of Italians, especially Italian women; relations between the Italian social classes, the American Civil War, especially slavery and foreign enlistment; the Suez Canal, and spiritualism.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, October 10, 1862 - January 20, 1863
Date Created: 1862-1863
Description: This diary records the events leading up to the resignation of Urbano Rattazzi and his ministry in Italy, as well as the events that follow the 1862 elections and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States. While the Marshes search for a new place to live, they sightsee in...
Show moreThis diary records the events leading up to the resignation of Urbano Rattazzi and his ministry in Italy, as well as the events that follow the 1862 elections and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States. While the Marshes search for a new place to live, they sightsee in Como, hike Mount Bisbino, and settle into a temporary residence in Pegli (a seaside neighborhood in Genoa), where they befriend the Tebbs and Strettell families.
Topics in this diary include Giuseppe Garibaldi, renting and occupying real estate in Italy, Italian art and architecture, Italian etiquette, Italian marriages, the education of women in the 19th century, tourism in Italy, the culture, climate, and industries in Genoa; Italian agricultural practices, public religious celebrations, the “Roman Question,” Christianity among the English and their attitudes towards Catholicism, crime and punishment in Italy, and Caroline Crane Marsh’s reasons for keeping a diary.

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Title: Caroline Crane Marsh Diary, September 23 - December 21, 1864
Date Created: 1864
Description: The Italian ministry dissolves and reforms in this diary amid countrywide protests against the September Convention treaty and debates over proposed bills for the suppression of monasteries and tax hikes on salt and other goods. The Marshes acquire the lower floors of the Casa d’Angennes during...
Show moreThe Italian ministry dissolves and reforms in this diary amid countrywide protests against the September Convention treaty and debates over proposed bills for the suppression of monasteries and tax hikes on salt and other goods. The Marshes acquire the lower floors of the Casa d’Angennes during this period and the offices of the American Legation move into those rooms shortly after. Caroline Crane Marsh continues collecting items for the U.S. Sanitary Fairs and has an audience with the Duchess of Genoa.
Topics in this diary include Italian law enforcement, slavery in the United States, differences between Turin and Florence, Italian art, Italian grief and funerary practices, convents, Italian medicine, relations between the Italian social classes, crime in Italy, political relations between Italy, France, and Rome; Catholicism, marriage, traveling and tourism in Russia, the Greek War of Independence, and the royal family of Savoy.

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Title: Ethan Allen Monument: Committee Report, 1858

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