Guide to the Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol Collection


Title:
Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol Collection
Repository:
Marietta College Library
Phone: 740-376-4545
http://library.marietta.edu/spc
Creator:
Devol, Ann Tabitha (Marshall)
Dates:
1868-1896
Bulk dates:
1868-1896
Quantity:
4 boxes
Abstract:
Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol (1838-1896) and her husband, William Dudley Devol (1834-1906), raised their family at "Walnut Hill Farm" in Muskingum Township, Washington County, Ohio. The collection is comprised primarily of journals kept by "Bitha," in which she recorded family concerns, neighborhood social life, local news, weather, and the daily routine of nineteenth-century farm life.
Identification:
Unknown
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol Collection

Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol was born in Marietta, Ohio, May 4, 1838. Her parents, John and Nancy (Sharp) Marshall, operated a dry goods store on Ohio Street between Second the Third streets. On November 11, 1857, Tabitha married William Dudley Devol (1834-1906), son of William and Helen (Putnam) Devol, and a descendant of General Israel Putnam of Revolutionary War fame.

"Bitha" and "Dudley," as they were familiarly known, had three daughters: Mabelle, or "May," (1859- 1935) who married Charles Pollard Dyar; Helen Anne (1864-1958), who married Harry Grow Chamberlain; and Tabitha Marshall, or "Marsha," (1871-1873). The family's home, Walnut Hill Farm, contained over 300 acres of land and was located in the lower section of present-day Devola, on the west side of Route 60 in Muskingum Township, Washington County, Ohio. Dudley Devol often made trips down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers on flatboats loaded with farm produce, leaving Bitha in charge of farm and family. On September 19, 1896, Bitha Devol died at Walnut Hill Farm, just a few days following her last journal entry. She was buried in the Putnam Cemetery.

Additional biographical information and photographs will be found in Devol: Early Settlers in Rhode Island (1639) and in Ohio (1788), researched and compiled by Jerry Barker Devol, published by Herbert Gordon Devol, 1999, pp. 245-246 and 387-388.

Scope and Content

The collection contains the journals kept by Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol from 1856 until her death in 1896 (1857-67 and 1878-79 were missing when the collection was acquired). The entries include observations about her family, neighborhood, social life, local news and weather, and the daily routine of nineteenth-century farm life. Also available are a small notebook entitled "Butter & Eggs & Household Expenses," as well as a copy of a photograph of Bitha and one of her daughter Helen. Diaries of Bitha's daughters, Helen and Mabelle, are also part of this collection.

Statement of Arrangement

The journals of Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol are arranged in chronological order, followed by the journals of her daughters, Helen and Mabelle, and then by photographs and notes.

Restrictions

There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection. Copyright restrictions may apply to materials. Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the repository and from the copyright holder.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Agriculture - Ohio

Persons:

Chamberlain, Helen Devol (1864-1958)
Devol, Ann Tabitha Marshall (1838-1896)
Dyar, Mabelle Devol (1859-1935)

Places:

Marietta (Ohio)
Muskingum Township, Washington County (Ohio)

Preferred Citation

Ann Tabitha (Marshall) Devol Collection, Marietta College Library

Other Finding Aid


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