Unusual Find under a porch

[Fullstock]

A friend and I decided to try our luck today around an old home that was built in the 1700's. Apparently the yard had been hit hard in the past, so I decided to crawl under the front porch with my machine. As I was crawling along, I saw what looked like a document lying in the dirt next to the foundation. To my surprise, I found a diary from the year 1857 lying open in the dirt. It's torn, wet and dirty, but most of the pages are still readable. I couldn't believe that paper could survive that way. Needless to say, that was the find of the day!

 

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[Fullstock]

This is my first post and and I'm not sure why the pictures are sideways, sorry about that!

 

[Ninjafossils]

That is an amazing recover! Please show us more pics!

 

[basque-man]

That is totally cool. Might look into preserving it as soon as you can!

 

[RelicDude]

That is truly remarkable. Please show some more pictures. I would find a way to preserve it. It's going to fall apart when it dries out.

 

[OWK]

extremely cool.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Super cool find!

My pics do the same, I have to turn my I-pad on it's side then take the pics and they load up right on the posts. I'm e-challenged!

 

[USN Retired]

Wow, what a neat find. Amazed it survived.

 

[Fullstock]

Here are a few more pictures. I'm noticing that as it's drying out, it's becoming more brittle. I'm not sure how to preserve it other than to put it in a case. It's amazing that it's in the shape that it is.

 

[Argentium]

It's interesting to get a glimpse into the every day realities of people living in earlier centuries . My Father has a very old journal
written in 1830 by his 3 or 4 X Great Grandfather . This journal is an account of the first 200 years of Dorchester ,Massachussets.
listing the names of residents going back to 1630 ! (almost right off the boat if you know what I mean ). I'd love to hear more
of what you glean from these venerable pages . Nice Save !

 

[leviathanrick]

Very cool

 

[treblehunter]

Were there any dirty little secrets or better yet the map to the family riches! lol
Very cool different find, congrats!

 

[UnderMiner]

That book may reveal secrets about history we have yet to know about.
Maybe the last entry will provide a clue as to how/why the book ended up under the house.
So cool! If I found that I would be deciphering it for hours! The information is the treasure in this case!

 

[Fullstock]

Underminer, I've spent the last several hours separating the pages that were stuck together and trying to read it, so great minds must think alike! Unfortunately there don't seem to be any great secrets to be found. It was apparently written by a man who worked with lumber and making furniture and other items. He went to church every Sunday and spoke about the weather almost daily. Just a normal man who lived a mundane life 158 years ago. Still, it's pretty cool to read about his life, and I would think that in his wildest imagination, he would never guess that his diary would be read and shown in this manner. I wonder if anyone will read what we're saying here 158 years from now.

 

[Mudwiggle]

Cool find there!

I'd be inclined to put it in a box, and wrap in plastic, then get it to a conservator or museum for preservation.
The clock will be ticking on this one once it starts to dry out.

If you don't want to take this route, photograph as much (high res) as you can to preserve the history in there...

 

[TheRingFinder]

I would think your local historical society would be mighty interested in that book - Make copies and if your so inclined, either see what they will give you for it or donate it.
Just a suggestion...........

 

[sutphin]

Dang I would give my ----- for that piece of history ,it is remarkable that it survived all these years to the elements.vanzutphen

 

[Gridwalker306]

Wow, there may be references to important historical events in there. That is very cool, id read every page and learn as much as I could!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Contact someone that can preserve old documents and books before it crumbles. Someone here might be able to give you some names. Fantastic find!

 

[pepperj]

Now that's one of the cooler saves in a longtime that have been posted up. The entries shed light on one persons life back then and in the pages one entry might reveal a little clue as attending a picnic, or a gathering at a certain place that is no longer an attraction. This is a window into the past and local historians would be drooling to read the pages as there's always something of interest, the weather, a storm, a gathering, or harvest. It's written proof that an event happened no matter how mundane it may read it's how history is preserved from the writings of the past, not from the memories as each time the story is passed on it gets changed a little to the point of things getting a little skewed. Like many have mentioned the first step is to stop the degradation of the paper, then there's time to look around for different options what to do. Once again congrats on the save.