Journal of Charles F. Thomas

Charles F. Thomas' diary includes intermittent entries dating from leaving Dickinson College in July 1859, to attending at Garrett Bible Institute in Evanston, Illinois, and to working as a Methodist circuit rider in Pennsylvania as the Civil War begins. In March 1860, Thomas saw Abraham Lincoln during his visit to the Garrett Bible Institute. Lincoln was "a plain, honest, unassuming man," as Thomas observes. Thomas' entries also include details about the Republican Convention of 1860.

In addition, Thomas comments on the start of the Civil War and describes the divisions in his family. "I received a letter from Father yesterday which leads me to fear in fact to know that all my family are secessionists," as Thomas notes. Transcript included.