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Virginia Swearingen Diary

 Collection
Identifier: MS-440

Scope and Contents

In 1837 at the age of 16 Virginia Swearingen travels from Chillicothe, Ohio to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend a French boarding school run by Charles Picot. Charles Picot was born in France and served as Captain of Cavalry under Napoleon and was captured during the burning of Moscow in 1812. After the defeat of Napoleon, Charles Picot and his wife Maria moved to America and opened the boarding school. The school was open until the death Charles Picot in 1860. Their son, Mitchell H. Picot, was born in Philadelphia on 12 January 1840. He was a physician and died in Geneva on 6 June 1896. The beginning of the diary keeps track of expenses for 1837 and 1838 while she is in Philadelphia. After this is a diary of her travels (it appears to be before going to Philadelphia) from June 6 through June 24, [1837?]. The diary then picks up on February 23, 1840 and runs through April 24, 1841. The last two pages are reminiscences of 4th of July celebrations 1836-1839. She was in Philadelphia in 1838 according to this and appears to be back in Chillicothe in 1839.

Dates

  • 1837-1841
  • Other: Date acquired: 11/07/2015

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Archives and Special Collections of McNairy Library will reproduce Special Collections material to the extent that physical condition and copyright or other legal restrictions permit. Reproduction is available in the form of photocopies and digital images. All reproduction requests must be approved by a member of the professional staff. Decisions will take into account the type and condition of the binding, the brittleness of the paper, the size and the general size and fragility of the item.

Conditions Governing Use

Archives and Special Collections adheres to the provisions of the 1976 Copyright Act and amendments, and follows the minimum standards of educational fair use established under Section 107. In applying these standards, Archives and Special Collections will copy up to 10% of a copyrighted work if the copy is to be used for the purpose of private study, scholarship or research. The department will not copy for the purpose of public performance. Physical condition permitting, the department will copy more than 10% of a copyrighted work only with the written permission of the copyright holder. Multiple copies are not permitted under fair use. For authored works created since 1978, copyright lasts from the creation of the work until 70 years after the author's death. The expiration term for corporate, anonymous, or pseudonymous works is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever occurs first. For works published before 1978, with a copyright notice, the maximum duration of copyright protection is 75 years. Works published before 1978 without a copyright notice are assumed to be in the public domain. Since March 1, 1989, a copyright notice is no longer necessary. Archives and Special Collections reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Extent

1.00 items

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Virginia Swearingen, born 24 April 1821 was the 4th child of James Strode Swearingen and Nancy Bedinger. She had 5 siblings: Henry B. Swearingen, Eleanor Swearingen, Sarah Bedinger Swearingen (1819-1886) who married Nathaniel Woodbridge Thatcher, James Swearingen and Nancy C. Swearingen.

Technical Access Requirements

The processing fee for photocopying or scanning requests is $10.00/request. There is no charge for Millersville University students, faculty, or staff.

Method of Acquisition

Purchased

Existence and Location of Originals

multi-part note content

Related Materials

multi-part note content

Title
Archon Finding Aid Title
Description rules
Other Unmapped
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
und

Repository Details

Part of the Millersville University Special Collections Repository

Contact:
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Millersville University
Millersville 17551-302 US
717-871-7134