Collection Description

The bulk of this collection consists of 39 diaries of farmer and conservationist William P. Wharton, kept primarily at his farm (Fiveoaks Farm) in Groton, Massachusetts, each year (except 1945) from 1910-1939. Entries describe his daily activities; the weather; work on the property, including planting, trapping, hunting, fishing, forestry, and apple picking; sightings of birds and other wildlife; participation in various conservationist and agricultural organizations, including the American Bison Society, Massachusetts Fish and Game Association, Massachusetts Forestry Association, Ayer Farmers' Co-operative Exchange, Middlesex County Farm Bureau, Massachusetts Audubon Society, National Parks Association, and many others; his work as a Groton selectman; travel; and his health. Included are entries related to his father William F. Wharton, stepmother Susan (Lay) Wharton, siblings Philip and Constance, first wife Ruth (Gerrish) Wharton (including her death in 1920), sister-in-law Gertrude Gerrish, second wife Elizabeth (Wiggin) Wharton, members of the Perrin family, and staff at the farm; entries describing a trip to survey the Everglades, Florida, with Frederick Law Olmsted in January 1932; memoranda related to the Groton farm; and clippings and notes inserted. The collection also contains two account books of farm expenses (both 1912-1916) and a volume recording numbers of hens, roosters, and eggs laid (1915-1916).