Rufus Patten papers

The papers of Rufus E. Patton consists of diaries and various military documents. The 1862 diary contains daily entries which chronicle the changes in the weather, errands run in town, and work completed in the shop. It is a snapshot of civilian life during the Civil War in the year 1862. The 1869 diary contains daily entries from Jan 1, 1869 to Jan 24, 1870, which contains the daily events of a Justice of the Peace from Claudia, NH. Trips to Manchester, NH and fiscal transactions make up the bulk of the errands Patten ran in the year, 1869. Patten’s entries are full of devotional prayers to God and the frontispiece is written on in pencil, chronicling the deaths of friends and family throughout the year 1869. The juxtaposition of the two diaries reveals very different stages in Patten’s life and the growing importance of the role of God in the later part of his life. The official documents of Rufus E. Patten show his rise in the military ranks and subsequent government appointments in the years after his resignation from his military position.