The four volume Diary of Hiram E. Leonard is available for research at the Warrenville Public Library in Warrenville Illinois. [Schmidt, Leone. Diary of Hiram E. Leonard: [Mar. 31, 1843-Oct. 27, 1878] 1984-1991.].

The four blue covered bound volumes were meticulously transcribed and indexed by the late Warrenville City Historian Leone Schmidt. Schmidt and I worked together for several years to edit and publish the Warrenville Historical Society’s newsletter. Leone was recipient of the Illinois Humanities Council’s Studs Terkel Humanitarian Service Award in recognition of her body of written work and volunteerism in the City of Warrenville in documenting the City’s history.

The Diary entries of Hiram Leonard provide a glimpse into the life of an early resident of DuPage County and Winfield Township in Illinois. The Warrenville Historical Society has been publishing the diary entries in a blog for several years. While many of the entries are mundane and short several record the births, deaths and life events of Leonard’s neighbors, family members and associates.

Leonard’s Diaries span the time period of March 31, 1843 to October 27, 1878. In scanning the index to the diaries I located several entries that came to my attention for the following: Mack Family of Mack Road (neighbors of the Daleiden and Schlick family); Israel Mather (landowner whose heirs sold land to Michael and Christopher Daleiden in the mid to late 1860s; Jude Gary (owner of land that is now the St. James Farm Forest Preserve in Warrenville Illinois); the Fairbank family (neighbors of the Daleidens and hosts to escaped slaves on the underground railroad); the Galusha family (one of their homes and land would become part of St. James Farm). There are also entries on: Turner Illinois (West Chicago); Bloomingdale; the East Branch of the DuPage River; Danby, Illinois (Glen Ellyn) and Winfield Station (Winfield Illinois).

One entry was on the tragic death of Mrs. Louisa Henrietta Krebel Kline the wife of Caspar Kline. They owned a farm located just north of Winfield Illinois. Here is a photo of the page of this Diary entry. It provides a sample of Schmidt’s transcription work and an example of an entry one would encounter: