Nicholas Cresswell journal(1774–1824)

• MS 1961.2
• Microfilm: M-1556
• 4 vols.

Journal made from rough notes of a trip to America, 1774–1777, by Nicholas Cresswell (1751–1804) of Derbyshire, England. Cresswell came to America hoping to acquire land and settle permanently, but personal difficulties, the uncertain state of affairs, and the Revolutionary War, caused him to return to England. While traveling, he visited or lived in Barbados, Maryland, Virginia, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Philadelphia, and New York. Often, there are lengthy observations on the towns he visited, frontier techniques and customs, and the social customs of both Indians and whites. The journal is especially valuable for detailing the growth of the Revolutionary movement. Among the many people mentioned are Capt. Buddecomb, Capt. George Clark, Capt. [Christopher] Gist, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Neville, and George Rice.

The work has been published as The Journal of Nicholas Cresswell, 1774–1777 (New York, 1924) and more completely in A Man Apart the Journal of Nicholas Cresswell, 1774–1781 (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009).

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