The Stephen Chase Diary, 1784-1818

Stephen Chase was a farmer and land surveyor in Chester, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. His leather-bound diary, covering the period from 1784 through 1818, is among the jewels of the manuscript collection at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Every day, Chase wrote a single line about something significant that occurred that day. Many of those events are births, deaths, and marriages not recorded anywhere else! 

If you have ancestors who lived in or around Chester during this time period, this diary is a must-see! Although access to the original diary is restricted because of its fragile condition, it has been microfilmed, and may be viewed at NEHGS in Boston or at the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord.

Happy hunting!

William Ran[d] death (1787), as recorded in the Stephen Chase Diary, 1784-1818, unpaginated (original diary at New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston; microfilm at New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord).