Four journals containing writings by William Pym Long along with various pieces of ephemera. Journal entries and lists are from various places, but largely from Carroll County, Illinois and Richardson County, Nebraska from 1872-1911. Additional accounts of the family business in Germany Valley, Pennsylvania from 1846-1847 also included.

Entries are mostly chronological with detailed daily accounts of his life and work, often commenting on the weather, agricultural work, and social news. He describes his nursery, attending teacher conferences, his bouts with illness, makes observations of students and the school board, and the hardships of life on the Plains. Long also includes a detailed account of his tour of various industrial sites in Moline, Illinois on his trip out to Nebraska, and accounts of travel by rail and horse to the west.

Journal 1, 1846-1958, bulk 1872-1890, includes entries from 1872-1877; list of letters written and received, 1880-1890; list of students during 1875-1876; record of family births and deaths, 1842-1958. Journal entries and lists are written among text of an account book from David Long’s business in Germany Valley, Pennsylvania in 1846-1847. Laid in are a variety of documents and notes, dried flowers and leaves, and newspaper clippings. Includes Long’s Nebraska teaching certificates for 1887 and 1890.

Journal 2, 1874-1880, includes entries from 1874-1875; list of letters written and received 1878-1880, list of students in Salem, Nebraska in winter of 1877-1878, recipes, and plant sales. Approximately 233 pages.

Journal 3, 1884-1892, includes entries from Jan. 1, 1884-Mar. 24, 1887; various other records including yearly summaries, planting schedules and plants sold, lists of letters written and received, school grades, and lists of other expenses, primarily for 1890-1892. Approximately 350 pages.

Journal 4, 1900-1911, bulk 1909-1911, is primarily a weather log from Dec. 1908-Aug. 1911 with some journal text. Laid in are several documents including a 1900 circular for Long’s plant business. Approximately 56 pages.