The Desh Family Papers

My role at the Moravian Archives is a bit different than that of our student catalogers. Among my responsibilities, I review the work of the students but generally do not catalog the personal papers. I am, therefore, not able to engage with the material to the same degree as the students, because I am often looking to make sure I's are dotted and T's crossed. I verify that the record is accurate for each individual item.

I am currently reviewing the work undertaken on the Desh Family Papers. The papers consist of material related to five family members- Daniel Desh (1814-1895), Orlando Desh (1843-1932), Ambrose Desh (1845-1911), William Desh (1848-1923), Edward Desh (1850-1879), and Harrison Desh (1854-1932). The collection includes children's school exercises, financial records and transactions, and a series of Civil War letters.  I have assembled a few photographs of their papers-

This was a sketch from Daniel Desh's work book for his mathematical exercises (1835).

This image and the one below are from William Desh's geography work book (1858-1860).  

I very much like finding bits of ephemera pressed between the pages.

Handwriting exercises, the script is beautiful.

And this is perhaps my favorite- two pigs sketched over text.  The words inside the pigs read:  A pig with a curly tail and A short tailed pig.  (Edward Desh)