Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Milton A. and Marion Osborn Manuscript Receipt Book and Household Library Catalog must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Milton A. and Marion Osborn Manuscript Receipt Book and Household Library Catalog, Ms2015-056, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Milton A. and Marion Osborn Manuscript Receipt Book and Household Library Catalog was purchased by Special Collections in 2015.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Milton A. and Marion Osborn Manuscript Receipt Book and Household Library Catalog was completed in November 2015.

Biographical Note

Milton A. Osborn was born about 1844 in Baltimore, MD. At the age of 14, he relocated to New York City and began serving on ships. During the Civil War, Osborn was the captain of the steamer Jupiter , which ran Confederate blockades. Some time after the war, he married Marion Shipley (born abt. 1842) and they owned a farm in Harrisonville, MD. Osborn spent eight years as a conductor on the Pennsylvania, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad. According to his obituary, he also built a hotel and spent time in the guano trade in Buenos Aires. He died in November 1890.

The notebook includes the signature of "Willie Osborn," but the relationship between Willie, Milton, and Marion is unknown. The "Jennie Shipley" reference in the notebook is likely Marion's sister (recorded on the 1870 census as J. Sarah Shipley).

Scope and Content

The collection consists of a hand-written receipt book and catalog of the household library, likely kept in the 1870s and 1880s. In addition, there are a few home remedies, some drawings and signatures (Willie Osborn), and what appear to be short journal entries. The book was owned and likely created by both Milton and Marion Osborn. Dates on the cover and inside suggest the Osborns started using the notebook in 1878. Publication dates for items in the catalog of the household library indicate it was added to until at least the mid-1880s.

The majority of the book contains recipes for a variety of baked goods: cakes, pies, and puddings. However, it also includes recipes for pickling, homemade wine, and preserves, and home remedies. Other pages include partial journal entries, one referencing Jennie Shipley (a likely relation to Marion Shipley Osborn); a drawing of a house; and some signatures of Willie Osborn. In addition, there are 320 books numbered 91 to 411, which may have made up the Osborn's home library. Titles include both fiction and non-fiction.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Folk, historical, and patent medicine
• History of Food and Drink
• Traditional medicine