Manuscripts Collection
Levi Countryman was born July 11, 1832, in LaFargeville, New York. He moved to Hartsville, Indiana (circa 1848-1850) where he taught school and attended Hartsville College. On March 21, 1851 he married Alta Chamberlain, and in 1855 they moved to Hastings, Minnesota for reasons relating to Levi Countryman's health. In Minnesota he farmed in Dakota County; attended and graduated from Hamline University, Red Wing, in 1861; was mustered into Company D, Second Minnesota Regiment (February 7, 1865) and mustered out (May 2, 1865); and returned to farming in Nininger, Dakota County. Later Levi Countryman was employed in the farm implement business, primarily with the Buffalo-Pitts Company, where he worked and headed the Fargo, North Dakota branch from 1883 to 1892 when he moved to the Minneapolis branch where he worked until his retirement on July 31, 1907. Levi Countryman died in Minneapolis on March 29, 1924.
Levi Countryman's interests in education, religion, farming, and his family are reflected in his papers. There is information on school districts in the city of Nininger, Hamline University, and Countryman family history. His papers include a handwritten constitution for the Dakota County Agricultural Society and copies of many newspaper articles he wrote on a variety of topics. There is an extensive series of letters (1881-1890) written to his daughter Gratia while Levi Countryman was working away from his family, primarily in North Dakota.
Also includes biographical information on Levi's brother Peter F. Countryman, who lived and worked in Dakota County, Minnesota, and an advertisement for his business Tozer & Countryman.
These documents are organized into the following sections:
The papers of Gratia A. Countryman, Levi and Alta Countryman's daughter, are in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscripts collection. Her papers include correspondence written by Levi and Alta Countryman, two graduation certificates for Levi Countryman, and Gratia's brother Theophilus R. Countryman's autobiographies for the years 1865-1875 and 1892-1926.
See: Foroughi, Andrea Rae. "To Secure a Home for My Family." Minnesota History, 58/3 (Fall 2002): for an article based on the Levi N. Countryman diaries.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons or places should
Accession number: 6142; 16,011
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, April 2004; Anne Levin, December 2004; Jennifer Huebscher, April 2011.
Catalog ID number: 001732046
A typed copy of family listings from the 1860 Minnesota Census schedules, Dakota County. Also includes the William G. LeDuc family.
A typed copy of the Second Minnesota Regiment, Company D muster roll data
for Levi and Peter F. Countryman from
An article announcing Levi Countryman's retirement from the Buffalo-Pitts
Company. Photocopied from the magazine,
Photocopies of two obituaries printed in the
Photocopy of a biographical sketch in the
Contains correspondence, photographs, and a family tree.
Handwritten correspondence of Levi Countryman, primarily to his daughter Gratia, with a few letters to his daughter Lana. There are also a few letters written by Alta Countryman. Levi's letters were written initially from Reed's Landing, Minnesota and then primarily from North Dakota where he worked for the Pitts Agricultural Works as a traveling salesman and manager.
Letters to Levi Countryman from his sisters Lany (Lana) Truax and Martha Countryman of Hastings, Minnesota; cousin Norman W. Countryman of New York State; nephew A. D. Countryman of Appleton, Minnesota; and from Henry S. LeRoy of New York State, with data on the Countryman and Diefendorf families.
Includes notes on and lists of Countryman family names (1763-1789) and (1850-1879); a list of Bush family names and dates (1830-1899); and information on the Revolutionary War service of George Countryman (1786-1798).
Letters from his sisters with information on family genealogy and current family activities. Levi's sister Lany was married to Daniel B. Truax who also lived in Dakota County, Minnesota.
Six letters (October 10, 20, and 27 and November 9 and 30, 1908; and March 30, 1909) from LeRoy contain information on the Diefendorf family and its relationship to the Countrymans; marriages, births, and deaths of the Adam and Elizabeth Diefendorf family (1793-1813), the Conrad and Catherine (Miller) Countryman family (1790-1841), and the George Christianman (Diefendorf) Countryman family (1748-1878); and a report from Canadian sources on Jacob Countryman, a Loyalist during the American Revolution, who emigrated to Canada in 1776.
Three letters (October 7, 1908, December 26, 1908, and February 4, 1910) from Levi's cousin Norman W. Countryman detail information on the family in New York State; Revolutionary War artifacts in the family's possession; and the location of the Diefendorf family records in New York State. The letter of December 26, 1908 mentions his acquaintance with Charles Evans Hughes, then governor of New York, and later chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.
His letter contains information on the Revolutionary War record of George Countryman. Attached to the letter are copies of war records of George Counterman [?], and Conrad Cunderman [?] in New York regiments and a handwritten copy of the New York State Census (1790) listing the Countrymans living in Albion and in Ulster County. The latter two items appear to have been prepared by Henry S. LeRoy.
A. D. Countryman was the son of Levi's brother, Peter F. Countryman.
Includes letters from Levi Countryman to various members of his family. Two notebooks feature letters that were not sent.
An unidentified list of names, including Ignatius Donnelly.
The handwritten document states that the Society was organized to "...promote and improve the agricultural, horticultural, mechanical, household, and fine arts of Dakota County..." It was signed by Levi Countryman and 5 other persons.
The document may have been written by Levi Countryman. It is undated, but a newspaper article dated March 20, 1858, supplied the date. (See folder of newspaper articles in the collection).
A handwritten speech delivered by Levi Countryman extolling the virtues of Minnesota and detailing the growth and prosperity of Minnesota and the Northwest in relation to a number of factors: agriculture; the state's central location and its proximity to the Great Lakes, the Red, Mississippi, and St. Lawrence rivers; good soil, climate, waterpower (St. Anthony Falls), lumber trade, railroads, and scenery; and the moral vision of its inhabitants.
The approximate date of the document was determined by a statement on page 35, "...in 1850 eighteen years ago..."
A printed booklet of W. W. Rich's
A handwritten transcript of a speech by Levi Countryman dedicating a school in Rich Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota. Countryman states his philosophy of the importance of education in scientific and economic progress; the growth of democracy and freedom; crime prevention; comparisons between countries with good educational systems and those lacking them; the federal government's support of education through the designation of public land for schools and its effect on Minnesota. The last unnumbered page [p. 22] has information on crime and education; religious schools; and opposition to the teaching of religion in public schools.
On page 2 mention is made of the defeat of France during the Franco-Prussian war, and the Paris Commune, 1871. The cataloger used that information to assign the date to the document.
Includes miscellaneous correspondence, some of which is related to genealogy, photographs, speeches, a brief biography, articles, clippings, and a copy of a land grant.
I. B. Tozer and Peter F. Countryman were proprietors of this establishment, and Peter was associated with it from 1875 to 1883.
Photocopies of newspaper articles by Levi Countryman. The majority are
dated 1855-1859 and were written by Countryman primarily for the
Three small diaries (handwritten originals and typed transcripts) of Levi N. Countryman containing brief daily entries with information on his farm routine, reading materials, family life, observations on religion, and related topics.
The original diaries are handwritten in ink, the pages numbered, and the writing legible. In volume 2, the ink is fading from pages 190-243, though they are still readable. Typed transcripts have been made of each of the diaries.
Volume 1 consists of short entries, containing information on the weather; the planting and harvesting of crops on Levi's farm near Nininger; mention of friends, acquaintances and family members in the area; church services, visiting clergy, almost daily mention of the state of his religious inclinations, his desire to enter the ministry, and sermons he preached at various times; school teaching experiences; dissension with his wife Alta over religion; change of denominations from Methodist to Congregational; and their financial situation.
Pages 1 through 266 are numbered in the typed transcript of Volume 1. The rest are unnumbered (entries for August 2-October 31, 1859).
Some entries of interest are:
First entry, with statement on Levi's 26th birthday, and on his resolve to record all events.
Hired for six months to write articles on agriculture for the Nininger newspaper. See newspaper clippings folder for some of these articles.
Wrote the constitution and bylaws of the Dakota County Agricultural Society.
Entries relating to money owed him by Ignatius Donnelly.
His father's 73rd birthday.
Starts teaching at district school at $100 for three months, and mentions the subjects he will teach.
Mention of a woman doctor in the area, Dr. Susan Baker.
Describes a lecture by Ignatius Donnelly: "Composition in Writing as an Indication of Character."
His eighth wedding anniversary.
Congregational Ministers' Association meeting at River Falls, Wisconsin.
Joined Congregational Church.
Dakota County Fair with James Fields as speaker.
Voted Republican in election.
Volume 2 is similar in form and content to volume 1. There is information on routine farm life, family affairs, visits with friends and neighbors, religious services, and Countryman's six weeks at Hamline University, Red Wing, to receive his B.A. degree. Not found in this diary are the frequent references to his religious state that were found in volume 1. There is more emphasis on his daily routine and farm life.
Some entries of interest are:
Chosen to sell subscriptions to the
Mentions the execution of John Brown, and approval of his actions.
Wrote articles for the
His wife Alta's birthday.
A daughter Ethelda was born
Brief mention of Civil War actions.
His brother John S. enlists.
Student unrest at Hamline University because of the war.
Entries describing his life at Hamline University, with information on courses, teachers, readings, examinations, commencement exercises, and descriptions of Red Wing.
Volume 3 consists mainly of references to the weather, farm work, books read, his membership in a singing society, references to religion, and from July to November, details on his work in helping other farmers with harvesting and shipment of produce to market. The shortage of available men due to the war made it necessary for Countryman and other to aid in the harvest. Entries from October 1 through November 14 are weekly summaries. The entries also reveal his lessening interest in religion and frequent bouts of depression, and his decision to leave farming.
Some entries of interest are noted below:
Description of a visit to Trout Brook, about 12 miles from Hastings, to look at property for a Mr. Cecil.
Christmas celebration.
Mention of Civil War actions. And news of the Emancipation Proclamation on October 5-11, 1862.
Brief mention of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
Describes his work harvesting on the LeDuc farm.
A trip to Hudson and Prescott, Wisconsin to look at land.
A Sunday School convention in Red Wing, Minnesota.
His attendance at singing school.
Unsuccessful trip to St. Paul to look for employment.
Two packets of 5 inches by 8 inches index sheets, prepared by Marjorie Fryckberg, of information in the Countryman diaries. The index sheets are fragile.
Arranged alphabetically.
Contains many entries for Sabbath schools and singing schools.
Includes drafts of sermons, letters, and speeches.
Includes journal entries, letters, and records of accounts and expenses.
Includes drafts of stories and editorials, some of which were published.
Portraits identified in album.