Elsie Dickens Diary Collection

Collection

Identifier: MG Nwk Dickens-(Main)

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Elsie Dickens Diary Collection consists of one small diary, belonging to Dickens between July 20, 1909 and November 17, 1909, when she was approximately 17 years old. The diary itself is constructed of lined paper with a faux leather cover, and bound with white string. The entries were written by Elsie in black ink, and they are somewhat sporadic. In the back of the diary is a handwritten and alphabetized address book, with the full names and address of 39 people. A large majority of the people listed in the address book lived in Newark, and many of their names appear in the diary entries. Dicken’s own name and home address are written on the inner front cover of the diary.

Topics that feature prominently in the diary include Dicken’s social outings with friends and dates, as well as recreational activities including trips to theaters, parks, and beaches. Additional topics that are discussed in the diary include Dicken’s family life, her religious and political activities, and her courses at night school. There is a geographic emphasis on New Jersey throughout the diary, with a few mentions of New York. Most of the entries are only a few sentences long, and begin with a note on the weather and conclude with Dicken’s time of returning home each night.

Dates

1909
Majority of material found in 1909 - 1909

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission.

Biographical / Historical

Elsie Dickens was born in New Jersey c. 1892 to English immigrant parents George and Eliza Dickens. The family- which included Elsie, her parents, her grandmother Margurite, and siblings Mary, Maggie, Henry, and Ruth- lived in Newark at 159 James Street. Dicken’s had one younger sister, Eliza, who died as an infant, and two older sisters, Frances and Ada, who lived nearby with their husbands. Her father, who occasionally used the name Serge, worked as a hatter, and her brother, who went by Harry, worked as a printer.

The Dickens family was Methodist-Presbyterian affiliated, and were involved in the Christian activities of contemporary Newark. Dickens and her family attended multiple churches in the area, including the Central Presbyterian Church, where Elsie attended Sunday school and evening prayer meetings. She was also involved with the YMCA, YWCA, prohibition meetings, and a Methodist youth organization called the Epworth League. George Dickens was active in a religious organization known as the Mission, and the family was Republican, supporting Howard Taft in the 1909 election.

As a child, Dickens attended the Central Avenue School, and later studied at the Central Avenue Evening School as a teenager, where she took courses on English and stenography. In 1910, Dickens was employed as a bookkeeper at a corset company, and from 1911-1914 she worked as a clerk at the Prudential Insurance Company of America.

In 1914, Dickens became engaged to Louis Kraus, marrying him in December of that year. Kraus was a teacher, and later became the owner of Bertrand Island Amusement Park in Lake Hopatcong New Jersey. Elsie and Louis had one daughter, Dorothy Kraus, born in 1916, and the Kraus family lived in various parts of New Jersey and Florida over the years. In 1948, the amusement park was sold, but Louis Kraus remained as manager, with him and Elsie living at the park until his death in 1955. Elsie died in Englewood, New Jersey in 1972.