The John Doran Collection
As a carpenter, John Doran sashed and glazed windows; framed houses and laid shingles; built stairs, fences, shutters; constructed beehives; and, continually, built coffins. His Diary from August 13, 1864 through September 24, 1865 documents his daily activities in Springfield, Missouri.
Doran’s self-employment was briefly interrupted in September 1864, when he was ordered to report for work on Fort No. 5, in eastern Springfield. Joining the Enrolled Missouri Militia, Doran’s fortification work was the result of fears from Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition. Doran continued to work on the Fort after the immediate danger passed, which may explain the absence of journal entries from late October through mid January.
With the War waning into 1865, Doran’s entries became more pedestrian, recording prices of goods, family illnesses, community activities, and politics. Springfield celebrated the capture of Atlanta (September 9, 1864) and Richmond (April 4, 1865) by firing cannons. Abraham Lincoln’s assassination brought Springfield to a quiet standstill. Doran noted the “business houses…clad in mourning” for the dead President, and business halted to pay their respect. With the absence of a surviving period newspaper from the Springfield community, John Doran’s journal provides a glimpse into the daily details of life in Springfield during the late Civil War years.
Contributed by the STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA
