Unearthed Accounts

A simple Google search of Nye's name led me to another lead into Albert’s life after the war. His name appears in a Dartmouth Library Bulletin article on David Morrill, 19th century ornamental painter and uncle of Justin Smith Morrill, the famous Vermont Senator who established the Land Grant College system during the war. The article is about two account books of Morrill’s that are in Rauner Library Special Collections, and mentions that Albert Nye is listed in the diary as an apprentice of Morrill.

So I made my way to Rauner library, and they were more than happy to pull out the Morrill account books for me from their Account Book collection. The librarian at Rauner joked, “no one ever asks to see these!”



And so I opened up the account book and looked page by page for Nye’s name. Nye appears to have bought from Morrill painting supplies, and done work for him in the 1860’s and 1870’s, including painting a buggy on Feb 1 1870, for which he was paid $14.00.

Just when I thought I had found everything I could about Nye after the war, I uncovered another treasure trove in the Norwich Historical Society’s collection: Albert’s account book from 1870 to 1871. He records transactions made to Morrill, his brother Samuel (who was also a painter who did some work to Morrill). Particularly interesting are his doodles of lettering and sign decorations.






From a cursory glance, there appears to be only one diary-like entry in the account book. On December 22nd and 23rd, 1871, he recounts going to the Woodstock courthouse to file for bankruptcy.



Sadly, I don’t have the time to do a full analysis of this account book, but it would certainly be an interesting extension of the project!

By 1883, at least, Nye had his own paint shop from at his home on Church Street, as listed in the 1883 -1884 Business Directory of Windsor County.



Nye died at the age of 78 of senile dementia, and is buried with his wife and son at Hillside Cemetery, a few minutes walk from my house.

I took a walk down there to look at his grave, now marked as a Civil War veteran thanks to the Lebanon Historical Society, the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil war in Lebanon, and the “Adopt a Civil War Veteran” project. 

This is where my part of the story ends, but your part is still to come. More to follow on that, next time.

Nye's Life Before the War

Welcome back to the Nye Diary Project, where we continue to look into what the diary does not say, that is, the backstory of Nye’s life.

Albert B Nye’s entry in A Genealogy of the Nye Family tells us a couple of important things. First, that the mysterious ever-present “B” stands for Bancroft, second, that he left his wife and son behind for the war, and lastly, that his living situation was rather chaotic.

The 1850 census puts Nye in Norwich, but the 1860 census puts him in Lebanon, where his son George was born in 1862. The place of births of his children suggest he may have been living in Hanover and Thetford before returning to Norwich. But why?

It could have been due to Nye’s profession, as a painter, which is mentioned before the war in his listing in the 1860 census in Lebanon, living at the hotel of Howard B. Benton. Maybe he moved around to get more work?

Nye's entry in Lebanon Census 1860

His profession may also explain why he came to Lebanon in the first place, which in turn would explain why he ended up registered for the 15th New Hampshire Infantry.

No matter the reason, end up in the 15th New Hampshire Infantry, he did. And that is what brought him to New York, and to the New York City Hospital, where the diary begins.

Remember the diary? We are getting it, I promise.

- Ella