Martha Van Orsdol Shaw Farnsworth kept a personal diary from 1882 through 1922 with only a few gaps. The diary starts when she is a teenager. It describes her daily activities as she was growing up in Winfield and later Silver Lake and Topeka. She marries John W. Shaw , a postal worker, on September 4, 1889 but he dies from consumption in 1893. Many of Martha's diary entries are very emotional. After Johnny's death in 1893, Martha soon marries another post man Fred Farnsworth on May 2, 1894. Martha agonizes about her decision to marry Fred but eventually becomes content in the marriage. During the time period covered by this volume Martha lives in Topeka. She becomes involved in various community organizations and participates in various community activities. It is possible that this diary was rewritten from an earlier version because some entries are underlined in red.

Creator: Farnsworth, Martha 1867-1924
Date: January 1, 1894-December 31, 1895