Daniel Raub's Diary
1876 - 1881

        My cousin Linda has generously shared with me a book of my grandfather, Daniel Raub's.  He apparently began it in 1876, ambitiously calling it his Book of Accounts.  As his granddaughter, I love it because it gives me a 5-year glimpse into the life of the grandfather who died before I was born.  As a teacher of adolescents, I love it because it gives me a glimpse of a young man trying on the cloak of adulthood.

        Daniel recorded some addresses in the book, and some pages he called a school report and essay.  Notice how "official" he made his essay by having a friend witness it!  Also during his "school phase", he had friends autograph his book.

        My grandfather would, in later life, open a grocery store in Newark, NJ.  He apparently had been bitten by the entrepreneureal bug early in life, because in 1878, at the age of 18, he "commenced business with Hubbard Bros.," selling temperance books and papers.  I find these particular pages intriguing.  He lists his buyers...and many of the names are those I've seen in postings on the Warren and Sussex County listservs!  He also later married my grandmother, who was deeply involved in the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and I wonder if this mutual interest in temperance played a part in their meeting.

        In March, 1879, Daniel began a journey to Iowa to work for George Raupe.  I've seen the name "Raube" in searches, but never realized that these Iowa people, with this spelling of the name, might be kin.  But I find it hard to believe that he would have known of this potential employer so far away if George Raube weren't a relative of some sort.  I'm in touch with a couple of "cousins" from Iowa, and hope to discover the roots of this Iowa connection.

        During the winter of 1880/81, he traveled back and forth several times between Blairstown and Susquehanna, PA, most likely to visit his aunts and uncle who moved there and married into the Lake family.  In Feburary of 1881, he began working for Daniel Layton in Auburn 4 Corners, PA, which is near Dimock, where the Lakes lived.  The pages from this phase of his life contain some recipes for horse linament and a cure for ear ache.  I'm not sure if that's for human ears or horse ears.  There's also recorded a gardening account, again listing names of his customers, with some interesting prices!

        A final entry in the book was obviously made years later, possibly when Daniel's interest in family history led him to seek out William MacKellar Kern to do the genealogy.  It records information about his grandparents, Michael and Mary Read Raub, dates of birth of all their children, and some family deaths.


Back to My Raub (and more) Ancestry