Research Guides: HIST 712: US Civil War Era Research Seminar HIST 712 (Spring 2025): Travel Journals

Catalog and WorldCat

WorldCat This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Materials held by thousands of libraries in the US and abroad. Books, websites, computer programs, films, slides, journals, magazines, papers, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, newspapers, sound recordings, videotapes, etc. Coverage: Before 1000BC-present.

Main Library Catalog
Direct link to the advanced search page of the main library catalog.

These approach will help you find both published and unpublished travel narratives, but most will be Published.

In the catalog & worldcat, try the subject heading Travelers' writings

Example: Search for Travelers' writings as a subject in the Catalog
Add extra turns to the second line to narrow the search. You can also narrow the publication date, but I suggest only doing this if you are overwhelmed with results -- doing this will make you miss reprinted works.

Other useful subject terms are:

"Description and travel"
"Voyages and travels"
"travel in literature"

Another option is using the Keyword Phrase "travel journal" and using the filters in worldcat and the catalog to further narrow the search.

Keyword searching for the phrase ("travel writing" OR "Travel writings") combined with another keyword in WorldCat may also be useful.

Another useful keyword search phrase is ("travel narrative" OR "Travel narratives") combined with another keyword in WorldCat

Example: "travel journal" as keyword
This approach is not as systematic as using subject headings, and it works better in WorldCat, but it may be useful.

Databases

You will find more travel accounts using WorldCat, but these databases are useful because they include unpublished and scarce works too.

American Fiction, 1774-1920 This link opens in a new window
American Fiction, 1774-1920 contains more than 17,800 titles and is comprised of prose fiction written by Americans from the political beginnings of the United States through World War I. It gathers extensive content in one place and allows researchers to explore the development of American literature in a changing culture through novels, short stories, romances, fictitious biographies, travel accounts, and sketches. These texts reveal much about the socioeconomic, political, and religious tenor of America through centuries of radical change, enabling students and researchers to answer key questions about history, society, identity, psychology, race, gender, and culture.
American Indian Histories and Cultures (now: Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America) This link opens in a new window
A wide-ranging digital resource presenting a unique insight into interactions between American Indians and Europeans from their earliest contact, continuing through the turbulence of the American Civil War, the on-going repercussions of government legislation, right up to the civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century. This resource contains material from the Newberry Library's extensive Edward E. Ayer Collection. Includes manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books, photographs and newspapers. Browse through a wide range of rare and original documents from treaties, speeches and diaries, to historic maps and travel journals.
Grand Tour This link opens in a new window
Taking the phenomenon of the Grand Tour as a starting point, this resource explores the relationship between Britain and Europe from c.1550 to 1850, exploring the Anglo-European response to continental travel for pleasure, business and diplomacy. This digital collection of manuscript, visual and printed works allows students and researchers to explore and compare a range of sources on the history of travel for the first time, including many from private or neglected collections.
Leisure, Travel and Mass Culture: The History of Tourism This link opens in a new window
This resource presents a multi-national journey through well-known, little-known and far-flung destinations unlocked for the average traveler between 1850 and the 1980s. Guidebooks and brochures, periodicals, travel agency correspondence, photographs and personal travel journals provide unique insight into the expansion, accessibility and affordability of tourism for the masses and the evolution of some of the most successful travel agencies in the world. Includes materials by Cunard White State Line, Pullman Company, American Hotel Association, and others.
Mountain People: Life and Culture in Appalachia This link opens in a new window
Covers Appalachia, defined here as "the vast region between Lexington, Kentucky and Winchester, Virginia, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Birmingham, Alabama." Topics include: American history, industry, education, religion, and folklore. Diaries, journals, narratives, travel accounts, family histories, etc. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1700-1950.
his collection comprises in its entirety, the Primary Source media microfilm collection entitled First Three Centuries of Appalachian Travel. In addition, a small very number of selected titles were included from the microfilm collections entitled Travels in the Old South I, II, & III: 1607-1860; Travels in the New South I & II, 1865-1950; and, Kentucky Culture: A Basic Library of Kentuckiana.
Nineteenth Century Literary Society: The John Murray Publishing Archive This link opens in a new window
Discover the work of one of the worlds most important publishing dynasties through this collection from the historic John Murray Archive. From book history to travel writing, politics to poetry, this newly digitised resource introduces an unparalleled repository for nineteenth century culture and the literary luminaries who shaped it.
Overland Journeys: Travels in the West, 1800-1880 This link opens in a new window
Accounts from settlers. Based on The Plains and Rockies: A Critical Bibliography of Exploration, Adventure, and Travel in the American West, 1800-1865; and The Trail West: A Bibliography-Index to Western American Trails, 1841-1869. An Archives Unbound database. Coverage: 1800-1880.
Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History This link opens in a new window
This world history resource offers students and researchers a window to the past and transports them across continents. From the everyday to the extraordinary, these rare diaries and the supporting correspondence describe the travel experiences, destinations and desires of nineteenth and twentieth century American women.