Roseltha Wolverton Goble – Rural Diary Archive

A pair of vintage portraits of Roseltha Wolverton Goble and her husband in ornate gold frames. Both are dressed in black, with serious expressions, reflecting the photography style of the mid-19th century.

Coverage Dates: 1857 to 1919

County: Oxford

Township: Blenheim

Lot: 19

Concession: 1

Gender: Female

Year of Birth: 1835

Year of Death: 1919

Ethnicity: English

Religion: Baptist

Occupation: Farm Woman

Relationships:

Father: Enos Wolverton
Mother: Harriet Towl
Sister: Melissa Fitch
Brothers: diarist Alfred, Daniel, Alonzo, diarist Jasper, Newton
Husband: Jasper Goble
Sons: William, Frank, Fred
Daughters: Dora, Clara, Emma
Domestic Servants: Minnie Bache, Cyarks Eden, and Daniel McPhail

Archive: Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph

Posted on Rural Diary Archive: Yes

Age During Diary: 22-84

Coverage: 62 years

Biography:

“Walsingham, stray thoughts, wild dreams, fancy stretches, and random thoughts,” writes Roseltha in her first diary. After her Mother dies, Roseltha starts a diary to record her feelings and manage the household for her father who runs a saw mill in Wolverton. When she marries in 1858, she and Jasper run a farm on Lot 19, Concession 1 and by 1883 have opened a General Store at Goble’s Corners. In1900, they move to East Zorra Township, closer to Woodstock. Roseltha’s diaries are wonderful, full of detail about her life and those around her. Letters, accounts, and photographs are at the University of Guelph, including the Civil War diaries of brothers Alfred and Jasper.

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