The Joseph Almond diary is found on Microfilm #F-22 at the Corpus Christi Public Library History Section. The transcriber is grateful to the Library and their staff for their help and encouragement during the transcription process.
In the 1970’s, the late Dr. Ernest E. Miller of Beeville complained of his difficulty in reading the diary’s faded words while researching his Wade and Beynon ancestors. Dr. Miller’s dilemma inspired his friend and patient, Sharry M. Reynolds, to begin a hand transcription of the Almond diary. The slow, laborious task was not completed until 1996.
The diary pages had to be chronologically collated as they were not in order when microfilmed. Punctuation was difficult to find and many words were spelled phonetically, especially the Spanish names and words.
Transcription and collation of the diary pages was done as close as possible to the original document and contains original punctuation and capitalization. Sharry Reynolds’ daughter, Robyn A. Reynolds-Vaughn, typed, indexed, and prepared the diary for printing. Footnotes are provided to clarify the historic content of the diary. A surname index is included to aid readers and researchers.
-Joseph Almond Diary