Unknown / Anonymous (Manuscript) / Probably - Horsens priest's daughter - Notitskalender for Aaret 1873 - Handwritten Danish Diary (1873) - Rare Danish West Indies (St. - 1873

A handwritten personal diary kept inside a printed "Politiskalender for Aaret 1873" (Kittendorff & Aagaard, Copenhagen). The diary spans from January to December 1873 and is written in 1870s Danish orthography.

Through my research, I discovered that this diary acts as a "metropolitan witness document." It was not written by a colonist, but rather by an educated Danish woman (likely a priest's daughter from Horsens, Jutland) who was hosting close friends visiting from the Danish West Indies (St. Croix).

The diary documents the visit of the Rübner Petersen family. On July 5, 1873, the author explicitly mentions "St Croix" in preparation for their arrival. The family arrived in Copenhagen aboard the bark Najaden on August 3, 1873. The author then meticulously recorded their 3-month journey through Denmark (Horsens, Silkeborg, Lake District) before their departure back to the colony via Hamburg on November 19, 1873.

The Petersen family traveled with their 8-month-old infant, Anton. Cross-referencing the diary with St. Croix cemetery archives (Grave #82) reveals a devastating aftermath: two months after returning to the Caribbean, the infant Anton died (January 30, 1874), followed just one week later by his mother, Emilie (February 7, 1874). The joyful travel entries in this diary represent their final months of happiness.

I have verified the St. Croix deaths and the travel timeline, but the final identification of the author remains a mystery for the next owner to solve. With access to Danish parish records (Rigsarkivet) and maritime archives, the author's identity can likely be confirmed, potentially increasing the item's historical and monetary value significantly.