In December 1872, James Dinsmore died. Because Julia was his only adult heir, she inherited the farm, which was about 400 acres. Her journal begins in January 1873 and was her attempt to keep track of the tenants and business transactions she was forced to deal with.
Julia's journal is a simple listing of the things she did, the people she saw, and the events that happened around her. Though her writing was concise, taken as a whole, the journal paints a vivid portrait of life for a well-to-do landowner in the latter nineteenth century.
