The Cornell Collection is comprised of 56 extant diaries kept by Lucinda Lenore Merris Cornell (1832-1911) while living in Hilliard and (predominantly) Westerville, Ohio. The entire collection covers 1855-1911 and reflects daily life typical of the time. A sampling of pages from the diary are included here. The entries cover the years 1861-1865 and document the homefront during the Civil War. The diaries include entries about local enlistment, friends going off to war, and items such as "Ironed a shirt for a recruiting officer who came along last night." The diaries also describe a trip to Columbus to hear President Abraham Lincoln , during which Cornell was able to shake the president's hand.

Lucinda Lenore Merriss Cornell (1832-1911) lived on a farm with her family near Hilliard from 1855 until 1864. She met and married a young farmer and Civil War veteran John Bishop Cornell (1828-1885). Upon her marriage to Cornell on December 27, 1864, she moved to Westerville. The move to Westerville was difficult especially as she and her husband moved in with Lucinda's mother-in-law and sister-in-law on South State Street. They moved to the Chever farm in 1868 and lived in a log cabin. Upon the death of her mother in law in 1869, Lucinda and John moved back to South State Street. Three of her six children attended Otterbein College. She and John donated $50 towards the fund to rebuild the main building (later known as Towers Hall). Lucinda lived during the time when Westerville was transformed from an agrarian community to a village centered around Otterbein College.