Most of the following descriptive information is taken from the Georgia Department of Archives inventory for AC 84-015:

A diary, sheets from another volume, and Civil War letters, all written by a young Irishman who had moved to Georgia, make up this interesting collection. O'Keeffe's unusual position as a well-educated, articulate young man living in a foreign country resulted in a unique record of life in ante-bellum Columbus, Georgia.

Despite his youth, Laurence already considered himself a diarist and saved his book for ''what is original'' (p. 115), scribbling during slow hours in the store and in his room until he fell asleep or the candle went out. When he finished one volume he wrote “...ever since then a something has been pressing on my mind like to what a person feels when they [sic] have left some duty undone" (p. 101).

The Civil War Letters are also unusually articulate. They include as much about O'Keeffe's interests as they do about actual war activity. Laurence sometimes spelled his name O'Keefe in an attempt to have it pronounced properly.

1846-1907 1 box (.3 l.f.)