Henry Frederick Shugart was born in 1812 in Glade Springs, Virginia. He moved to Mississippi sometime before 1835 and moved about 1840 to Dallas County, Arkansas. Other than the information revealed in the diary, nothing else is known about Shugart.

The first part of the diary has entries for the account of a doctor showing services rendered and charges for such. The entries cover the period 1835–1836.

The second part is a list of sharecroppers and their wages when they worked on Shugart's Arkansas land in 1866.

The third part is a diary kept by Shugart for the period 1839–1840. During this time, he lived somewhere close to Vicksburg and served apparently as overseer of a plantation. In this diary, he mentions Andrew Jackson's visit to Jackson in 1840. The last section is a short list of letters received and letters sent.

Series Identification: 1. Account Book Diary.