Domestic and Social Life I: A - H

Abundant collections of diaries, correspondence, and related materials document the social life and customs, family relationships and routine domestic chores of traditionally "unemployed" women. These collections represent a wide range of economic classes and geographic locations. Holdings are particularly strong in Southern plantation materials, but also present are papers of rural Midwest and New England country women as well as urban aristocrats in the U.S. and abroad. The bulk of the collections are from the 19th or early 20th centuries.

A - B | C - E | F - H

African Travel Diary, 1921-1922

1 vol. Travel diary kept by an unidentified Englishwoman during a visit to Africa. Diary commences near Victoria Falls and describes travel along the Zambesi River, including descriptions of indigenous plants, animals, and people. Also comments on European settlements.

Aglionby, Frances Walker Yates

Papers, 1821-1933. 1,013 items. Charles Town, W. Va. Family letters kept by Aglionby and her daughter, Jeanette, describe travels in Virginia, West Virginia, Philadelphia, Maine, England and Ireland; the Virginia Female Institute at Staunton; crops, slaves, neighbors and relatives.

Allred, Joseph, 1819-1864

37 items. Randolph Co., N.C. Business papers and personal correspondence of Allred contains a letter dated August 29, 1857 from Violet Lester, a slave formerly owned by Allred to "My Loving Miss Patsy." The letter is a passionate plea to hear news of other family members owned by Allred and to enlist help in trying to locate Lester's daughter so that they can be reunited.

Anonymous

Recipe and home remedy book, ca. 1896. 1 vol. (185 pp.) Recipes for cakes, candy, breads, liquors, and other items as well as medical and veterinary remedies.

Backhouse, John

Papers, 1740-1956. 4473 items & 7 vols. London, Eng. Large collection of family papers include the papers of George Backhouse, who was a Commissary Judge at Havana in the 1850s as a part of an Anglo-Spanish commission that handles cases involving the suppression of the slave trade. Letters and diaries of Backhouse and his wife include references to the slave trade and give a description of the Backhouses' daily lives in Havana. Other family correspondence includes letters among the women in the family as well as estate settlements and inventories which involve these women.

Blake, Michael Francis

Papers, ca. 1912-1934. 117 items & 1 vol. Charleston, S.C. Photographs made by Michael Francis Blake, Charleston's first, and for many years only, black photographer. The subject of his photographs are black women, men, and children which gives a window into the African American community life in Charleston. Notable is a photo of a woman dressed in man's clothing, and a group photo of ten young nurses, probably students at the Hospital Training School for Nurses at Charleston, a black institution.

Blakely, Annie Lois Newkirk

Papers, 1932-1984. 4,900 items. Durham, N.C. Correspondence, diaries, notebooks, photographs, calendars, and cards. Diaries span thirty years of daily entries documenting the life of a mother and housewife from the depression period to the 1970s. Correspondence is mainly from family and friends, including two daughters writing home from college in the 1940s.

Blanks, Elizabeth J. Holmes

Papers, 1832-1888. 112 items, 1 vol. Fayetteville, N.C. Personal and business correspondence of family of planters and lawyers includes considerable correspondence among the women of the family. Topics include personal affairs, religious discussions, prophecy, stories of hardships and anxieties related to the Civil War.

Blunt family

Papers, 1943-1965 and n.d. 400 items. Portsmouth, VA Correspondence, financial papers, genealogy, clippings, printed material, and photographs, all relating to the Blunt family. Topics in the correspondence include: family relations; health; courtship; financial matters; and other domestic issues, particularly the strains of maintaining the family when its members migrated to other parts of the United States. Some letters detail the workings of an Afro-American women's voluntary association, or "friendly society," the House of Ruth Lodge. Collection also includes greeting cards, report cards, and numerous photographs of family members.

Boxer, Margaret

Diary, 1875. 1 item. England. Entries describe moves of Boxer and her husband to various places in England, including London, Hastings, and the Isle of Wight. She speaks of visiting Sir Frances Hincks, formerly Canadian finance minister and writes about the birth of her child.

Branham, Harriette H

Diary, 1861-1863. 1 vol. Louisa County, VA. Branham, was a member of a well-to-do farming family in Louisa County, VA. Ellen A. Branham, is mentioned often in the diary. The diary includes a running account of the Civil War, social life, and various accounts of her experiences with the troops passing through the area.

Briant, Huldah Annie (Fain)

Papers, 1846 (1861-1865) 1888. 118 items. Santa Luca (Gilmer County), GA. Legal correspondence of Ebenezer Fain and war correspondence of his daughter, Huldah A. (Fain) Briant, chiefly from M.C. Briant, whom she married in 1864. Included also are letters from other members of the family. The letters contain accounts of the Battle of Manassas, 1861; enthusiasm for the confederacy in Texas; impressment of a local Jew's merchandise for the army by women; and refugee families from Georgia.

Briggs, Rhoda S.

Letters, 1852-1874. 104 items. Elsworth, N.Y. Chiefly letters to Briggs from friends and relatives, mostly women, in Bloomington, Illinois, Rochester, New York, and elsewhere discussing social and family matters and containing Northern reactions to the Civil War.

Brodnax, John Grammar

Papers, 1830-1929; (bulk 1856-1919). 1,389 items. Greensboro, NC Personal, professional and family correspondence of three generations of the Brodnax family, include letters, 1857-1867, from "Mother" in Lynchburg, Va. and also later letters from his daughters. Many papers concern Mrs. Brodnax's activities in the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy; others relate to attendance of family members at various North Carolina and Virginia schools and colleges including Salem Female Academy and St. Mary's College. Also included are letters from Mrs. Barr, an aunt of Mrs. Brodnax, and her children from 1877 to 1884 while traveling in Europe and studying music in Germany. Letters from Mary Brodnax Gelnn and her family while in Mexico, where her husband worked for a railroad company, are filled with references to conditions in Mexico, especially concerning political upheavals around 1910.

Brown, Frank Clyde

Papers, 1912-1974. ca. 54,000 items. Durham, N.C. Trinity college professor. Chiefly concerns Brown's activities with the North Carolina Folklore Society and contains items of its Folklore Collection. Included are drawings and examples of quilt patterns and handmade lace and folklorist Maude Sutton's collection of songs and games.

Bryant, John Emory

Papers, 1851-1907. 1818 items, 40 vols. Ga. and Union, Maine. Family collection, chiefly centered around the activities of Northerners in the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Includes intimate correspondence from Emma Bryant to her husband while he was away on business, and two of her journals (1866, 1876) which contain descriptions of Negro activities especially in relation to the Freedman's Bureau in Augusta, Georgia. Also included are daughter Alice Zeller's autobiographical writings and scrapbooks which contain information on Grant Memorial University, temperance, and the position of women.

Burnham, Augusta A. and Etheline

Papers, 1841-1854. 34 items Middlesex Co., Mass. Family correspondence containing information on Lowell Institute, local mills, and rural life.

Burroughs, Valeria G

Album and Commonplace Book, 1844-1872. 3 vols. Savannah, Ga. An album containing copies of poems; a commonplace book, 1831-1841, with poems, religious comments and references to family deaths; and a commonplace book, 1844-1872, including the minutes, correspondences and constitution of the Female Seaman's Friend Society of Savannah, and household accounts, lists and recipes, 1866-1872.

A - B | C - E | F - H

Campbell Family

Papers, 1731-1969. ca. 8,500 items. Abingdon, Va. Large collection of family papers including the letters (early 1800s) of Maria Hamilton Campbell, wife of governor David Campbell, three letters of house servant (slave) Hannah Valentine (1838-9), and the letters (1840s) of daughter Virginia Tabitha Jane Campbell Shelton. Letters contain a vast amount of information on household economy, dress, slavery, methods of transportation, literary works, political campaigns, and conditions in colleges where Shelton and her husband taught. Also included are the letters of Margaret Hamilton Campbell which comment on family affairs and Methodism, and the letters (1850s-1880s) of Amanda Harris Kelley and Mary Owen Campbell Kelley, which document missionary work in China.

Carr, Mary M.

Diary, 1860-1865. 1 vol. (154 pp.) Bastrop, La. Concerned with the day to day life on a cotton plantation and the relationship of the Carrs with friends and neighbors.

Chadick, Mary Jane Cook

Diary, 1862-1865. 1 vol. Huntsville, Ala. Typed copy of a diary of Mary Chadick, wife of William Davidson Chadick, describing Federal raids on and occupation of Huntsville; and commenting on local people and trouble with slaves occasioned by the presence of Federal troops.

Clay, Clement Claiborne

Papers, 1811-1925. 8,543 items and 25 vols. Huntsville, Ala. Family collection containing the correspondence, writings, diaries, and scrapbooks of prominent Southerner Virginia Tunstall Clay, which document her publishing efforts and speaking engagements as well as personal and family relationships.

Clayton, Rebecca F.

Papers, 1889-1903. 5 items. Jackson, Tenn. Record of religious feelings and daily family activities, especially interaction with her children.

Coleman, Ann Raney Thomas

Papers, 1846-1892. 78 items. Pointe Coupee Parish, La. and Port Lavaca, Tex. Personal and family letters and a typescript reminiscence describing her early life in England, the immigration of her family to the United States and her subsequent life in Louisiana and Texas. Included are accounts of her marriage to a wealthy landowner, their efforts to operate a plantation in Louisiana, her second marriage and later divorce, and her efforts to support herself.

Craven, Harvey Bernard

Letterbook, 1893-1898. 1 vol. Trinity, N.C. Contains chiefly letters from Craven's mother, Nannie Craven, written while her son was at college. Recently widowed, Mrs. Craven wrote about financial struggles, the education of her five sons, women's politics, liquor, football, tobacco, and the Ku Klux Klan.

Cronly Family

Papers, 1806-1944. 1,962 items & 66 vols. Wilmington,N.C. Large collection of family papers include fragments of a diary kept by Jane Cronly and her mother during the Civil War and an unpublished novel and short stories of Jane Cronly which focus on the social life, religious attitudes, and racial climate in Wilmington in the late 19th century. Two small volumes dealing with the Wilmington race riot of 1898 appear to have been written by Jane and are highly critical of the white residents of the town.

Davis, Julia Roxie

Papers, 1817-1898. 208 items. Westminister, N.C. Personal correspondence of Davis, a Quaker, concerning domestic life, quilting parties, yearly meetings, crops, recipes, patterns, and New Garden Seminary.

Davis, Lois Wright Richardson

Papers, 1851-1881. 543 items. Lowell, Mass. Chiefly letters to Davis, of Massachusetts, from her children by her first husband, including daughters in Mobile, Ala. The family was divided during the war, with two daughters supporting the South and the sons serving in the Union Army. After the war, daughter Eunice, whose husband died in the service of the Confederacy, remarried to William S. Connolly, a black West Indian ship captain and moved with him to Grand Caymen Island. Her letters, 1870-1875, describe her life there.

Davies, Maria Dyer

Diary, 1850-1856. 1 vol. Macon, Miss. Detailed chronicle of Davies' life from ages 17 to 22 on her brother-in-law's plantation describing personal feelings; family, social, and Methodist life in Macon; trips to Mobile, Alabama; attitudes towards marriage; plantation life; reading habits; Centenary Institute in Summerfield; Macon Female Institute.

Douglas, Eleanor Hall

Papers, 1798-1845. 25 items. Staunton, Va. Collection of family papers contains correspondence describing recently purchased farmland, progress of spinning and weaving, and birth and growth of children. Documents medical practices and social and economic conditions of the time period.

Downey, Samuel Smith

Papers, 1762-1965. 3,276 items & 3 vols. Granville County, N. C. The papers of Samuel S. Downey concern his administration of the estate of John G. Smith and the many suits involving the estate, the management of plantations in Mississippi and North Carolina including correspondence and legal papers dealing with hiring slaves, and a record book of slave births and deaths. The record book (1828-1874) occasionally notes the cause of death and the number of children born to each mother.

Dymond, Sylvia

Travel Journal, 1898. 6 items. England. The journal (101 p.) describes a trip Dymond made with her mother and two sisters to various places in Italy, including Genoa, Lucca, Pisa, Siena, Rome, Spoleto, Florence, Perugia, and Tivoli. Photographs of people and scenery (badly faded) are glued into the volume. An index lists the various locations visited and described in the journal.

Edmond, Kate

Papers, 1835-1886. 25 items. Selma Ala. Chiefly letters from former student Carrie Mc Cord to Edmond detailing an extended family trip to Brazil, family health, tutoring her younger sister, and people and places in Alabama.

Englar, Annie

Diary, 1861-1865. 1 item. Carroll Co., Md. Manuscript diary containing numerous references to the Civil War.

Englishwoman's Travel Diary and Poem

1863-1868, n.d. 1 item. England. The unidentified woman who kept the diary recorded her daily activities and described various locations, including Hastings, Sidmouth, Brighton, and Burgess Hill. During some of the period covered by the diary, she apparently was acting as a paid companion to an invalid uncle.

Eve, Sarah

Diary, 1772-1773. 1 vol. Philadelphia, Pa. Diary of socially and intellectually astute woman includes references to her reputed fiancee Dr. Benjamin Rush as well as other prominent Philadelphians.

A - B | C - E | F - H

Fasold, Emma J.

Papers, 1871-1920. 286 items. Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa. Correspondence of a farmer's daughter with her sister, brother, niece, and other family and friends.

Feilding, Lady Cecelia

Diary, 1885-1886. 2 items. Denbigh, Eng. Entries detailing her voyage to India are followed by a newcomer's account of life in British India near Poona. Includes information relating to local customs and visits to ancient temples. Also includes a typewritten transcription of the diary.

Ferver, Rachael

Diary, 1928. 1 vol. (319 p.). Youngstown, Ohio. Wife of a steel factory manager in Yokohama, Japan, her diary primarily focuses on how Ferver filled her days while her husband was away at his job. Activities included visiting others, shopping, letter writing, and playing bridge. For much of the time she confessed to being bored and to feeling "so helpless in this muddy Orient."

Fletcher, Lucy Muse Walton

Papers, 1816-1968. 38 items and 10 vols. Broadway, Va. Family letters, clippings, poetry and diaries, 1829-1870, which reflect Fletcher's childhood in Alexandria, Va.; her education at the School of Catherine Beecher in Hartford, Connecticut; social life in Virginia; travels to New England and Washington, D.C.; marriage and life as a minister's wife; Civil War hardships; care of the sick and wounded; Negro soldiers and freedmen; and economic difficulties after the war.

Fludd, Eliza

Papers, 1865-1868. 33 items. Charleston, S.C. Letters from Eliza Fludd to her friend, Mrs. Jolliffe, reveal her to be a well educated, deeply religious, and intelligent witness to the political and social events during the Civil War era.

Foster, Kate D.

Diary, 1863-1872. 1 item, 1 vol. (40 pp.) Adams Co., Miss. Daughter of plantation owner. Entries concern Civil War and Foster's opinion about the righteousness of the Southern cause and the effect of the war on her home, as well as personal matters.

Gardner, Amanda E. Edney

Letters, 1833-1892. 89 items. Cahaba, Ala. Personal and family letters containing comments on social life and customs in the antebellum South, descriptions of the Florida countryside with references to danger from Indians, and the education at the Presbyterian Female Collegiate Institute.

Gridley, Katherine V.

Diary, 1899. 1 item. Photocopy of a diary entitled "Diary of a Southern trip which began March 9, 1899." Diarist visited Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.

Gwyn, Margaret Davidson

Diary and account book, 1854-1867. 1 vol. (102 pp.) Irving College, Tenn. Farmer's wife. Diary, chiefly 1862-1864, describes how the Civil War disrupted life on a large farm and makes numerous references to Confederate and Union troops who visited the farm. Accounts appear to concern a general store operated by Mr. Gwyn.

Hancock, Asenath Ellen Cox

Papers, 1880-1936. 450 items. Ashboro, NC Asenath was born in 1866 and married a sawmiller in 1898. Collection is largely comprised of family correspondence and includes letters from Hancock's father, sisters, brother, and children - most of which were farmers in rural North Carolina and Indiana.

Harris, David Bulloch

Papers, 1789-1894. 5,067 items, 9 vols. Frederickshall, Va. Business and family papers of a tobacco exporter and confederate general includes anonymous diary (1854-1867) of a female family member which records her feelings and change of lifestyle after her husband of 20 years deserted her.

Harris, Elizabeth A. F.

Diary, 1866. 1 vol. (174 pp.) New Orleans, La. Diary kept by Southern woman on a trip to Canada where she met with many unreconstructed Confederates. Included are accounts of travels through St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and New York.

Harris, Elizabeth Baldwin Wiley

Papers, 1858-1958. 10 items, 6 vols. Sparta, Ga. Diary, letters, and genealogy of the mistress of a substantial plantation.

Harris, Elizabeth Johnson

Memoir, ca. 1867-1923. 1 item. Augusta, Ga. Memoirs of a slave descendent mentions her early upbringing, education, church attendance, marriage, housekeeping chores, travels to Boston and family anecdotes from slavery days.

Harris, Thaddeus Ellis

Papers, 1916-1933. 219 items. North Fork, W. Va. Correspondence, legal, and financial papers of African American attorney in McDowell Co., West Virginia. Legal and financial papers include insurance policies, deeds, receipts, promissory notes, divorce and parole petitions. There are also several warm and affectionate letters from wife, Mary, which include several references to their teenaged daughter and a letter dated May 27, 1925 which gives a good view of housekeeping chores.

Hawthorn, Susan L.

Papers, 1855. 1 vol. Richmond, Me. Records Hathorn's activities of cleaning, handiwork, bookkeeping, and reading done aboard her husband's ship during the first six months of their marriage.

Hedrick, Benjamin Sherwood

Papers, 1848-1893. 6,033 items & 4 vols. Chapel Hill, N.C. Personal and business correspondence of Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick, professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1854-56, and examiner in the Patent Office, Washington D. C., 1861-1886, who was expelled from the University for his attitude on slavery and was forced to leave the state in 1856. Includes courtship letters with his future wife, Mary Ellen Thompson. After their marriage she writes valuable letters describing the state of affairs in Chapel Hill, and the activities of various black women during Reconstruction. Throughout the collection are observations about black and women's activities vis-a-vis politics, suffrage, the KKK, and the Republican Party.

Miss Hilton

Diary, 1867-1968. 1 item. Uxbridge, England. Manuscript diary of an unidentified young English woman of Uxbridge. Entries chiefly relate to social and family life.

Horton, Mary J.

Papers, 1880-1882. 1 vol. Card album and scrapbook containing greeting cards and stickers, including cards for Christmas, the New Year, Easter, and Valentine's Day.

See: Domestic and Social Life part II: K-Y