Category: Reconstruction Diary Meditations
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: The Black Orphans of Helena’s Civil War
Saturday, October 20, 1866 The Orphan Asylum is quite pleasantly situated about 9 miles from Helena. There are over fifty children here. John Harvey is here [and] has been teaching, but is now going to take charge of the farming. Mary Stuart had a chill day before yesterday and did not feel able to come…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Greetings from Scenic Cairo, Illinois!
Tuesday, October 16, 1866 We left Raysville at half past six o’clock [and] arrived at Indianapolis a little after 8. Met all the teachers whom we expected to meet there. We tarried long enough to get tickets for Cairo and get our baggage checked through to the same. [We] traveled pretty steadily until three o’clock…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Travel Travails
Saturday, October 6, 1866 Lizzie & I went in to Richmond this morning to attend a part of [Indiana] Yearly Meeting. Several others of our acquaintance also went in. Cousin Rebecca Harvey and her brother Jesse are here. We also very unexpectedly met Juliet Stanley, a teacher we first met at Jackson. Miss [sic]. I…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: The Battle of Walnut Grove
Sunday, September 23, 1866 Lizzie went to Spiceland meeting to bring Hannah Lymons to our house. She went to Uncle David’s for dinner, then to Jason Williams with H [and] L. Jason and his son Joseph are both sick; their recovery is quite doubtful. Mother went to meeting riding with Lizzie as far as S…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Who, What, Where?
Keeping track of all the names mentioned in Mary Jane’s diary is a real challenge. She interacted with or mentioned over 200 people in the course of this one year in her life that she recorded. Impressive for a rural Indiana woman! Saturday, September 15, 1866 Mother and Milton started out to Plainfield to attend…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Expansion Excitement
Saturday, September 8, 1866 Quarterly meeting today which was large. Several foreign preachers were there: Robert Douglas & Cyrus Carter from Ohio, also Benjamin Fulghum, John Carey & Joshua Jeffreys from different parts of our own state. A proposition for to establish another quarterly meeting to be composed of Carthage and Walnut Ridge monthly meetings…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: My Fair Lady
Friday, August 31, 1866 Milton and I went to the Fair today; saw quite a number of very nice things, among them a knitting machine which knits stockings very completely, and a great deal of fancy work. I saw quite a number of friends whom I was glad to see. [I] heard that Wm Wales…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: On Threshers and Literary Picnics
Saturday, August 25, 1866 The threshers finished at 9 o’clock and went to Clifford’s. Lizzie & I went to town this morn, she to take her music lesson. We did some shopping also [and] bought some new gaiters, dresses, etc. Samuel Gause and Mary came down to visit Alpheus and Ruth Emily. They found her…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: Were 19th-century Quakers More Religious Than We Are Today?
Richard Ratcliff, renowned Indiana Quaker historian from Spiceland, commented on my ancestor Mary Jane Edwards’ 1866 diary. I gave him a copy of its transcript when my mother and I visited him to learn more about our family’s history at Spiceland Friends. More than their adventure and work in the South teaching freedmen, Richard was interested…
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Reconstruction Diary Meditations: A Familiar Unease
Monday, August 13, 1866 This morning was dark and cloudy with some mist in the air, and it continued so during the day. Lizzie has not been very well for several days. She has [a] continued headache. We succeeded in getting the washing in the last rinse. I was very tired when it was done. …
