[Mary Louisa Michel Journal, June 11-June 15, 1849, near Weverton, Maryland. Age: eleven. Additional paragraph breaks inserted for easier reading.
Many thanks to William Myers, Mary Davy, Sally Young and Sue Davis for their ongoing research collaboration; specifically to William for providing scans of the original document, and in turn many thanks to Peter Johnston Binckley and Patricia D'Arcy "Trish" Binckley (1951-2007), at the source.]
June 12. This morning,
on getting up, we found that the setting hens, Ellen and Emily had been
disturbed during the night: all of Ellen’s eggs except two were gone, and two
of Emily’s: a great many of Ellen’s feathers were picked out and strewed from
the nest down to the garden. Ellen does not fight, but Emily does, so mother put
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Emily on the remaining
eggs and fixed the next better, directing us to go at night and stop it up.
Mother was very unwell today; she had a bad cold and pain in her head and face.
While we were eating our dinner Mrs. Norris’s old hen and chickens came into
the garden, and Willie and I instantly sallied forth, each armed with a long
bean pole, to wreak vengeance on the destroyer of our garden.
After that I said
the next of my lessons, and then work in hand went out into the kitchen and
told Lucy some marvelous tales. About five o’clock I went in the house and drew
some, after which I went out and sewed until [until] father came home. I
finished the little wheel-barrow thus evening, and two or three minutes after
Willie broke it. After supper I got three of my lessons and went to bed.
June 13th.
This morning I rose right early, and swept up the dining room, set the table,
read a page or two in natural philosophy and sewed some before breakfast;
directly after which, father and Willie started, father to the Ferry, and
Willie to Mrs. Rinehart’s to get some molasses. I cleaned up and was writing
when Willie came back: he had two sorts
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of molasses, syrup and
sugar-house. Mother was out in the
garden the whole morning, and therefore not being able to say my lessons I
finished making a green calico sunbonnet for myself.
We had some syrup for
dinner; it tastes exactly like the home made molasses that is made out of the
juice of the sugar tree.
After dinner I worked in the garden a good while, and
had just gone in to my drawing, when Mrs. Norris, Mrs. Alexander and her frisky
little boy [came by]; they stayed a good while, after they were gone I painted
a little egg-shell basket the design was this the first letters of uncle
Edward’s name, E. W. J. were painted in brown, and a grape vine with bunches of
grapes twined around.
When father came home I set the table, and then Willie
and I went up on the hill to swing in a grape vine that we saw up there a few
days ago; taking a knife to cut away another vine that prevented it from
swinging well. [W]e soon cut one vine away and then swung a good while, and
then galloped down home and ate our supper, and soon after went to bed.
June 14th.
This morning, father said that he was not going to the Ferry, but would go down
to Knoxville, and catch some fish. Soon
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after he started, Mother
(whose eyes were so sore that she could not sew) Willie, and Lucy, went down to
Knoxville, to get some little things; leaving Sue and me to keep the chickens
off the garden. After they were gone, I fixed up the room and put on a clean
dress in case aunt uncle E would should come: I then sat down
near the door so that I would know when the chickens came near the flowers, and
mended a pair of my stockings, and hemmed a cloth to go over the tea things to
keep the flies off.
As I was done sewing, I painted a little book mark for
mother. Mother and father came home about twelve, but no uncle Edward. After
dinner I said my lessons, and put the whiting on the silver; we did not have
very early supper and soon after we went to bed.
June 15th.
This morning father went down to Knoxville to try his luck again at fishing.
Soon after his departure, the house was all turned upside down, Lucy was
scouring, mother was up stairs waging war against
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the spider webs and
dirt, and I was in the porch cleaning the silver. Willie had gone with father, and as Sue had
no one to play with she pestered us very much. In about two hours the house was
somewhat straight and I then sat down and wrote my journal, and what is more, I
did it very badly; which was owing to the fact that I was not well. We waited
dinner for an hour for uncle Edward who we expected would come on the cars, and
come up with father, who was going to wait till the cars came.
Two, three o’clock came,
but still no father nor even Willie. Being yet unwell I only ate a piece of
light bread for my dinner, though I wanted very much to go down to Weverton,
but could not as I had no one to go with me. When I got as far as Mrs.
Kirkhart’s I met Mr. Patrick Wever, who said that he would stop at our house
[in] a few moments. Just as I got nearly to Mrs. C. I saw a great many cows:
now, I am very much afraid of cows, and there was one cow among these exactly
like a cow that chased me about one year ago; so between the fear of cows and
the fear of rain, I went home again.
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When I got back home I
found Mr. Wever there, and as mother and he said that it was not going to rain,
I walked with him down to Weverton, which walk did me a great deal of good. When
we arrived at Mr. Wever’s I found that the cars had not gone by until [until]
just a little while before, having been delayed, I suppose, by some accident.
Father started right
off, (fearing that it would rain) and walked me [at] the top of his speed home and
it was very well that he did for we had not been at home one minute before it
began to rain; the bed steads came this evening, and after early supper, I had
the luxury of sleeping on one. Sue slept with me.
[Mary Louisa Michel (1838-1930).
Mother = Jane Mary Johnston Mitchell/Michel (1811-1892).
Father = Harvey Mitchell/Michel (1799-1866).
Willie = William Manning Mitchel/Michel (1839-1908).
Sue = Sue Henry Mitchell/Michel (1845-1940).
Lucy = enslaved servant.
Mr. and Mrs. Wever = either Caspar Willis Wever (1786-1861) and his wife, Jane Catherine Dunlop Wever (?-1859), or closely related family members.
Patrick Wever (1827-1909) subsequently became a doctor.
Uncle Edward = Edward William Johnston (1799-1867).
Weverton and Knoxville were located on the Baltimore & Ohio rail and Chespaeake & Ohio canal lines, just north of the Potomac River and the Virginia boundary line.]
