Mary Louisa Michel Journal, June 16-22, 1849

[Mary Louisa Michel Journal, June 16-June 22, 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] 16^th. This morning father and I walked down to Weverton. The cars came very early, and – uncle Edward was in them. After uncle had rested at Mr. Wever’s a little while, we walked briskly home. After dinner, uncle[‘]s trunk came, and a carpet bag, out of which he pulled two of the most beautiful books that I ever saw; nothing but songs in them, and on every leaf a picture. We read, looked at pictures and laughed and talked the rest of the evening.

17th. [Blank - Sunday.]

18^th. Nothing remarkable happened this day, except that all the evening uncle Edward was trying to get a horse and barouche to go in up to the Ferry but could not. This evening we ate super out in the porch which was very pleasant indeed.

June 19^th. They spoke of going up to the Ferry on foot, but afterwards gave it out. Father went down to Mr. Wever’s. Uncle Edward wrote some this morning, and I – trifled. After dinner I drew, and sewed a little rather late in the evening. I carried out a cloak for uncle to recline on under the shade of the stone wall: when he was fixed I brought out a little piece [piece] of writing that I had to so and sat down by him; after I had done my writing, I read a little, after which, father coming home I fixed the waiter, and soon had supper. After supper I washed father’s head and went to bed.

June 20^th. All of us thought this morning that uncle Edward was going up to the Ferry, and consequently were much surprised when soon after breakfast, he jumped up and said that he must go – not to the Ferry, but home.

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[A]ll persuasion was in vain, and about eleven he departed.

After dinner, it was very warm; father laid down and as usual I put him to sleep by scratching his head and ears; when he got to sleep I kept the flies off of him for about half an hour, and then, covering his face with a mosquitoe [mosquito] bar I went out and whitewashed the hen house.

It was so warm that we could not stay in the house and so hot that we could not stay out of doors except in the shade; so mother gave us some bread and preserves and we went up in the woods and on a flat rock in the shade made a nice little feast.  After we had finished eating we played about for a long time and made a little swing: after a little while we saw a nice slender sapling, or rather, between a sapling and a tree, and as father said that we might ride on saplings, Willie soon bent it down and rode a good while; he said that it rode very nice so he got down and held it for me: I had hardly gotten on when the sapling broke right in two. [W]e were very much scared at first thinking that whoever owned the land would be angry with us; and soon after to our great dismay we

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saw a strange man come riding towards us; however, to our great relief, he only looked at us. Soon after we went home and out the inscription on my hen’s grave again: after which I fixed for supper took a little walk, supped and went to bed.

June 21^st. This morning early, father went to the Ferry. I had hardly finished cleaning up the house, before it became intensely hot. Father had left me Mrs. Vonnewag’s miniature to copy, and as soon as I had written my journal, I sat down to do it: I soon found however that was not so easy as I had imagined the miniature was a dauguerretype [daguerreotype], and if I turned it one way it would glaze or another and it would be crossed by the cheeks of my apron.  And thus the day was spent in persecuting the poor lady’s likeness and keeping myself cool. 

Towards evening it became cooler, (that is after sun set) and we walked out to meet father; we met him near the mouth of Mr. Eccle’s the dragoon’s lane and as we returned father got a few cherries off a tree that stood near the road. When we got back home

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we found supper ready; we children found ate our supper out of doors on the grass, reclining after the manner of the ancients. After cleaning up the things; I bathed and went to bed.

June 22. Another hot day the sun blazing down and scorching up every thing. The heat made me night sick. I only drank a little tea for my breakfast; I did not do any thing the whole morning but clean up the house, write my journal, and towards noon make made a pudding, and some cornbread and put on the rice, as Lucy was busy ironing. 

After dinner I sewed some: father was sitting in mother[‘]s room by the open end window, and I went in there with my sewing to talk to him: after a while we saw a shoe coming down by a string it came from the upstairs window and was let down by Willie who asked us to send him up something and so we did and he sent something back, and we went on that way for half an hour; one of the things that father sent up was quid of tobacco wrapped up and tied

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in a hand knot; Willie sent back a piece of paper rolled up with a pin so as to stick in you when opened.

After a while, father went out in the porch, and but it is necessary here to tell you that as it was very hot, I was in elegant dishabille, that is with only a sack and under frock on; well as I was saying, father was out in the porch, when, who should walk in but Mr. Patrick Wever. I shut the door and let down the curtain and as he went down to Mr. Alexander[‘]s cherry tree I slipped up stairs and put on my frock. He did not stay long and on taking his leave said that I must come down the next day and see Virginia. I did not promise.

Soon after we had supper, and shut up Emily: while washing up the things, I told Lucy and Willie a tale: soon after she went home, and I went to bed.

[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 Chesapeake & Ohio canal lines, just north of the Potomac River and the Virginia boundary line.

Illustration of barouche from Henry William Herbert, Hints to Horse-Keepers, a Complete Manual for Horsemen . . . N.Y.: C.M. Saxton, Publisher, 1863, page 378.]