Tuesday Oct. 8

Ephraim started this morning on the train for Camp Diamond near Jackson.  God keep him uncontaminated by the vices which attend armies and safe in life and limb.  It seems hard to have him go but he has decided to do so.  May God abundantly bless him.  He expected to cast his first vote on his way to the depot.  This is election day.  The Republicans and Union Democrats united on a ticket taking their candidates from all the old parties.  The Union candidate for Gov. is David Tod a loyal Democrat.  
The weather is fair again.  Lucy and I went to the point and made a few more purchases and got our daguerreotypes taken and ordered the omnibus to take us to the cars at five o'clock.  So, getting our bundles ready we came home on the evening train.  We found Mr. Douglas Putnam and Rev. M. Merwin on the cars, both coming down to see William.  Mr. Merwin spent the night.

Peggy's comments:
Ephraim Dawes, Julia's nephew is beginning his service with the 53rd Ohio.  The election was for Governor and for the General Assembly in Ohio.  I find the merging of political parties quite fascinating.  Here's a bit of information from Ohio History Central :




"By the end of the decade, the Democratic Party, as well as the nation as a whole, was being divided along regional lines. In the Election of 1860, the Democratic Party split into the Northern Democratic Party and the Southern Democratic Party. Tod was one of Ohio's delegates to the Northern Democratic national convention in 1860, and he ultimately served as chairman of the convention. He was instrumental in assuring Stephen Douglas's nomination as the Northern Democratic presidential candidate in the Election of 1860. Republican Abraham Lincoln won the presidency, and the nation soon was at war. Rather than join with the Peace Democrats in opposing the war, Tod chose to become part of the Union Party, a new party consisting of pro-war Democrats and Republicans, and supported Lincoln's administration. As a result, the Union Party chose Tod as its gubernatorial candidate in 1861. Tod easily defeated Democrat Hugh J. Jewett and became the state's governor in 1862."


In addition to the election of David Tod as Governor, the General Assembly also election representatives.  
     Senate:  26 Republican/Union Democrats
                        8 Democrats
     House:  74 Republican/Union Democrats
                    23 Democrats


I've recently discovered a Business Directory for Marietta for 1860.  Julia probably had her daguerrotype taken at Cadwalader's.  Other businesses included several dry goods stores, watchmakers, shoe makers, tailors, druggists, tobacco stores, saddle makers, clothin for gents, glass & queensware shops, leather shops, a churn & furniture store, milliners, books & stationers.  There was even an "ice cream saloon"!