Saturday, October 31, 1863

Cloudy.  Mrs. W. D. Bailey called.  William, Lizzie & Kate came home from Cincinnati.  Lucy also from town & George Cutter to spend the sabbath.

Quite a variety of purchases from the city.  Cloak, 2 dresses &c for Lucy, shawl for Mrs. Dawes, Broche shawl (40 dollars) for me--also silver sugar basket.  Lizzie bonnet, Kate [unreadable]


Peggy’s notes:
Rufus Dawesm, Julia's nephew, was in Virginia near Thoroughfare Gap and writes to his fiancé, Mary Gates:

You can hardly know how comfortable and homelike it seems to-night to get up my wall tent.  Since the eighth of this month, I have had nothing over me except the slab cover of the pig-pen at Centreville.  To-night the regiment is in camp.  It is said that a council of war was held at Gainesville yesterday, and as a result we came here.  Just at supper time last night we got our marching orders, and it was midnight before we had accomplished our journey of five miles.  It was a night of Egyptian darkness.  The column of troops would hitch up two rods and stop fifteen minutes, and then hitch up a rod and a half and stop half an hour.  It is always so, marching after artillery over a stony road and rough hills.  I often fall asleep on my horse, but whenever the troops ahead start, she starts, and she is in no more danger of losing our regiment than a hound is of losing a fox. We have a magnificent place here.  We are encamped among the Bull Run Mountains, west of Thoroughfare Gap.  I climbed this morning to the top of the highest peak and enjoyed the scenery.  You will be astonished at our dinner to-day.  Roast turkey!  Honey!  Graham biscuit!  It is an epoch, such a dinner in this day of hard tack plain, hard tack fried, hard tack soaked, hard tack crumbled and stewed, or hard tack otherwise compounded with salt pork as the sole staff of life. . . . 

Friday, October 30, 1863

A rainy day.  To-day’s Register states that the Sturlings who shot McCoy in Union township las August were sentenced to the penitentiary, the father for 15 years, the son for one year.  McCoy did not die of his wound.

Peggy's comments:

Julia commented in her journal on August 10, 1863, about this crime.

Thursday, October 29, 1863

Another hard frost.  I saw one steamboat with two coal barges in tow.  There is great scarcity of coal at Cincinnati, where it has sold for 50 cents a bushel.  The railroad is doing all it can to relieve the destitution. There is great lack of fuel in most of our river towns which depend on Pittsburg & Wheeling for Coal.  Nancy is home & cleaning.  Circle met at Mrs. Dickey’s.  [a line is crossed out and unreadable.]

Wednesday, October 28, 1863

Kate & Mrs. Cutler started to Cincinnati.  Mrs. A. S. Bailey is going today also.  A hard frost last night killing tomatoes, dahlias, cannas, &c.  Pleasant day.  Raked off the catalpa leaves from the yard.   Number of steamboats passed, the river has not been navigable for many weeks.

Tuesday, October 27, 1863

[No entry.]

Monday, October 26, 1863

Mrs. Dawes & Kate went to town & William to Chillicothe.

I finished planting out tulips and other bulbs.  Sarah went up to her Grandmothers to spend the night.  At Marietta they have a torch light procession, general illumination, rockets & burning tar barrels in honor of Brough’s election.

Peggy's notes:

John Brough, a pro-Union candidate, was elected Governor of Ohio.

Sunday, October 25, 1863

A pleasant day.  Mr. Curtis here to tea.

Saturday, October 24, 1863

A drove of cattle forded the river & the foot of the Island this morning.  The river has begun to rise--has risen more than a foot.  There was a fight a few days ago at the Burning Springs.

Mrs. Dawes came home with Annie & will spend the sabbath.

Peggy’s notes:

Burning Springs was 30 miles from Parkersburg in West Virginia and at the time, it was strongly pro-secessionist.

Friday, October 23, 1863

A rainy day--Mrs. Lyman Hart called and took Louisa Beale home with her.

William returned from his excursion.  The baskets of catawba grapes & Cooper apples from our garden & orchard were very much praised by the New York gentlemen.

Thursday, October 22, 1863

Mrs. Dawes took up Annie with her to attend the festival to-night set up to aid the families of soldiers.  Circle met at Mrs. McClures.  Misses Beale & Reppert went with us -- pleasant meeting.  Miss Reppert went home with Maggie to spend the night.  Old Dr. Hart was married to day to Emma H____ aged 20.  William went on extra train with the Board and gentlemen from New York to Chillicothe.

Wednesday, October 21, 1863

Mr. Durand left this morning, also the Wilcoxes.  Mr. T. Wilcox has been living the past year in Hardin Co. where he & all his family have been sick with ague.  He has come back to the old farm again.  Mrs. Dawes, Louisa Beale & Annie Reppert came on the morning train.

William gave Mrs. Dawes $20 for Mrs. Covey who is in destitute circumstances.

Tuesday, October 20, 1863

Kate went to town and brought home Annie & Sara.  Mr. Thomas Wilcox & Linley Wilcox came from Amesville today & bringing a box of hickory nuts to  the children.  Mr. Durand came on the evening train, which was late & we had to put him in the North chamber.

Peggy's note:

Mr. Durand was the Superintendent of the M&C Railroad.

Monday, October 19, 1863

Lucy & Sarah Parker went to Marietta this morning taking Annie & Sarah Cutler with them.  Mrs. Deming called.  She proposed that the ladies of the Congregation shall contribute and buy one of Johnson’s Atlas’ for Mr. Curtis.  We gave three dollars toward it.

Sunday, October, 18, 1863

Lucy & cousin Sarah spent the sabbath here going to church with us.

Saturday, October 17, 1863

Mrs. Dawes returned home.  A Mr. Williams came to sell Johnson’s Atlas with Isaac Deming.  Lizzie Poage & Robert Ellison called .  Jennie Means, Charles Perry & Mr. Payne were here to tea.  Lucy, cousin Sarah Parker & George Cutter came to spend the sabbath.  Nancy has just heard of the death of her brother W. P. Carlin in hospital at Memphis and has gone home to see her parents.

Friday, October 16, 1863

Mrs. Dawes came down to spend the day.

Peggy's notes:

Mrs. Dawes is Sarah Cutler Dawes, Julia's sister and the mother of soldiers Rufus Dawes and Ephraim Dawes.

Thursday, October 15, 1863

Mr. Burgess has gone to Pennsylvania & circle met at Mrs. Burgess’.  We all went.  General rejoicing among loyal people over the election returns.  Brough will have sixty thousand majority on the home vote.  The soldiers vote will be almost entirely for Brough.  Pennsylvania & Iowa voted on the 13^th and have gone largely Union.

Note:

John Brough (rhymes with “ruff”) was elected Governor of Ohio on a pro-Union ticket after giving a strongly Union speech in Marietta on June 10, 1863.  He supported the anti-slavery movement that the Civil War effort was taking.

Wednesday, October 14, 1863

William went out to Lakeline & back today.  Judson J. Hollister called to get William to write to Gov. Morton of Ind. in behalf of his nephew Mr. Black who wants promotion to Captain in the Invalid Corps.  Gave Mr. Hollister 15 copies of Patent office Agricultural reports and one Mechanical Report for Vito Fair.  Lucy came down & returns again on evening train.  Election news good.

Peggy’s notes:

Veto, Ohio was named to honor Ehpraim Cutler, Julia’s father.  In 1802, he  served as a delegate to the Ohio constitutional convention and drafted a section which specifically excluded slavery in Ohio.  It passed by one vote.

Julia has not written much about the battles of the war.  On this day, her nephew, Rufus Dawes, wrote to his fiancé, Mary Gates:

Heights of Centreville, Va.        After continuous marching night and day, we have outrun the enemy and this afternoon our army is going into position along these heights.  We have escaped fighting ourselves, but every day we have heard the thunder of the enemy's guns, pursuing the rear.  As I write this letter, the air is full of the noise of battle.   We think it is the second corps, and that the battle is near Manassas Junction. 

 

Tuesday, October 13, 1863

This is election day.  William rode out to the town-house & voted although quite unwell.  The damage to the tunnel not very serious.  B. C. Bailey came down to get election returns of the two or three past years to compare with those of today.  James D. Bailey came down after ten o’clock to say that there had been a Union gain of 49 in Warren & good news by telegraph makes it probable that Brough is elected by 40,000 majority.

Peggy's notes:

John Brough (rhymes with ruff), a strongly pro-Union man, was running for governor of Ohio against Democrat, Clement Vallandigham.

Monday, October 12, 1863

The time of the trains on the M&C Railroad changes to day coming an hour earlier at night, and an hour later in the morning.

Sunday, October 11, 1863

[No entry.]

Saturday, October 10, 1863

Mr. Durand left after breakfast.  He is rather consequential in his manner, but I presume a good officer.

Friday, October 9, 1863

Mrs. Graves spent the day with us, a very pleasant woman.  Mrs. Burgess was here to tea.  Mr. Graves came for his wife & took her home on evening train.  Gave her several plants.

 Mr. Durand the Superintendent of the M & C Railroad spent the night here.

Thursday, October 8, 1863

Went down to Bosworth & Weiss and got satin for aprons.  Lucy & I, then came to Harmar & called on Mrs. Newton--at the Depot met Mrs. Graves who came down with us to spend tomorrow at our house.  She is a pleasant sensible woman.

Wednesday, October 7, 1863

Rainey day.  I went back to Mrs. Dawes’ this morning.  Great Copperhead demonstration.  A procession of some 50 horsemen & 100 wagons preceded by a band of music and carrying banners paraded the streets in a drizzling rain under faded cotton umbrellas, the women clad in old shakers & beautiful shawls.  A dismal looking set.  One fellow stood up in a wagon and screeched out a Vallindingham song.  The only persons I knew were old Mr. Stokes, Mrs. Sheets and W. P. Cole & daughter.

Peggy's note:

Vallindingham was a Democrat who was running for Governor of Ohio.  He was one of the "Copperheads," a noisy group of northern Democrats who wanted an immediate end to the Civil War and were advocating that the Confederacy be recognized as a separate nation. 

Tuesday, October 6, 1863

Sister Sarah went with me to make calls, we called on Mrs. Dodge who boards at Mr. Hurshburgers, but resides in Lyme N. H. a pleasant, sensible lady, then on Mrs. Graves wife of W. W. Graves and then we went up to see the elevated square near Washington Street after which I went to Miss Cone’s & spent the night.  She has seven young gentlemen boarding with her.

Monday, October 5, 1863

I went to Marietta with Lucy today, spent the day very pleasantly with them.

Saw Miss Cone and promised to spend Tuesday night with her.

Sunday, October 4, 1863

We all went to meeting but Lucy.

Saturday, October 3, 1863

Lucy here.  We took a long walk.  Lucy, William, Annie & Sarah, and me.  Lizzie going on horseback.  We went beyond Mr. Pedichords, took our signal glass along to view the scenery, also a basket of Cooper apples & catawba grapes -- had a nice time & a splendid view of the Ohio river, & the West Virginia Shore.

Friday, October 2, 1863

Mrs. Carrie Henry came in a few minutes, to see Lizzie.  She is sorely afflicted in the loss of her excellent mother, Mrs. Ward

Thursday, October 1, 1863

Mrs. M^cClure was here to dinner & went with us to the grave yard where Old Mrs. Ward was buried.  Rev. D. C. Perry & wife & daughter and Mr. & Mrs. Hartshorn came home with us and we got them dinner.  Circle met at W. D. Baileys.  Rainy afternoon.