In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

c 7 C Emilie Davis, 1865 The President was assasimated by som Conferderate villain at theathre . . . the city is in the deepest sorrow. These are strange times. Diaries, Miscellaneous, 1865 By the end of 1864, the country looked and felt different. African Americans were actively serving in the Union Army, proving more than once that they were indeed worthy sons of the nation; hundreds of thousands of enslaved men, women, and children had been freed by the soldiers or had taken it upon themselves to seek out and claim their freedom; Abraham Lincoln had been reelected; Emilie’s church, First African Presbyterian, had accepted the resignation of their pastor; and her school and her association were continuing to mobilize their efforts to educate young men and women and to aid wounded soldiers. On a personal level, after dealing with the death of her sister-in-law in 1863 and the drafting of her brother, uncle, and several male friends in 1864, her nephew, Elwood (Bub), passed away, and she suffered from worms. Although her work as a domestic was not as steady, her work as a dressmaker improved once she learned how to use her sewing machine and she joined a sewing circle. In the midst of all of these national, local, and personal changes, Emilie seems to have been in a triangle of sorts between herself, Nellie, and Vincent, with quite a bit of tension between those two that was somehow connected to Emilie. The country was going into the fourth year of a war that had already claimed close to half a million black and white lives, a so-called “skirmish” that many thought was going to last only a few months. By the end of the Civil War, 427,286 white and black Pennsylvanians had answered the call and were serving in the Union forces. Although Emilie may have had several diaries after 1865, this is the last one to have either survived or been discovered. Her entries are particularly important given the national events—the end of the Civil War and passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, to name just two—that took place. January 1865 Sunday, January 1, 1865 Beautiful morning. Very cold. I feel very thankful that I have bin spard while so many have bin called to their long home. I have come to see the beginning of the New Year. I spent the evening with Nellie. 174 Emilie Davis, 1865 Philadelphia’s black community celebrated the second anniversary of the release of the Emancipation Proclamation with a celebration on Market Street hosted by the Banneker Institute. Monday, January 2, 1865 Lovely day. Home all morning. Very busy, I wrote to Father and Sister yesterday and Tomy. Tonight it comes off, the long awaited Celebration by the Banneker Institute. It was very grand. It is not clear whether Emilie is referring to the January 1 celebration hosted by the Banneker Institute or the January 3 concert hosted by the Financial Enterprise Association that was held at Sansom Street Hall. Tuesday, January 3, 1865 Pleasant all day. Storming in the evening. I have bin sick all day. I did not get to meeting . I have not seen Nellie since last night. Redding was up. He goes away to day. Wednesday, January 4, 1865 Sal was here this morning. She seems very glad to stop in. I am pitty her much. The Miss Christopher has called to see me. Vincent stop in. Thursday, January 5, 1865 Very stormy. I went down to Mr. Livelys, had a very nice lesson. I went home. Mary Pierce was there. I did not get home in the evening. I went to Dagers to a Fair meeting. Friday, January 6, 1865 Quite dull this morning. I received a letter from Tomy this morning. Mary Pierce taken dinner with me this afternoon. Saturday, January 7, 1865 Quite stormy all day. Raining in the morning. Snowing in the afternoon. Very cold. Mr. Gibbs came home to day very sick. Mr. White went down this morning. Sunday, January 8, 1865 Fine day. Cold, I am sorry to say that we had no meeting, not so much as a prayer meeting this morning. Doct Jones spoke for us in the afternoon. In the evening Mr. Farbeaux preached, very interesting. Monday, January 9, 1865 Cloudy all the morning. Mary Clay called to see me. Nellie was here. I went to Mr. Livelys. He did not come to school. We went to see practiseing. Tuesday, January 10...

Share