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This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
Size | 1 volume (1 reel of microfilm) |
Abstract | Wife of Timothy Pilsbury (1780-1858), U.S. Congressman from Texas. Diary, November 1848-May 1851, of Rebecca Pilsbury at Brazoria, Tex., recording her activities managing her husband's farm while he was away serving in Congress and elsewhere. In addition to her social and domestic activities, she recorded her feelings about her first experiences managing slaves, and her loneliness during her husband's absences. |
Creator | Pilsbury, Rebecca S. C., fl. 1848-1851. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Suzanne Ruffing, August 1996
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Wife of Timothy Pilsbury (1780-1858), U.S. Congressman from Texas.
Back to TopRebecca S. C. Pilsbury's husband, Timothy Pilsbury (1780-1858), was a native of Massachusetts who settled successively in Maine, Ohio, New Orleans, and Texas. He served in the House and the Senate of the Republic of Texas and was a member of the United States Congress from March 1846 to March 1849. Rebecca Pilsbury noted in the front of her diary that she had landed at Galveston on 5 October and arrived in Brazoria 10 October 1848.
The diary begins on 14 November 1848, the day that Timothy Pilsbury left Brazoria for Washington, and continues until 2 May 1849 when he returned. Rebecca recorded daily activities such as domestic chores, her callers and calls, activities of slaves, and the work that was done. The entries contain expressions of how much she missed her husband and comments on her new responsibilities, especially the management of slaves and her feelings of inadequacy. She gives details of her sewing, her care of pigeons, poultry, pigs, and her vegetable garden; she mentions going to church in town, her silkworms, arrivals and departures of the Galveston steamboat, and news from her husband. She also discusses the neighbors by name, tells about visits to and from them, with comments on their ways.
From 28 May to 23 July 1849 and in 1850 and 1851, Rebecca wrote in the diary whenever Timothy left on trips or when she felt the need to record special events. These entries are briefer than Rebecca's early ones and chiefly tell of her poultry, planting, calls, callers, and the misery caused by her husband's absence.
Also included is a biographical directory of the Republic of Texas's Congress and convention members, which gives a brief sketch of Timothy Pilsbury (misspelled Pillsbury).
Back to TopReel 1 |
Rebecca S. C. Pilsbury diary |