Notes from a Colored Girl , livre ebook

Notes from a Colored Girl
Notes from a Colored Girl
THE CIVIL WAR POCKET DIARIES OF
EMILIE FRANCES DAVIS
Karsonya Wise Whitehead

The University of South Carolina Press
© 2014 Karsonya Wise Whitehead
Published by the University of South Carolina Press
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
www.sc.edu/uscpress
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Whitehead, Karsonya Wise.
Notes from a colored girl : the Civil War pocket diaries of Emilie Frances Davis/Karsonya Wise Whitehead.
pages cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61117-352-9 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-61117-353-6 (ebook) 1. Davis, Emilie
Frances, 1838–1899—Diaries. 2. African Americans—Pennsylvania—Philadelphia—
Biography. 3. African Americans—Pennsylvania—Philadelphia—History—19th century.
4. Philadelphia (Pa.)—Race relations—History—19th century. 5. Philadelphia (Pa.)—Social
conditions—19th century. 6. Philadelphia (Pa.)—History—Civil War, 1861–1865. i. Davis,
Emilie Frances, 1838–1899. Diaries. ii. Title.
F158.44.W55 2014
974.8'1103092—dc23
[B]
2013036697
For my two favorite men:
my father, Carson Eugene Wise Sr.,
and my husband, Johnnie
The myopic sight of the darkened eye can only be restored when the full range of the black woman’s voice, with its own special timbres and shadings, remains mute no longer.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimké
Emilie’s story is an American story because what’s more American than wanting to be heard, wanting to be remembered, and wanting to be the type of change that you want to see in the world. At a time when black people were not allowed to read and write, she picked up a pen, bought a diary, and recorded her life, in her own words. If that isn’t a quintessential American story, then what is?
Dorothy Bamberg
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Editorial Methods
Introduction A WORLD DISCOVERED
1 Emilie Davis, 1863
2 A World Imagined
3 A World Created
4 Emilie Davis, 1864
5 A World of Women
6 A World Expanded
7 Emilie Davis, 1865
Epilogue A WORLD WHERE ALL THINGS ARE WELL
Who’s Who
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
Emilie Davis’s Diary
1860 U.S. Census
1860 Map of Philadelphia
“Distinguished Colored Men”
“The Effects of the Proclamation”
Singer Sewing Machine
“Carte de visite”
“Let Soldiers in War Be Citizens in Peace”
Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has been written and rewritten a dozen times in my mind, and it exists on paper only because of the wonderful people who believed in me, challenged me, and pushed me to succeed. They never failed to remind me of how important it was for Emilie’s story to be told and for me to tell it. I owe them more than I could ever begin to repay.
Emilie’s diaries would have gone unnoticed by me (and others) had it not been for Fayetta Martin, who thought that they were interesting enough to make copies of them and mail them to me. Although we did not work on the project together, her contributions in the very early stages were an invaluable part of the process.
I am grateful to both the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for the care they have taken with storing and preserving the Emilie Davis diaries and for granting me permission to use the documents and the Library Company of Philadelphia for providing me with an office space and ongoing support. Mathew Lyons, Lauri Cielo, Dana Lamparello, Hillary Kativa, and James Green were extremely helpful and patient with me. The weekly visits (many times arranged at the last minute) and the summers that I spent in residence as an Albert Greenfield Fellow were instrumental in helping me to finish the transcriptions and my research. Matt Gallman, Judy Giesberg, Tamara Gaskell, Andrew Jewell, Amanda Gailey, Beth Luey, and Polina Vinogradova helped me to understand how to place Emilie in a broader context. Their various comments on my articles were both insightful and challenging. Paper presentations and discussions at the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Camp Edit, the Dissertation Writing House, and on two faculty retreats: Collegium and the Ignatian Pilgrimage, which provided me with forums to talk through my work and my ideas.
This book comes directly from my dissertation, and at every critical step and moment, my committee supported and believed in me. Theirs are the shoulders on which I stand as both a scholar and a teacher. I am thankful for all that they have done and, in some cases, continue to do. My cochairs, Christine Mallinson and Kriste Lindenmeyer, and my committee, Michelle Scott, Christel Temple, and Debra Newman Ham, read through countless drafts of my work and helped me to define and shape the project from the beginning until the end. Other scholars who supported me and provided me with invaluable criticism, suggestions, and ideas include Ira Berlin (a genius and a trailblazer); Kelly Gray and the Baltimore History Writing Group; Renetta Tull and Wendy Carter from the (amazing!) UMBC Promise Group; Daniel Biddle and Murray Dubin, my Philadelphia scholar support team; Sylvia Cyrus, Daryl Michael Scott, and the Association for the Study of African American History (ASALH); and my mentors La Vonne Neal and Martha Wharton, who never failed to light the path and point the way. I must also thank my unofficial team of editors who read through all of my copyedits and offered guidance, support, corrections, and encouragement: Toya Corbett, Christy Dupeé, Ronald Harrison, Jr. (who went above and beyond the call of duty!), and David Leonard.
In addition to Suzanne Keilson, whose unique insight into Emilie’s life and her story forced me to rewrite quite a few paragraphs, several of my colleagues at Loyola University Maryland have offered support and encouragement: Neil Alperstein, Stacey Bass, Father Tim Brown, Russell Cook (and his wonderful wife, Carol), Stephanie Florish-Kholish, Celia Goldsmith (who also went above and beyond the call of duty), Elliot King, Jonathan Lillie, Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Brian Mulchahy, Brian Norman (whose weekly Friday coffees provided me with a safe space to talk through my work), Peggy O’Neill, Mili Shah, and Amanda Thomas. My research assistant, Megan Fisher, was diligent and tenacious in tracking down primary sources, reading through articles, and looking over my transcriptions. Her help was invaluable. Dean James Miracky and the Center for the Humanities provided me with summer funding, travel monies, research assistants, and a much-needed junior sabbatical to complete the final edits on the manuscript.
Outside of Loyola, this project was supported by summer faculty fellowships and funding from a number of sources, including a Summer Stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities, two Lord Baltimore Fellowships from the Maryland Historical Society, an Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Fellowship in African-American History from the Library Company of Philadelphia, a Southern Regional Education Board fellowship, and a summer research fellowship from the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History. This project would never have been finished if it were not for the gentle encouragement and support of my editor, Alexander Moore; he was a rock, a hand-holder, and a very stable presence in the midst of my writing storms. This project would never have been finished in style if it were not for my copyeditor, Elizabeth Jones, whose careful eye and red pen caught and silently corrected every errant mistake.
And then there are the folks who knew me before I started on this path and who have supported me throughout this process with kind words, warm cups of coffee, and homemade gooey delicious snacks: Ameerah Almateen, Anne Angeles, Wendy Barton, Michele Berger, Kevin Carr, Yvette and Clive Davis, Christy Dupeé, Lajuana and O’Neal Johnson, Johanne Rodriguez, Monica Stewart, Jeanine Williams, and the Happy Hairstons: Brother Thom and Sister Olivia and their daughters Dorna, Yvette, and Tody. I owe special thanks to my in-laws, Luther and Florence Huzzey, who have always provided support and encouragement. I was blessed to receive guidance and instruction from two beautiful, classy women: my dear sweet grandmothers, Maria Anderson and Dorothy Bamberg (when I grow up I want to be just like them!). I also thank all of my extended family, particularly my favorite uncles: Henry Anderson, Bishop Billy Bamberg, and Ronnie Griffin; and my “adopted” son Jack Jack Cho. I am grateful to my siblings: Robyn, Labonnie, Carson (and Rosie Pearl); and particularly grateful to my parents, Reverend Dr. Carson and Bonnie Wise, who believed in me even on days when I was unable to believe in myself.
This project, in so many ways, consumed my family more than I ever could have imagined. Emilie Davis was the invisible fourth child who joined us on every summer vacation and every Saturday outing. My family welcomed her and was patient and kind while I spent more time with her than with them. My children—Mercedes Alexandria, Kofi Elijah, and Amir Elisha—cheered me up and cheered me on, on the days when the needs of the book took precedence over the needs of the home. Finally, and perhaps mos