Information Sheet

 

 

R            Capehart, Ruth.

45                    Collection, 1831-1833, 1902-1904.

                                    Two volumes.

 

 

 

These are two journals collected by Mrs. Capehart:

Vol. 1: Journal of J. W. Henderson, of trips from New York to the pottery manufac­turing dis­trict in England, 1831, and from New York to Liverpool in 1833.

Vol. 2: Journal of Louisa Raff, Orange Grove, Mississippi, 1902-1904.  Louisa, a young girl, recorded domestic events, plantings, and weather news.

This collection consists of two journals kept by separate authors.  Since the surname “Raff” appears in both volumes, there is probably a connection between the authors, but the exact rela­tionship is not known.

Volume One is the journal of a J. W. (or J. H.) Henderson.  As noted in his journal, Hender­son had come to the United States from his native Scotland in 1827.  His journal began in New York harbor on 16 August 1831, just after he boarded a sailing ship bound for Liver­pool, Eng­land.  The daily entries for the relatively uneventful twenty-five day voyage contain information regard­ing Henderson's fellow cabin passengers.

After his arrival in England, Henderson made his way to the “potteries” district in Stafford­shire.  Although not explicitly stated in the journal, Henderson was apparently in­volved in the ce­ramics industry in America.  He visited many establishments in the district, carefully observing the procedures in use there.  Eventually he contracted with a group of workers to accompany him back to the United States.

During his sojourn in Great Britain, Henderson visited friends and relatives in his hometown of Annan, Scotland, rode the new steam railway from Liverpool to Manchester, and did some sightseeing.  He attended and described a concert by the Italian violin virtuoso Nicolo Pa­ganini in Manchester, and some dramatic productions in Liverpool.

With the contracted workers, his sister, and a gentleman friend along, Henderson embarked from Liverpool for New York on 6 November 1831.  The passage was long and stormy, and was well described in the journal.  This section of the journal ended with the ship's arrival in New York harbor.

The journal resumed on 16 April 1833, when Henderson once again sailed from New York, bound for Liverpool.  This section ended with the sighting of the Irish coast.  The pur­pose of this voyage was not stated.  Henderson’s journal also included two poems and notes on the chemical analysis of metallic ores.  Presumably the latter were useful for Henderson’s business affairs.  The entire volume has been typescripted for the convenience of researchers.

Volume Two is the journal of Louisa Raff of Orange Grove, Mississippi.  As indicated by a penciled note inside the front cover of the volume, Louisa began the journal when she was thir­teen years old.  The account was written in part in an 1886 cash book bearing the name “Alan Ross Raff” on the cover.  Part of the journal was written on stationery bearing the same name, and the letterhead indicates that Alan Raff was a dealer of building supplies in Cincin­nati, Ohio.

Louisa began her diary on 10 June 1902, and continued it through July 1904.  The lat­ter part of the journal was written on loose-leaf paper.  The diary concerns domestic occur­rences, the plantings of various seeds, bulbs and flowers, and the weather.

 

 

Revised 03/88

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