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D-18 THE SUNDAY STAR, Washington, D. C.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 1953

Old Diaries Picture Era
Dating 1845 to 1913
By Jessie Fant Evans

Mrs. Charles Thomas Watson
of this city is the possessor of
the diaries of her grandmother,
Elizabeth Steel Wright, from her
wedding day in May, 1845, when
she was 21, until her death in
1913 at the age of 88. "This
span of 67 years, covered in
17 volumes, constitutes one of
the longest, continuous examples
of diary-keeping in existence,"
Mrs. Watson believes.

This feminine Pepys, who
shares his gift "for recording
small events and large in a lively
and interesting manner," mar-
ried John E. Wright, a well-
known science teacher and lec-
turer of his day. As a bride
and later as the mother of their
three children, she accompanied
him on his far-flung journeys,
north, east, south and west,
meeting unbelievably primitive
living conditions with a matter-
of-fact philosophy. For in-
stance, there is this early entry
made in Illinois in 1847, "We
sleptup aloft in a one-room log-
house and any one can sleep as
well aloft as anywhere if they
think so."

A cousin of Noah Webster
through her grandfather, Josiah
Steele, Connecticut Revolution-
ary patriot, Elizabeth Steele
Wright's diary entries do credit
to her famous kinsman, who
compiled the first "Webster's
Dictionary" and "Spelling Book."
Invariably they are set down in
clear, concise phraseology, with
only very rarely a mispelled
word.

Born during the early days
of John Quincy Adams' admin-
istration she lived to witness the
inaugration of President Wil-
son.

Her saga of the itenerary upon
which she accompanied her
husband is an Americana of the
development of our Nation from
tinder box, flint and steel to the
approach of the Civil War,
when he was accidentally killed
in a hunting accident. It also
constitutes a veritable travelers'
directory of the roads they tra-
versed, and the streams they
forded or were ferried across.

An entry of April 3, 1850, con-
cerns their first trip to the Na-
tion's Capital, Gen. Zachary
Taylor was in the White House,
successful candidate of the
Whigs in the last election this
party was to win. She writes:
"Stopped overnight at Occo-
quan, which will never be large,
it is too near Alexandria. From
Alexandria had a pike the re-
maining 8 miles. Crossed the Po-
tomac on a mile-long but rath-
er indifferent bridge. However,
it serves the purpose. Found to
our regret John C. Calhoun had
been buried at noon. We should
have liked to honor his memory
by attending his funeral. Walked
to the Capitol Building and
found it inspiring with its beau-
tifully laid-out grounds, planting
chiefly evergreens, white pine
and arbor vitae. Its two foun-
tains were not playing. Liked
particularly the pictures in the
interior of George Washington
and the Embarkation of the Pil-
grims."

Of their visit to the President's
House (the White House) she
says: "It is much better looking
than we expected from the de-
scriptions of it. We happened to
meet "Old Zack" (President Tay-
lor) standing before his door.
He urged us to come in but we
declined and continued our stroll
through the grounds." This cas-
ual time in the little town of
Washington on the banks of the
Potomac was at a time when res-
olutions requesting the admis-
sion of California as a State and
the organization of New Mexico
and Utah as Territories were be-
fore the Congress of the United
States.

Another visit to this city dur-
ing Senator Blaine's time (the
red brick residence which he oc-
cupied is standing fronting Mas-
sachusetts avenue above Dupont
Circle) brings forth this com-
ment: "His daughter has just
been married to some German

musician"—no less than Walter
Damrosch!

Concerning her first visit to
her husband's relatives on May
28, 1948, near Livingston, N. J.,
the bride writes: "After a capital
dinner, there was also a good
dish of Christian conversation.
Later we all took tea, then the
old ladies snuffed and talked,
the old men smoked and talked
and the younger portion of the
company played and sang and
danced until 12 o'clock."

Spring Hill, Tenn., gets this
notation: "James K. Polk's resi-
dence is a plain frame build-
ing. Horseback is the favorite
method of transportation. Many
ladies have never had their feet
in a carriage and never expect
to, for the few who have tried it
say the swaying motion makes
them ill."

A South Carolina entry says:
"We have seen South Carolina
ladies go partridge hunting with
nets on horseback with their
husbands. It affords them a
great deal of sport."

Of Audubon's passenger pig-
eons, now practically extinct,
there is this comment: "They
are so numerous they break the
trees down. Natives do not bother
to shoot them, but rather flail
them off by the wagonload. The
sky was so filled with them they
obscured the sun."

She makes this matter-of-fact
jotting as to lawyers and the
hazards of the road: It is court
time in Springfield, Ill., and
lawyers are as thick as spatter.
The rain is pouring in every di-
rection but we got through the
day by laughing at our calami-
ties. On the way here, the horses
got so deep in mud we often
throught we would have to turn
back but perseverance accom-
plishes wonders. The worst time
was when the wolves chased my
husband when he got out to
better see the way. I am sorry
we did not recover the Bible and
the other books we lost when I
stood up on the buggy seat to
keep the water from the last
ford coming up over my knees.
We should not neglect our minds
any more than our bodies be-
cause by cultivating our minds
we learn how to appreciate and
enjoy life."

Elizabeth Steele Wright's spirit
and enterprise and that of her
husband in an era when teleg-
raphy was new, the wonders of
electricity still little realized and
the railroad an innovation along
with similar courage and initia-
tive on the part of thousands of
other Americans were part of
the alchemy that helped make
our Nation great. Its survival in
us, their descendants, will keep
it so.

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