Mary Emma Jocelyn diary, 1851-1852.

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  • UPenn Ms. Codex 1770
  • Born in New Haven, Connecticut to antebellum abolistionist, clergyman, and engraver Simeon Smith Jocelyn (1799-1879) and Harriet Starr (d. 1877). The Jocelyn family moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1844 where Simeon Smith Jocelyn was installed as the pastor of the First Congregational Church. Mary Emma was the fifth of eight children born to the Jocelyns. Her siblings are Harriette Luceannah (1823-), Simeon Starr (1825-), Albert Higley (1827-), Caroline Eliza (1830-1868), Nathaniel (1835-1852), Cornelius Buell (1838-1864), and Frederick Henry (1841-).
  • This volume contains the diary of Mary Emma Jocelyn spanning ten months from November 1851 to September 1852. The first entry in the diary was recorded on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1851. At the top of the page is written "Journal continued." Jocelyn made daily entries in her diary and recorded her life with her family and friends while living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. A brief note on the weather begins each entry. Jocelyn described her daily activities including sewing, reading, seeing family and friends, and distributing tracts. She attended church on Sundays chiefly at her father's church, the First Congregational Church, and singing class with her sisters Carrie (Caroline) and Harriet. She was often visiting or receiving friends including Mary Reeve and Hannah Hudson among others. Jocelyn attended lectures and events at the Lyceum in Brooklyn. She also visited her sister in Brooklyn and mentions ferrying over. The Jocelyn family and the Hudson family appeared to be close friends and the Jocelyn siblings spent much time with brothers George and Henry and their sister Hannah. Jocelyn wrote often of Henry Hudson and worried about his crisis of faith. Major events in the family are described throughout the ten-month period, including the joyous wedding of her sister Harriet to Douglas Murphy on June 30, 1852 and the death of her brother Nathaniel (Natty) in August 1852. Thirty pages in the diary were dedicated to Natty's illness and death. This lengthy entry is dated September 27, 1852 and describes the family's anguish and grief over Natty's passing. Other notable entries include her father Simeon's travels, her lengthy description of a dream, helping a young Irish immigrant, her interest in an essay by Edgar Allen Poe, and the celebration of the founding of Williamsburg in January 1852. The diary is in chronological order from November 27, 1851 through April 1, 1852. After April 1 the diary is arranged as follows: July 8 to August 8, 1852; 23 pages dated September 27, 1852; April 29 to June 8, 1852; April 3 to April 28, 1852; June 9 to July 5, 1852. Bound in at the end are seven pages continuing the September 27th entry. Laid in the volume is a printed flier for an exhibition and sale at Montague Hall, Brooklyn for "articles offered for sale at the Anti Slavery Fair" November 30, 1851 with notes on the verso by Mary Emma Jocelyn.

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    Wednesday.. Snowed most of the day. Annie Cruthers made a long [call?] in the morning. George Hudson came about nine A.Me. and staid [it?] one P.Me. Of course we had a very pleasant time. The young gentleman, however, broke a window while frolicking with Sarah. On account of the snow Sarah was obliged to give up the idea of going home to-day. Father also wrote to us that the Sound is filled with ice, and the boats are unable to [run?]. The Bay [States?] in performing her usual trip, last night, had to cut her way through the the ice for fifty miles.

    Ice! ice!! ice!!! We are under a complete blockade from this rare, but truly formidable [besiege?] !

    Out-of-doors every thing is compelled to wear his cold, hard, and glittering chains; and tight as we may bar our doors he is sure to find his way inside, [illegible?] - [illegible?] even there! And as if in wry sarcasm he will at night esconce himself in the tea-kettle, still on the stove in which the fire has just gone out. In one or two rooms, at the cost of a great deal of fuel, and by keeping close to the fire, we manage to keep from freezing. Of course a great deal of our time is taken up in trying to get warm, but to attain that seems almost impossible. At night we dread to leave the fire to go to bed, and in the morning we dread to arise. And then to think of the poor in this dreadful wea- ther - The poor who have no fire - no shelter - how sad! God pity the poor! is my daily prayer.

    [written sideways across left gutter] sea with us. George Hudson called after tea / and we all / attended singing school. There was no singing school however. Mr. Warner did not come. and we sat round the fire all the evening laughing, talking, [illegible?] and in fact enjoying ourselves quite as mach as if the usual exercises had taken place Mr Donaldson and Mr Dias were there but [in decency?]. refrained from interfering though we did not share other feelings that is if they have any! They [schuo?] as have a good [opening?] of George's spirit and it is well [theraputic?].

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    Apropos, of the poor, on Monday evening the bells rang I went to the door where I found a boy of about 16 who looked almost frozen. He said he was Irish, had arrived in this country two or three days since, was an entire stranger without money and unable to find employment. I pitied him from my heart and took him down stairs to Father. He was comfortably warm and fed, and then Father found him a night's logding with a nice Irish family in another street, and on the next day found him a place where he could have regular and steady employment, and good wages. The poor boy was very grateful, and thinks that a special providence must have sent him to our house. Dear Father, he is daily employed in such acts of kindness, but we know of but few of them unless accident brings them to our notice.

    Thursday. Pleasant. Commenced piecing a bed-quilt for Harris. George Hudson spent this afternoon very pleasantly with us. Mrs. I. Hudson, and the Misses Griffin called us just before he came. I enjoy George's company very much--he is very interesting, yet I cannot say that I like him. He attracts and yet he repulses me. He is so apt take little liberties when any one will give him an oppor that I feel that I must be constantly on my gaurd when him, and it is not pleasant so to feel. Yet I cannot but see that his greatest fault consists in his insincerity in his

    [Written vertically on page in margin] Mr. William Prince lectured at this Lyceum to-night.

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    being true to himself -- his better nature. This he constantly betrays, and this contrarity puzzles me, I cannot understand it. Why should any one wish to [offens?] worse than he is! Not that I know of anything really bad in George. He has a careless, easy, but spirited manner; such as we might suppose any one would acquire in a place like California -- is very polite, especially to ladies but to his tongue he gives the fullest license. He evidently likes to create a sensation, to be the laugh, the wonder and the talk; and he gains his object but somewhat at the expense of his reputation. It is most laughable to sit and listen to some of his preposterous stories, which he is safe in telling because he knows that nobody will believe them, at the same time they are told in [such, scratched out] an off-hand, witty way that [illegible] then from being merily absurd, and the interest is so well kept up that we do not tire of them

    We were speaking of charity this afternoon, when he remarked that feeling he had so many faults of his own he always threw the look of charity over those of others in hopes they would do the same by him. I thought it a very good idea.

    In the evening cousin Hugh called for Carrie, and Sarah and I went with Nat to Lyceum. George H & Alexander Culbert gave us seats with them and their ladies (sisters of course) It made it very pleasant for us all to sit together, we also returned together and all stopped in at our house for about half an hour.

    [written sideways along gutter edge] [illegible?] never went to this city this evening with his cousin Mr. Ferandoin? and as a [illegible?[ consequences poor Joseph had to attend the lectures alone. He tried to make ammends for if by walking with me. He came in with the rest but remained some time after they left. He says that Sam was nearly frozen to death while riding last week and suffered much while reviving. He was saved by his uncle who was with him. As for himself he was wholly unconcious of his danger. [Trie?] it was discovered by his friends

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    Friday. The cold has moderated sensibly, and it is much more pleasant. The snow is beginning to melt. Commenced a letter to Allen Seager?. __ George Hudson called in the afternoon. To oblige Sarah to [Lad?] in the morning [errand?] over to the city of New York to [ascertain?] whether the boats were running on the Stonington line He found that they did not not the Sound being full of ice, there was also so much ice in the river that he was two hours in crossing. [Houston?] street ferry. Lo miss Sarah will not be able to return this week. though she is very anxious to do so. --

    About two years ago when Carrie was in Stonington she had her daguerreotype taken there, and gave it to Sarah, and S-- brought it here with her this winter. It is a miserable little picture -- a perfect fright com -pared to the original; just such a one as we might expect to obtain in a village like Stonington. George has been trying to get it to carry off with him but Carrie will not let him have it. Then he wants to have us three sit for our daguerreotype in a group We had a great deal of fun about it, and Sarah jokingly told him that he might have hers. He took her up in earnest, and this afternoon claimed her promise. Sarah thought it her duty to keep her word, so with [George?] and I she went to [Dur-----'s] Gallery, and obtained an excellent one. George purchased [an?] beautiful case for it, and it was very pretty inside and out. It was nearly dark when we returned.

    [Side] George came in and staid some time. He tried to persuade me to have my daguerreotype taken with Sarah's but I refused

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    Saturday - very bright and pleasant but the snow lay smoooth and white on the ground I was very much troubled with [?] and should have accompanied Carolina and Sarah to Brooklyn They went in the morning in a stage-sleigh I spent the day pleasantly at home in my usual duties In the afternoon Mary Reeve called early and we had a pleasant chat She brought the daguerreotypes of her cousin Mr Drawton for my inspection There is a very fine young man about twenty-two and very handsome so at least says his partial cousin Mary and so I should judge from his picture He is from Chicago and is to return next week Mary says he has become quite interested in me as she has had so much to say to him about me and wants to see me but as he is in New York and she does not know when she shall see him again or what day he will leave she couldmake no arrangement to that effect Mary had a budget of secrets to tell me but in the midst of it Elizabeth Cullbert called and Mary left soon after I called on Sarah Olmstead found her quite sick stopped a while and called on Ellen Dickinson During my absence Mrs Tuttle called at our house and informed Harriet that it has been discovered that Mr Branch had two wives before he married Maggie Schenck from both of whom he has been divorced and both are yet living This is all she told us and she seemed surprised that we had not heard of it before It were useless to say how distressed we felt at this intelligence

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