Karen's History: March 2011

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Research Trip

I have just returned from a trip to central Virginia to visit battlegrounds where my characters fought. These sites where so many were wounded and died; and where history was made are just places. I'm not sure what I expected, but normal places was not it! Spotsylvania is just a valley where it would be easy to move a lot of men and equipment through; Bennet's Place at Appomatox was just a house in a small town; and Rappahanock Bridge is just a river where a pontoon bridge once stood.

Don't get me wrong, to visit these places where my characters faced death was rewarding. I can now picture what they were seeing and was able to stand right where they stood. My descriptions of place and situation will be much easier.

But somehow I thought there would be more to a place that is so important to the history of our nation; a perment glow to the place, patriotic music in the background, voices of those long gone wafting in the air. But these were real places, real men, real circumstances; and real death and destruction.

Life in Antebellum Charlotte: Book Talks

Karen, Janet and Ann have been visiting museums, book clubs, garden clubs and Women's groups to share information gleaned from the Journal of Sarah Frew Davidson. Their 45 minute program includes a visit from Miss Davidson herself who reads excerpts from her diary. Sarah and her modern day friends lead us through an exploration of the village of Charlotte, plantation life, entertaining, gold mining, gardening and slavery in antebellum Charlotte, NC. Contact the editors through this blog to find out about their visiting your club or group.

Editors of A Life in Antebellum Charlotte

Karen McConnell, Janet Dyer and Ann Williams have been immersed in the history of the Charlotte, NC area for many years. They are members of the Mecklenburg Historical Association and serve on that organization’s Docent Committee. They are co-editors of A Life in Antebellum Charlotte; The Private Journal of Sarah Frew Davidson, 1837. Karen McConnell is Curator of Education at Historic Rosedale. In that capacity she develops and directs public and educational programs; and trains and supervises volunteers for the site. She has researched and written dramatic presentations and other interpretative material for Rosedale and as well as other sites in the region. She is a native of Salisbury and lives there in the family farmhouse built over 150 years ago, which she and her husband have restored. Janet Dyer is an accomplished researcher, especially in archives of 19th century newspapers and court records. She has extensively studied the Catawba River, its ford, ferries and fisheries, and its influence on 19th century life. Through this research she has provided materials to enhance interpretation at Historic Rosedale and several other historic sites in the Charlotte region. She is a member of the Cooking Guild of the Catawba Valley, which demonstrates and researches open-hearth cooking. This is Ann William’s second book. She is the author of Your Affectionate Daughter, Isabella, a book that tells the story of the Torrance family in antebellum Mecklenburg County, revealed through family letters and documents. Ann has a special interest in historic clothing, fabrics and needlework. She has written several articles for textile publications and has replicated hand-woven coverlets and many period garments for Historic Rosedale, other historic sites and individuals.

A Life in Antebellum Charlotte; The Private Journal of Sarah Frew Davidson, 1837

In 1837 Sarah Frew Davidson began keeping a private journal recording the events of her daily life for the purpose of self-examination and reflection. Now years later, her collection provides an intimate glimpse into ante-bellum life in North Carolina. Sarah was mistress of one of Mecklenburg County’s largest plantations, The Grove, located 4 miles from the center of Charlotte, NC. The journal offers the reader a nineteenth century perspective on slavery, education and the impact of religion in the lives of southern women. Begun in the wake of the religious revival that swept the South in the mid-nineteenth century, this journal serves as a candid perspective into life in the changing “village” of Charlotte capturing the effects of the newly constructed US Mint and the Carolina gold mining rush on this small community. Editors McConnell, Dyer, and Williams along with a team of Rosedale historians, meticulously transcribed the original hand-written journal to be presented here in its entirety. Also included in this addition are supplementary historical annotations, maps and biographical details that provide a comprehensive background for the events and people mentioned in the journal. The day-to-day events of Sarah’s life reveal much about the realities of Sarah’s life as well as an understanding into the complexities of religious devotion and slavery in the ante-bellum period.