Author Archives: skinnerf
Engaged, 1848
Eliza, since the day when first, I saw thy lovely form and face; My heart has lived upon they love, And with my growth, has grown apace. And though stern fate has shaped my course, Through paths … Continue reading
“Let this miserable war be ended,” May 2, 1862
Oxford [North Carolina] May 2nd 1862 My dearest husband I have felt so satisfied this week with the general management of things in this “Confederacy” that I have not been disposed to do anything but quarrel – very much … Continue reading
Camp near Richmond, August 5, 1861
Camp near Richmond, Aug: 5th 1861 Dearest Eliza I am officer of the day today and in expectation rather than having a certainty of leaving tomorrow for Manassas. I hoped to find time to write you quite a long letter … Continue reading
Hotel Fire! Portsmouth, Virginia, 1859
Macon House Jan: 16th 1859 Dear Eliza As you will rather expect to hear from me tomorrow evening, and as also events occurring around me since I left you enable me to scribble off a long & interesting letter, I … Continue reading
Slave list, 1860
See Slave Lists for transcriptions, photo credits, Edenton slave baptisms, 1850 slave lists, 1846 slave lists, Gabriel Johnston slave estate, Thomas King’s slaves, and African American slave families in antebellum Edenton.
Old Valentine Again, 1848
~~~ Old Valentine again has come – With joy to most, tho’ grief to some; And we who are young and gay should be, Free to receive him merrily.
Single, 1846
Harveys Neck March 28th 1846 My dear Miss Eliza— On the 25th of last month I wrote to you, and I cannot think that you would have permitted so long a time to pass without answering, if you had received, … Continue reading
Young Love in the Old South
In the early spring of 1841, thirteen-year-old Eliza Fisk Harwood of Williamsburg, Virginia, wrote a letter to her friend Tristrim “Trim” Skinner so crammed with news that it was practically unreadable. What she considered to be her most important news, … Continue reading