Wednesday, February 18, 1863.
it is very unpleasent to day it is my birthday nevertheless i feel thankful i have bin spard so long and if i should be spard in future i will try and spend my
Thursday 19
time more Profitable very unpleasent day Nellie and i went out shoping muslins are frightfuly Dear in the evening we went to the lecture after witch we over to rachels then up to
Friday 20
nellies Jake mad nellie birthday Presents very dull day we expected Tomy but he didnot com this afternoon i went up to see Celistene she is
Annotation 1
Because Nel or Nellie is often referenced with Jake, or Jacob C. White, Jr., she might be the same Caroline E. White that historian Harry Silcox identified as Jake’s wife. Caroline was born in Virginia in 1828, making her about ten years older than Emilie. In 1880, Caroline and Jake were living in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Caroline was described as a “sales lady,” and Jake, a “school teacher.” Silcox, “Philadelphia Negro Educator,” 96.
Annotation 2
This may be Celestine Clark, listed as an eighteen-year-old “mulatto” living in the 1st ward in the 1870 census, but this would have made her only eleven years old when Emilie mentioned her in the diary. Year: 1870; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 1 District 3, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1387; Page: 576A; Image: 471; Family History Library Film: 552886.
Emilie’s birthday is Wednesday, February 18. It is unpleasant because she is living during the Civil War. She is thankful that she has been alive for this long.