Monday, July 27, 1863.
to Sues spent a very plesent evening i spent part of the morning at Maryes she is better after super Nellie and went on to Duglasses i went to
Tuesday 28
see the soldiers come home meeting at Nellies quit a suden death Mrs. Stewart died this afternoon i can hardly realize it very nice meeting i received a letter from Nathen to day
Wednesday 29
to day is the great day out at the […] i did not go i had a letter from Alfred I was to go to gertrudes but the rain
Annotation 1
Sarah Douglass had seven siblings: Elizabeth (twenty-six years), Mary (twenty years), Caroline (eighteen years), Francis (sixteen years), Lacontena (twelve years), Anna (eleven years), and Joseph (nine years). With a full house and a graceful and erudite stepmother, the Douglass’ house would have been a welcoming place to visit. Year: 1860; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 5 Southern Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1155; Page: 563; Image: 569; Family History Library Film: 805155.
Annotation 3
Amanda Steward’s death certificate records the cause of death as “carditis,” which was an inflammation of the heart.
Annotation 2
Women of color were known to visit family and friends at Camp William Penn. In a letter to the Chief of the Bureau of Colored Troops, the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Colored Troops, Thomas Webster, wrote that he saw 120 women at the base during an inspection. Thomas Webster to CW Foster March 22, 1864. Letters sent to Camp William Penn, Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War) Records Group 110, National Archives at Philadelphia. Also, see “Colored People and the War,” The Christian Recorder, October 1, 1864, for a description of a visit to Camp William Penn by a black man and two black women.
