Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION

#1737
MARY JEFFREYS BETHELL DIARY
Inventory

Full text of diary, 1 January 1861-December 1865

Abstract:  Mary Jeffreys Bethell, daughter of Phereba Hinton 
         Jeffreys and farmer and Methodist preacher George Washington
         Jeffreys (1794-1849), who married William D. Bethell in 1840
         and spent most of her life in Rockingham County, N.C.
         Personal diary, 143 pp., of Mary Jeffreys Bethell with
         infrequent entries sometimes separated by long gaps
         beginning on 1 January 1853 and ending 6 January 1873. 
         Before the diary proper begins, there are a few pages of
         reminiscences about her family.  Diary entries discuss
         Bethell's home and neighbors; her Methodist Church
         activities and constant reaffirmation of religious faith;
         and the activities of her children, several of whom died
         young, and children in the Torrien family, whom Bethell
         referred to as nieces and nephews and who lived in the
         Bethell household for many years.  There is also frequent
         mention of Bethell's journeys with her husband to Louisiana,
         Tennessee, and Arkansas, and thoughts of moving the family
         out of North Carolina.  During the Civil War, there are
         descriptions of the activities of sons Willie and George in
         the Confederate Army, including George's adventures with the
         44th North Carolina Regiment and his capture and
         imprisonment at Johnson Island.  Bethell's husband joined
         the Army in 1864, after which Bethell wrote of the
         difficulties she endured in her husband's absence, including
         the departure of their slaves.  After the war, there are
         references to social conditions, difficulties with servants,
         and the general hardship endured during this period.  Later
         entries center chiefly on family activities.  A typed
         transcription, 65 pp., of the entire volume is also
         available.

Online Catalog Terms:
         Bethell family.
         Bethell, Mary Jeffreys, b. 1821.
         Bethell, William D.
         Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
         Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina
           Regiment, 55th.
         Diaries--North Carolina--History--19th century.
         Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs--19th
           century.
         Jeffreys family.
         Johnson Island Prison.
         Methodists--North Carolina--History--19th century.
         North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal
           narratives, Confederate.
         Rockingham County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th
           century.
         Southern States--Description and travel--19th century.
         Torrien family.
         United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal
           narratives, Confederate.
         United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners
           and prisons.
         Women--North Carolina--Diaries.
         Women--North Carolina--Social life and customs--19th
           century.

Size:    2 items.

Provenance:   Gift of Mrs. Bonsall Rhodes of Asheville, N.C., in
              1952.

Access:    No restrictions.

Processing Note:   This collection was rehoused under the
                   sponsorship of a grant from the National
                   Endowment for the Humanities, Office of
                   Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.

Related Collection:  William Bethell Williamson Papers (#2846).

Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
           their descendants, as stipulated by United States
           copyright law.

Folder    1        Original
          2        Typed transcription