Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute 1857, Part V
Caroline’s Journal, 1855-1858. Courtesy Bibb Edwards.
Need to catch up? Click here: Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute 1857, Part I
On July 14, Caroline Littlepage was finally back home at Woodbury in King William County, writing:
Wednesday, 15th July, 1857
We certainly have had more wet weather this summer than ever was known before. – – I find upon investigation that Liv had been a fine housekeeper everything is in complete order. A nice parcel of butter made, & every thing else well attended to. – – He & Hardie find in returning from the oat field this evening that two of the mules are drowned. . . . The mules we judge must have been drowned last Saturday evening after the rain, which came in torrents & swept every thing before it. Carried away whole lines of fence not leaving a rail behind.
Liv is Caroline’s son, Lewis Livingston Littlepage.
On July 16, 1857, Caroline wrote in her journal that the trip to Buckingham County had taken a toll on her: “I don’t think I shall get over my trip for a fortnight. I never suffered so from fatigue of travelling.”
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Today, Caroline Littlepage’s 1857 visit to Buckingham County and the Female Institute would take only a few hours by car. She reminds us of the effort that went to such a trip, not to mention the excitement a jar of pickles could generate!
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Click here to learn more about what took place during commencement exercises at the Institute: Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute, 1854
Also, consult “A Noble Idea: Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute,” my book, “At a Place Called Buckingham.”
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Many thanks go to Bibb Edwards for creating the wonderful Caroline’s Journal. It continues to be a unique and fascinating resource for those interested in everyday life in 19th-century Virginia!
slate river ramblings . . . . 
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