February 1860

Rather cold. Went to the [law] office. It was full all day. Read the [N.Y.] Tribune. [Ezra S.] Sweet was in & told some of his rough incidents in the practice of law. [My cousin] George Stratton was in & wanted me to go to the store [to see him] when I went home. [Nathaniel W.] Davis wrote a letter to the Tribune saying that the efforts to extend the Chenango Canal was not a party measure, but was entered into heartily by both parties. The news came that Leuks was removed from the office [of] sheriff. That was a Republican measure. Evening, read. [My brother] Steve & [sister] Mary have gone to a spelling school on the point road. I guess there is a party somewhere for they have not returned after 10.

February 2, 1860

Cold. Went to Owego. Heard that [William] Pennington was elected Chairman [Speaker] in the [U.S.] House [of Representatives]. Did some writing that nearly took me all day. Evening, Mary Griffing was here, John Goodrich, Ruth Ann, Lee, Mr. and Mrs. Whyte, Ellen & one of the boys, & played cards, danced & blind fold. Broke up about 12 o’clock. Had such a pleasant time. Have not heard from South Carolina [yet].

February 3, 1860

Rather cold. Wrote letter to the N.Y. fellows but then could not send it. Baldwin, [Willoughby] Babcock and I got into a dispute concerning the inferiority of the nigger. Babcock denied an assertion of mine with some spirit. His eyes flashed as if mad. He is a rout abolitionist or in principle will say the nigger is a brother equal in mind but his theory is not his practice. I read some of the Irish history...

Evening got a letter from Camden, [S.C.]. [McCandless] wants me to come immediately. I shall start as soon as I can. Got a trunk, satchel, and cap for $3.62 of Hymes. [1] Stopped to Uncle Aner's. The girls there.

Not quite so cold. Walked a good deal today. Got a good many things. In the [law] office a little while. Smyth was in & laughed a good deal joking me. Got Lee's watch for 8 dollars & gave my note for it. Lee here in evening. [My cousin] George Stratton came over. Wrote letters to Johnson & [cousin] Fannie Rockwood. Went to bed about 12.

Washed all over. Went to church. [Cousin] Jim Fiddis & Chet Higby came over. Did some reading in the evening.

February 6, 1860

Went up to John Taylor's & bid him goodbye & the rest of the folks. Went to Owego, got a likeness & photograph & some other things. Called at Aunt Betsy [Platt’s. Saw [William] Smyth, [James] Rankine, [and Nathaniel W.] Davis. Got 2 volumes of Virgil [2] of him. Afternoon, packed trunk. Jim Tinkham came in evening. C. Horton, J. K. & R. Goodrich came & Sed. Went to Owego with my trunk & called to Aunt Lucy [Fiddis’].

February 7, 1860

Tuesday. At 2 o’clock in the morning, I started for Camden, South Carolina. [My brother] Steve went over to the depot with me. I had a pleasant ride. There was considerable snow down by the Delaware [River]. That is a very rough country. The hills rise in some places perpendicularly over the river & were covered with ice. It was quite warm.

I got into New York [City] about 12. I left my trunk in Jersey City & went over into New York [City]. New York is a city that did not come up to my expectations, but the [Hudson] River is broader than I thought. I got my books but had not time to go to Mrs. Rice’s. My fare to New York [City] was $5.25. I got a ticket in New York for Wilmington [North Carolina] which cost $19.80. My books cost ___.

I started from New York at six. At Trenton where we crossed the battlefield, the train went very slow. Arrived at Philadelphia about 10 in the evening, crossed the [Delaware] river in the ferry boat & rode in the omnibus to the west end of the city for the cars. I was intensely tired so much that I could not sleep.

Wednesday. Arrived in Baltimore a little before 4 o’clock a.m. Before getting into Baltimore, we crossed [the Susquehanna River] in a ferry boat. The evening & morning were very cold. Arrived in Washington a little before daylight. I could not see the Capitol plainly. Took the steamboat for Acquia Creek, the distance being 15 miles. Saw Mount Vernon [going] out. It did not look as well as I thought. It was very cold on the river. It is very broad. Richmond [Virginia] is a beautiful place. It seems to have been built on more hills than Rome. There is a beautiful statue of someone on a horse. [3] Got into Petersburgh [sic] about 5 in afternoon.

Erecting the Monument to George Washington in Richmond, 1859
"...There is a beautiful statue of someone on a horse..." -- RLG

February 9, 1860

Arrived in Wilmington [North Carolina] Thursday morning about half past 5. Crossed [the Cape Fear River] in a ferry boat to the cars. The morning was very cold but it was quite pleasant the rest of the day. There was nearly as much snow in Virginia as in New York. Some in South Carolina. In South Carolina we passed through miles & miles of swamp land, densely filled with timber and brush. In North Carolina there was a great many yellow pine, chipped for making turpentine. There were vast fields of cotton in South Carolina, but the old stalks remaining. In some places the niggers were plowing with one horse or mule.

Arrived in Kingsville [via the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad, distance 171 miles] about 4 in the afternoon. Then took up cars for Camden & got there about 6 pm. Went to the [Mansion House] hotel & then went to Mr. L. McCandless’ [house]. He was not in. I returned to the hotel but about eight [o’clock] his assistant came down & I went up to his house & stayed a short time. Stayed at the hotel all night.

The Mansion House on the southwest corner of Broad and DeKalb Streets was the only hotel operating in Camden, SC in 1860. It was managed by E.G. Robinson, a native New Yorker.

February 10, 1860

Wrote a letter to mother. Went to the school & remained there the school hours. The boys are wild. Afternoon Mr. McCandless’ negro [8] brought up my baggage. I am to board with him & have his assistant for my chum. After paying up, I had $0.25 left. Unpacked my trunk & find all the things safe.

February 11, 1860

Had nothing to do. I read some Latin, wrote a letter to [Cousin] Lucy [Fiddis], & commenced one for home. Felt rather homesick.

February 12, 1860

February 13, 1860

Today was the first day of my teaching. I got along very well – at least so I thought during the forenoon. But in the afternoon came the tug of war. I asked the class both in Latin and Greek questions they could not answer. They were none of the best scholars by any means for such a man [with a reputation] as Mr. McCandless ought to make. But in the evening he said that some different arrangements must be made for I was wholly incompetent to go on with those classes. He would have dismissed me immediately but his kinder feelings condemned the idea. He said he would make arrangements with me till the first or middle of April to hear other classes, but [only] at the rate of $400 a year! I am feeling very miserable & have cursed the day that I wrote to him accepting the situation. I am alone among strangers & without money. But I will try to put trust in God & do my best. Sent a letter for mother today.

The Leslie McCandless Schoolhouse, ca. 1930's
Built in 1850 and moved from its original location on Laurens Street near the end of the century.

February 14, 1860

Rainy day. Heard the classes in English branches that McCandless gave me. I did not hear any in Latin or Greek. If I stay till the 1st or the middle of April I can scarcely make enough to carry me home with the deducted salary he proposes to give me. I noticed today that almost – in fact all – the textbooks used in the South are from the North & they have an inveterate hatred to all books that speak derogatorily of the South. I commenced [reading] Kenilworth tonight. Received two valentines. Sent a letter to [Henry] Handerson asking him to help me to secure a place to teach.

February 15, 1860

Very pleasant & warm today. Same course in school as yesterday. I would take it very well if McCandless would not interfere. But he is continually finding fault with me. I could [not] do anything to suit him. My position is worse than a slave's. McCandless – when he gave me to understand that he did not want my services in Latin or Greek – said he would try to get me a place in a family [as a private tutor]. Whether he will or not, I do not know. Left school about 3 o'clock.

Very pleasant. This is the speaking & composition day. Got through about 3 o'clock. Read Kenilworth.

February 18, 1860

Rainy. Went about the place some. Saw the monument to DeKalb. [4] It is not very high, but is about 5 feet square – an obelisk. It is old and grown over in some places with moss. The place is farther up than where it was. There are some of the revolutionary relics. The house of Cornwallis. It is a very old place. The court house is a fine building. Read Kenilworth. The yards in some places are pretty. The shrubbery being arranged fantastically. The mock orange tree is the principal ornamental tree. DeKalb was buried here.

The Court House in Camden, South Carolina before its restoration
"...the court house is a fine building" -- RLG

February 19, 1860

Sunday. Went to church. Bishop [Thomas Frederick] Davis preached. He is nearly blind but intends to have an operation performed soon. He is about six feet high, has a large head, high forehead and retreating – much more than Dr. [Benjamin] Hale’s. He preached a very good sermon but not such a one as I had expected. [5] He is below Bishop DeLancey. The climate is changeable. Today it is pleasant. It is something like the northern spring days -- salubrious, exhilarating, but without the northern oppressive sensations when warm weather comes on. The land marshy near by & in those places it is sickly. The robins are thick but their breasts are not so red as when in New York. The people are very sensitive about slavery. They are polite and bow to all they meet whether acquaintances or not. The mistletoe grows on the trees & does not come from seeds. It is green the year round. Spruce and arbor vitae grow here.

February 20, 1860

Pleasant day. The same routine in school as formerly. Been studying Latin & Greek assiduously. Completely tired out. I leave the school about 3 generally.

Rather pleasant today. There has been a cool breeze blowing all day & it is not uncomfortably cold with the windows raised. We had a new student today, rather old. He is from Arkansas. He was a school teacher there & is very ignorant. The scholars make some of the most laughable mistakes imaginable & it is with difficulty that I can keep from laughing. Many of them do not seem to have any sense of feeling at all. They are very obtuse.

February 22, 1860

Very rainy this morning. The streets & the yard at the school were tolerably flooded. It cleared off about noon and we had a warm and pleasant day. Not many in school. Got a letter from home today. Been studying and doing nothing. Feel very tired. The ladies are playing & singing up in the parlor. Miss [Lucy Ann] Fisher, the [21 year-old] teacher of French in the Female school [run by Mrs. McCandless], was here to tea. She is not very good looking. Teaching is a slave’s life, I must confess – especially when one is not considered anything & is continually found fault with. I never say much at the table – not to the lady teachers, nor will I. Mr. McCandless never does & thinking so little of me as he seems to do, I am loathe to try to appear differently.

The Camden Female Seminary operated by Mrs. Fanny C. McCandless. The portico of the McCandless Residence where Goodrich boarded from February to May, 1860 appears at the extreme left.

February 23, 1860

It has been a very pleasant day. Rather warm & comfortable. The more I see of Mr. McCandless, the less I like him. I am woefully tired tonight. He has given me nearly all the youngest & most stupid boys in the school & it is very hard work. I do not teach either German or French, Latin or Greek – nothing but the English branches or nothing beyond reduction in arithmetic. I hear reading, spelling, analysis, history, mental arithmetic, geography, definitions, grammar & two classes in arithmetic as far as fractions one class. I hear eight classes besides the little boys who make about 3 classes. I do not care very anxiously to stay here if I can get another place as good as far as the salary is concerned. If he will only try to get me one I will be everlastingly obliged to him, though I can never forget the vexations he causes me. The other day he looked at the copy books & said aloud that "I must get better copies. He shouldn't have such works." He is seldom pleasant. Long teaching has sadly soured his disposition. Took a walk this evening & stopped at the school where the boys were exercising. The boys are jovial yet are coarse, but in general do not exceed the northern boys. I am studying hard on Latin, Greek, German & French & have but little time for other reading.

February 24, 1860

Pleasant but chilly. Mr. Mack left this afternoon to go to his sick sister [and] will not be back until Sunday. Received a long letter from home. Bob Herrick died at Albany [6] and they said Kansas was a free state, though I have not seen a paper since I have been here. I feel bad tonight. I hardly know what to write home about the change that Mr. Mac has made in regard to me, but it must come out so I had better write the whole circumstance.

February 25, 1860

No school today. Received a letter from [cousin] Lucy Stratton. Read & wrote. Took a walk around the country. Went to the Cornwallis house. It is an old square building 3 stories including the basement. The rooms are lofty and heavily corniced. There are two porticos in front, one above the other. Went to the [old Quaker] cemetery. There is a monument to Lieut. Cantey who was killed in the Mexican War. [7] The graves in the little lots are surrounded by a brick or stone wall 4 feet high [with] a iron or wood railing, and some of the walls are surmounted by an iron railing. The tombs are sometimes bricked over in the form of a curve & with an oblong masonry capped with a flat marble slab. Read the rest of the day.

The Cornwallis House outside of Camden, South Carolina, ca. 1860
"...an old square building 3 stories high [with] two porticos in front, one above the other" -- RLG

February 28, 1860

I was obliged to keep a boy today to recite his lesson. I was sorry that I did for it made him feel very bad. Manget & I took a walk in the evening. Studying & reading. I staid in the parlor after tea & the ladies sung. Mrs. [Fanny] McCandless says that the tradition is that DeKalb was buried in the old burying ground & that when Lafayette visited this country [in 1824], the cornerstone to the monument was laid, & the remains as were supposed to be his were taken up & deposited under the monument. So there is no absolute certainty that the monument marks the resting place of that noble man.

Reading on the fine arts. Miss Dargan is rather a pretty girl but her eye is not clear enough. [She is] rather tall & slender, not a very full bust, not a very high forehead, [and has a] retreating chin -- so much so that it seems an effort to shut her mouth. Yet many would call her pretty. Miss Morgan is of dark complexion, not so tall as Miss Dargan, & rough skin, & slightly covered with little ruptures. Miss Carpenter is tall, [has a] thick large head, high forehead, light complexion, large black eyes, [and] a nose slightly turned up & large mouth. Miss Dargan has a fine complexion & has beautiful dark hair. None of these [ladies] have very good or pretty teeth. Miss Dargan is young -- about 19. The others are older.

Rainy in the afternoon. Nothing new. In the evening after the women had gone out, Mr. Mack, Manget & myself were there & he said he wished he could get a good teacher somewhere. That he thinks as little as possible of me is evident & that the women teachers deride me, I am quite sure. I am in a situation ten times more burdensome than such a place as one would have to put up with insolence for hire. Yet I hope I may do better. I will trust more to God.

[1] Julius and Bennet Hymes were merchants in Owego in 1859. These brothers, natives of Germany, were 33 and 21, respectively at the time.

[2] Virgil was the classic textbook for teaching Latin at the time.

[3] The statue Goodrich noticed while passing through Richmond was of George Washington riding a horse that was erected in 1859.

[4] Johann de Kalb (171-1780) was a German soldier and volunteer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. At the Battle of Camden on 16 August 1780, DeKalb’s horse was killed under him and he tumbled to the ground where he was shot three times and bayoneted repeatedly. He died three days later while being held as a prisoner of war in Camden, South Carolina.

[6] Robert R. Herrick, a twenty year-old student at the Albany Law School, died in February 1860 after 12 days of "putrid sore throat." [Source: U. S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules 1850-1880] Robert was from Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, -- a few miles down the Susquehanna River from Owego, New York.

[7] This is probably Second Lieutenant James Willis Cantey who was killed at the Battle of Chapultepec during the Mexican War.

[8] According to the U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedules, Leslie McCandless owned four slaves in 1860 -- three mulatto females, ages 36, 15, and 13, and one mulatto male, age 11. Goodrich later identifies the male as "Charles."

The 1860 U.S. Census for Camden, South Carolina records the following occupations among its residents:

The Diaries of Ralph Leland Goodrich, 1859-1867