The Diary of Serepta Jordan: A Southern Woman's Struggle with War and Family, 1857–1864

Abstract

Stories of people finding diaries and letters dating from the Civil War in odd places have become quite common. Serepta Jordan's massive diary was discovered in a smokehouse in Clarksville, Tennessee, in the mid-1980s. Since then, many people have diligently worked to preserve, transcribe, and annotate the diary in preparation for its eventual publication. Serepta—known to her friends and family as Rep—assiduously maintained a detailed, often-acerbic record of life in New Providence, a town in upper middle Tennessee, from 1857 through 1864. Scholars will find this volume useful for several reasons. For one, Serepta discussed the numerous problems she faced in her domestic life. After her parents died, she moved to New Providence to live with her aunt, Tabitha Trice. Tabitha died on July 2, 1861, and Serepta's uncle quickly remarried. His new wife did not like Serepta, and Serepta did not like her. Consequently, her relatives resented Serepta's presence in their house, and she resented their behavior. Serepta eventually accepted a marriage proposal from Bladen Beverly Homer, who was eleven years her senior. Serepta did not enter married life with great joy. As she noted, “never have I felt so undecided on any one subject as I have on the subject of matrimony” (p. 265). Furthermore, the marriage proved far from harmonious, and Serepta often quarreled with her husband. Serepta's complaints about her family and marriage appear alongside detailed descriptions of life and society in middle Tennessee. The editors sensibly include entries from the antebellum period so readers can observe change over time.