This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Christmas in Colonial Days Recalls Festive Diary Passages
An old diary kept by a guest of Maj Gen William Lloyd recounts a colonial era Christmas. Guests like Catherine and Mary Floyd, engaged to James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, help host games such as Hunt the Slipper and Green Grow the Rushes O. The keepsake notes elaborate parlor trimming, candlelit illuminations, and gifts including a full-length Washington portrait, mink fur, a Watts hymnal, and a ruby ring. Christmas Eve revelry ends with late games, and Christmas Day features a long coast down a hill overlooking the gulf ravine.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William Lloyd
Republic
George Washington
New York
Floyd
General Floyd
Baxter
Watts
Mrs Floyd
Catherine
Mary
Derry
Gulf Ravine