“The Modern Architect”*
1852
May 3d Monday Our cook room being painted Jane
had to wash in the bathing room. Susan washed
the dishes and I did the rest that was done
about the work which was not much. Rode
to Mr J Howards to get Rural Architect for Mr
Healy called at Mr Clarks and got some Gladiolus
bulbs and at Jason Howards to see their garden
afternoon planted some sweet peas & lilly seed
Oliver came home to night from Providence
More planting, this time of sweet peas and lilies, went on this afternoon. Gardening was preferable to choring on any given day, but it was probably especially true on this Monday. The kitchen, or “cook room” as Evelina called it, was being painted, making the usual chores more difficult. Servant Jane McHanna had to wash the weekly laundry in the bath tub. Evelina must have been pleased to be outdoors in the sunshine, viewing other gardens and planting flowers in her own. She also would have been pleased to greet her son, Oliver (3), home from college on a break.
At some point during the day, Evelina rode south to John and Caroline Howard’s to borrow a book written by Richard Upjohn, a prominent architect. “Upjohn’s Rural Architecture: Designs, working drawings and specifications for a wooden church, and other rural structures” was a popular new publication featuring home designs in the latest styles. Upjohn, who became the first president of the American Institute of Architects, favored Italianate and Gothic style cottages. His book appealed to the up-and-coming middle class as well as to the wealthy. Evelina borrowed it to show her carpenter, Henry Healey. She had something in mind for Healey to build.
*Frontispiece from “The Modern Architect,” by Edward Shaw, 1854
evelinaames 