At the time she kept this diary, Emma Caffin Jeffrey was serving as a lady's maid and companion to Catherine McTavish, the new wife of Chief Factor John George McTavish. Here she describes going snowshoeing on a Sunday.
"Sunday 3 March [1833]... a short time after Mrs. McTavish, Miss Mary and myself proceeded for a long walk upon snow shoes round this Island one of the Dogs which followed us was caught in a Fox Trap but being a strong dog was soon extricated, we continued our walk without any further interruptions. Mr. McTavish met us with the cariole about a mile from the Factory the change of riding we found very agreeable though the wind was excessively cold. I found little Elizabeth quite delighted to see me.
This day completes my agreement with Mrs. McTavish - it being 3 years since I left home. Sunday night thermometer 9 below."
Other
Related Material
Read another excerpt from Emma's diary - enter 'Jeffrey' in the search box to your left.
Check the Beaver Index - e.g., servants, McTavish, immigration, snowshoes, etc.
Did
You Know?
Domestic service was a common work experience for young men and women in 18th- and 19th-century Britain: around two-thirds of young people in England and Scotland had left home and entered service by their late teens. Almost half of all English households and perhaps as many as two-thirds of Scottish and Orkney households contained servants.
