Journal and Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor

Rating:
Summary: A great, first-hand look at colonial Virginia
Review: Fithian, a divinity student from Princeton, NJ, came to the Northern Neck of Virginia to be a tutor to 14-some children at the plantation of the Carter family, Nomini Hall. During his year stay, he kept a diary. Much of that diary and many of his letters are published in this book.

It's a lovely, enlightening look at daily life of the era. He notes that it was the custom of Virginia women to cover their entire heads and faces when going out for a ride; he at first thought there was an epidemic of tooth aches! There are many such observations that simply wouldn't make the history books.