Saturday 5th (April)
Arose rather early but did not get done the work until very late.
In the afternoon Aunt R[oxana] and Jimmy [Wilson] came in town
and such talk as I have heard before, but am ashamed to tell it. They went home
we dressed ourselves, I studied my lessons, and after tea Mr B[igger] and Mr H[unt]
called. C[aroline] and I went to bed but I do not know what time the others came
up to bed. In the afternoon however, Mira’s beau came and spent the evening with
her.
Serena’s aunt Roxana is the younger sister of Serena’s
father, Albert. Roxana's first husband,
Timothy H. Wilson, died in 1835. Jimmy is their son, James Wilson, who was born
October 12, 1832. Roxana’s second husband is Joseph T. Nye. The 1860 Federal
Census shows them living in Maineville, Ohio. We wish that Serena would have
been less ashamed of the talk and had told us about it.
Mira is Almira Lewis, the daughter of Uncle Samuel Lewis and
Aunt Charlotte Goforth Lewis. Mira was born October 3, 1831 (Cook 962). Uncle Samuel and Aunt Charlotte live on the east side
of Broadway, between Woodward and Liberty (1850-51 Williams' Cincinnati Directory).
Their home is across the street from Serena’s home. This allows Serena a good viewpoint
for cousin-watching.
The 1850 U.S. census lists the value of Samuel’s real estate
at $60,000. Samuel Lewis is one of the five brothers of Albert Lewis. Another
brother, Henry Lewis, lives nearby, on northeast corner of Main and Webster (1850-51
Williams' Cincinnati Directory). His
real estate is valued at $70,000. This home may be the “old Woodward mansion”
inherited from the uncle of Henry’s wife Abigail (Old Woodward 12).These homes
would be valued at over $1,500,000 in 2010 dollars. They are relatively fine
homes, but by no means the finest. The real estate of Nicholas Longworth,
former law partner of Samuel Lewis, is valued at $2,000,000 in 1851 dollars.
Charles Cist reported that, in 1851, 5360 individuals own the houses that they
occupy (Cist 73). Many of the real estate values shown in the 1850 Federal
Census are less than $5000, or $147,000 in 2010 dollars. Samuel and Charlotte
also own a farm in Green Township, Hamilton County, Ohio.
The 1850 Census shows that Samuel and Charlotte’s household
included their 24-year-old son William, Professor of Languages, and Samuel
Lewis, age 5, probably their grandson. Little Samuel may be the son of Rev.
Joseph Lewis, eldest son of Samuel and Charlotte, who died of consumption
(tuberculosis) on November 3, 1850.
Little Samuel’s mother, Martha J. Keeley Lewis, died in 1846 (Cook 962). The spacious home was also shared with Jeremiah
Goforth, age 50, and Virginia Goforth, age 82. They may be Charlotte’s brother
and mother. Finally, Mina Potter, age 22, born in Germany and probably a
servant, lives with them. Samuel and Charlotte’s daughter, Almira (Mira), was
not at home when the census was taken. She may have been living at school. The
1850 US Census lists an 18-year-old Almira Lewis, born in Ohio, attending the
Pettyman Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies in Wilmington, Delaware. Charlotte’s
sister, Jemima, lived in the Lewis household for many years (Petit 161). Uncle
Samuel and Aunt Charlotte have buried four of their six children: Baby Martha
died in 1826, little Samuel died at the age of four in 1845, Elizabeth died of
consumption at the age of 19 in 1847, and the Rev. Joseph Lewis died in 1850
(Cook).
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