Manuscript Location

Place of Origin

Date of Composition

Description

Written in a 142-page bound volume measuring 8 by 13 inches, this book is both a student notebook and cookbook. The school lessons, which date from the early 1860s, are almost certainly the work of Maria Octavia (Selden) Nelson (1845-1925), whose name appears as M. O. Selden on the endpapers, along with “Westover School, Virginia.” The school was located on Westover Plantation, located on the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. The plantation was established in the mid-eighteenth century by the illustrious Byrd family but was owned by Maria’s father, John Armistead Selden, from 1829 to1862. (The enormous Georgian mansion still stands today and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.) It is less clear who wrote the recipes. They appear to be in a different hand from the lessons, but it is possible that this was simply the mature hand of Maria Selden Nelson, who settled in Alabama after her marriage. Adding to the mystery, many of the recipes are crossed out. Whoever wrote the recipes, they are certainly later than the school lessons, for some, such as Marshmallow Cake, Mayonnaise Dressing, Caramel Cake, and Snow Pudding, did not emerge until the 1870s or later.  

The school lessons include notes on French history (pages 1-21), church catechism (pages 29-63), copied lines of verse (pages 107-119), arithmetic and algebra problems and exercises (pages 121-124 and 142), and translations of works of Virgil (page 125). On page 108 are written the date February 11th 1861 and the name Miss Imogen Thompson, possibly a student at the school. The same name and “Norfolk Va.” are written on page 115.

A clutch of recipes appears on pages 22- 29. These recipes include Huckleberry Cake, Ellis’s Cake, Sponge Cake, Boston Cream Cakes, Orange Cake, The “Brownie’s” Delight Cake, Marshmallow Cake, Lemon Cheese Cake, Coconut Cakes, Mayonnaise Dressing, Chicken Salad Dressing, Spinach Cream, Chocolate filling, Custard filling (several recipes), Caramel filling, Lemon Filling, Prince Whip, Caramel, Coconut, Delicious Orange Dessert, Spiced Grapes, Nothings, Wafers, Cream puffs, Dough Nuts, Devil’s Food, Lemon Pie, and Caramel Pie. On pages 63-64 there is a poem and recipes for Green Tomato Pickle and Oat Cucumbers, both written in pencil and marked through. Another clutch of recipes, also crossed out, occurs on pages 125-141: Sally Len [Lunn], Molasses Pie, Silues Cake, Irish Potatoe Pie, Club Sauce, Gingerbread Pudding, Baked Omlet, French Rolls, Brown Betty, Chocolate Pudding, Snow Pudding, Bop, Lemon Pudding (several recipes), Coconut filling, Boild Jany, Sauce for Pudding, Chocolate Filling, Best Mincemeat, Ginger Cakes, Chocolate Pudding, and Caramel Cake.

Pages 65-106 of the book are blank. Clipped newspaper recipes for cakes, doughnuts, ginger snaps, wine sauce, and how to preserve eggs have been pasted on to the back endpaper. Forty-five enclosures are collected with the book, including some newspaper clippings concerning the Nelson and Selden families.

To view the catalog record, go to the institution homepage, follow the links to the library catalog search page, and enter Maria Octavia (Selden) Nelson in the search box. Scroll down to Student notebook, n.d. See also Westover Plantation Cookbook, 1859-1866.