Manuscript Location

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library

Place of Origin

United States ➔ North Carolina

Date of Composition

1859-1883

Description

Rebecca Brevard McDowell's Household Book is part of the library's collection of the Brevard and McDowell Family Papers. Comprising around 115 written pages, the book is mostly in Rebecca McDowell's hand, except for pages 48-50 and in a few random spaces, which may be written in a different hand. The book opens with a chaotic four-page index to the recipes, then proceeds to two extraordinary lists of Rebecca McDowell's roses, compiled in 1859 and 1862, which comprise over 100 different varieties. Following the rose lists there are ten pages of household inventories (china, silver, furniture, etc.) bearing the dates 1869, 1883, 1873, and 1864, in that order. The remainder of the book is given over to recipes, most of which are culinary, although there are also some medical and practical household recipes, some tucked in among the culinary recipes and a substantial clutch written near the end of the book, on pages 90 through 100. A second, partial index to the recipes is written on the book's final pages and on the inside back cover. 

The culinary recipes are overwhelmingly weighted toward puddings, pies, cakes, and hot breads served at breakfast and tea, such as muffins and cornbread. There are also a number of recipes for pickling and preserving written towards the end of the book. Likely written in the 1860s and 1870s, the recipes show a southern influence. The book includes recipes for "Confederate Fruit Cake" (made with a teacup of "meal," presumably cornmeal, and without eggs), "Mush or Virginia Pudding," "Virginia Pudding" (seemingly a variation on French Cabinet Pudding, popular under its original name throughout the country),  and "Charleston Pudding." There is also an early recipe for "Lemon Cheesecake," that is, a plain layer cake filled with "lemon cheese," or lemon curd, which is now considered a classic southern cake. There are innumerable recipes for puddings, pies, and cakes featuring coconut, a favorite southern ingredient. Many of the recipes are attributed, some to Rebecca McDowell's Cousin Violet and Cousin Burns.

Rebecca Brevard McDowell (1823-1904) was descended from a wealthy, slave-owning family of iron manufacturers. She was married to Robert Irwin McDowell (1813-1885), with whom she had six children. The couple's eldest son, William, was killed in the Civil War Battle at New Market, in 1864.

To access the digital images, scroll down to Series 2, Folder 28 of the finding aid.