Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Ida Powell Dulany Diary, 1861-1865. Accession 42246. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased in October 2005.

Biographical/Historical Information

Ida Powell Dulany (1836-1897) and her husband Henry ("Hal") Grafton Dulany (ca. 1833-1888) lived at Oakley, a plantation in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia. They had at least three children, named Marietta (b. ca. 1855), Rozier (b. ca. 1857), and Rebecca (b. ca. 1859). Ida's widowed mother, Marietta Powell, and two sisters, Kate and Virginia, also lived with the family. During the Civil War, Hal served with the 6th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, Company A. He was elected a lieutenant on 1 August 1861. Later, he lost an eye and subsequently resigned in July 1862. Hal Dulany died on 10 October 1888.

Scope and Content

Diary, 25 July 1861-29 January 1865, of Ida Powell Dulany (1836-1897). At the time of writing, Dulany was running the family's Fauquier County, Virginia, plantation while her husband Henry ("Hal") Dulany (ca. 1833- 1888) performed Civil War service with the 6th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, Company A. Ida's frequent, detailed entries document nearly every aspect of life on the plantation, as well as the progress of the war. Topics include domestic responsibilities and social encounters, increasing deprivation, news of distant battles and eyewitness reports of fighting in the neighborhood, and the vandalism and plunder of her home by successive raiding parties of Union soldiers in the late winter of 1864. Portions of this diary were reprinted in abridged form in the book Scraps of Paper , by Marietta Minigerode Andrews.