Notes: In the fall of 1892, nineteen-year-old Mary Octavia Laughinghouse from the town of Grimesland in Pitt County, North Carolina,
took a daytrip to Bath, a carriage ride of some 25 miles. Her companions for the day were her neighbors, twenty-four-year-old
John Bryan Grimes and his sisters, twenty-two-year-old Charlotte and twenty-year-old Mary. Two years later, Mary and Bryan
would be married. Their trip to Bath is both the story of young people having fun on a day out and a description of Bath as
a country crossroads with a decaying history.
Got up at 6:00 o’clock & got ready to go to Bath. Momma had me a nice warm breakfast by the fire in her room & I ate this
and put on my hat & veil & waited until 8:00. Almost gave them out as we were to leave at 7:00 sharp. However at 8:00 I saw
them coming up the lane so Papa took the lunch basket & we went to the gate to meet them. I wore my blue cashmere skirt &
silk waist with the [unreadable] in it[,] black velvet hat & black vest. After getting in the rockaway [a four-wheeled carriage
with two seats and a standing top] (by the way our team & c looked extremely smooth) I was accused of having gotten on a tremendous
[unreadable], of blushing profusely & various other similar crimes. However I bore all the teasing very well even to Bryan[’]s
remarks about Dr. John & me. When we got on the bridge in vain did we implore Bryan to remove the silk handkerchief from
around his neck. He swore he would look country rakish [word unclear] so he kept it on. Wanted to know how much I would give
him if he’d stop at the P. O. on pretense of mail in order that Dr. Jon. could come out & see us. I ignored the question &
he said silence gave consent & drove first to the Taylor[‘]s to find out about the road to Bath. In mean time Jos. Came out
& talked to us & thanked me for the roses. He is looking dreadful, but am glad he did not have the Yellow Chill as was reported.
From
Location:
Special Collections, Joyner Library, East Carolina University
