Notebook No.142, 26 April 1846 - 4 May 1846

This notebook contains Charles Lyell's notes from 26 April 1846 to 4 May 1846 [the stated end date is inferred from the start date of the following notebook]. The Lyells returned to Philadelphia, following an absence of several months, at the end of April. Charles left his wife with friends at Philadelphia and traveled to Richmond, Virginia to resume his examination of the coal fields, ‘left half-finished in December last’. He made excursions to coal mines north and south of Blackheath, including those of Townes and Powell’s, Midlothian, and Deep Run, in the Chesterfield area of the East Virginian Coal-Field. This was followed by an expedition with Dr. Wyman to examine the geology of the region around Richmond and the cliffs near Acquia Creek. Charles continued his travels to join with Mary in New York City. The notes consist of commentary about politics, including slavery, as well as natural history and geological field notes and observations, much related to the coal fields, with numerous sketches. Notes are in ink and pencil. The index is located in the back of the notebook on pages 91-95, plus one unnumbered page, with four pages of blue paper (one sheet folded vertically) added and tied by white thread into place at the end of the notebook.

The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the end of the notebook, transcribed from digital surrogates. When known, Lyell's abbreviations and contractions have been expanded using brackets [ ]. Abbreviations in standard use, such as two letter abbreviations for United States place names, have not been expanded. When writing is unclear, and transcription is not possible, this is denoted using [...]. The inclusion of [sic] indicates the misspelling of a word is deliberate and taken from the notebook. There are numerous margin notations in this index. X is used to mark a pencil cross, also ? and G (designation for geology) marked in pencil, made at certain entries. It is not clear if this notation is written contemporaneously or later. At times Lyell has included dates (inner left margin) and these have been inserted at the beginning of the appropriate section.

Index
Ap[ril]. 26 1846
p. 1 X Whig measures consid[ered]. bad by McIlvaine in P[hiladelphia]. & U.S. enumerated
p. 1 X State debts – why not entered into by New England States
p. 1 X Hartford rail-road prevented Wadsworth
p. 1 X Presidents must be now inferior men
p. 1 X Gen[eral]. Washington w[ould]. not succeed now
p. 1 X Irish voting for “the opposition.”
p. 2 X U.S. opposit[ion] to English “Arbitrat[ion]
p. 2 X Daguerotype [sic Daguerreotype] Mayal [sic Mayall]
p. 2 X Irish under O’Connell more anti-English [‘English’ interlined]
p. 2 X Free black episcopal church, Philadelphia
p. 3 ? Ecclipse [sic Eclipse], Observatory.
p. 3 X Box of fossils from Dr King
p. 3 X Philadelphia [? ‘City’ deleted] City, beauty of
p. 3 X One cent papers, P[hiladelphia].
p. 3, 4 ? Road from Philadelp[hia]. to [space, left blank] along perimeter of hypogeum & cretac[eous]. or tertiary
p. 4 X Rich men are ruined in U.S., young heirs
p. 4 X - [Rich] no political place for them
p. 4 X Whigs have appealed to "log cabin" in canvass
p. 4 X Black episcopal church
p. 6 X - [Black] methodist church Philad[elphia]. groans & cries
p. 6 X Texas emigration to, disappointment
p. 6 X Red River whether mouth will be stopped
p. 6 & 8 X Vanuxem riding on an ass, [‘8 &’ added at end of line]
p. 8 G Geol[ogy] of Baltimore q[uer]y tertiary? red beds or cretac[eous] [‘cretac[eous]’ interlined]
p. 8 & 10 X Electric Telegraph cost of, & plan [‘8 &’ added at end of line]
p. 10 ? Democrats rise of McIlvaine.
p. 10 ? Federalists fall
p. 12 X Washington w[ould] not now be Pres[ident].
p. 12 X Washington fair or display of home-made manufactures
p. 12 & 14 X Slave-system wearing out of in V[irginia] [‘14 &’ added at end of line]
p. 14 ? - [Slave-system] Northerner do not treat slaves worse.
p. 16 X Upper V[irginia]. better off
p. 16 ? Canada weaking England, vulnerable point
p. 16 X Dog wood Acquia C[reek]. firs on sand
p. 16 X Fair at Washington. Free Trade -
p. 16 X Azalia & coming on of Spring Fredericsburg [sic Fredericksburg]
p. 18 X Distances Washington Acquia C[reek]. etc.
p. 18 G ? Gas from Blackheath coal
p. 18 X Chesterfield Coal field 26 m long
p. 18 X - [Chesterfield] Townes & Powells
p. 20 X - [Chesterfield] Coal field
p. 20 G ? Drift & granite decompos[ed] in situ
p. 22 X - [Drift] accord[ing] to the subjacent format[ion]
p. 22 X Plants & flowers now out
p. 22 X Slaves in gallery of Episcop[al]. ch[urch].
p. 22 X - [Slaves] treatment of better now
p. 22 X - [Slaves] Gangs of manacled Gifford
p. 24 X - [Slaves] over driven
p. 24 X - [Slaves] working cheerfully in pits
p. 24 X - [Slaves] proposal to punish one by pit
p. 26 X Slave-dealer & Gifford
p. 26 Kentucky law ag[ainst]. importing slave
[p. 26] X Cedar apple orange colour
[p. 26] X Coke T[ownes]. & Powell's passes to coal
p. 28 X Convention new in V[irginia] ag[ainst]. slavery votes
p. 28, 30 X Coke Townes & P[owell’s]. described
p. 32, 34 & 36 X Coke & Coal of Richm[ond]. Coal-field
[p. 36] X Pink dog-wood
p. 36 X Blue ridge seen from afar, Azalia.
p. 38 X Democracy progress of, opposition to
p. 38 X Slaves sold & bought back again by J[udge]. Stanard at a loss
p. 38 X - [Slaves] breeding of for sale in V[irginia]
p. 38 X Blackheath Mining Co's purchase
p. 40 X Slaves in chains till reaching Ohio R[iver].
p. 40 X Coal field, pits various of
p. 42 Beetle coprophagous rolling ball
p. 42 X Coal with calamites.
p. 44 X - [Coal] section of coal field
p. 46 X - [Coal] Harden’s shaft Possidonia [sic Posidonia]
p. 46 X Coke & trap, vis
p. 46 & 50 X V[irginia]. struggle is between E & W. V[irginia] Convent[ion]. [‘50 &’ added at end of line]
p. 48 X Coal, Section of Midlothian pit.
p. 51 G. Geol[ogy] gravel, drift near coal field
p. 51 ? Miners sanguine L[ake]. Superior.
p. 51 and 52 X Gas supplied to various cities from E. Va. Coal [‘and 52’ added at end of line]
[There are only two brief notations on p. 51 (otherwise blank); the three discussions above are on p. 50 in the notebook.]
p. 38 & 52 X Slaves re-bought by J[udge]. Stanard [‘38 &’ added at end of line]
p. 52 X - [Slaves] negros in coal-mines.
p. 54 X White & coloured labourers in pits.
p. 54 X Car on railway punted by negros
p. 54 G. Deep Run pits.
p. 56 G. - [Deep Run] Barr's
p. 56 X Car, Light foot & [...], car on the rail,
May 1st
p. 58 X Irish naturalized in 7 yrs, V[irginia].
[p. 58] X Weather showery
p. 58 X Convention, V[irginia] talked of, to change voters of E. & W. V[irginia].
p. 58 X Conventions each more & more democratic
p. 60 X Coal - Deep Run taeniopteris
[p. 60] X Convention render judges depend[ent] shorten Govenors terms etc.
[p. 60] ? Tree-frog
p. 61 X Plants & flowers near Deep Run
p. 62 X Suffrage in V[irginia]. votes of catholics
p. 62 X Nativism – Anti-English feeling
p. 62 ? Judge B[rooke]. friend of Gen[eral]. Washington
p. 62 X Slaves making progress in V[irginia].
p. 64 X - [Slaves] superstition of unimproved African
[p. 64] X - [Slaves] intellect inferior
[p. 64] ? Mexicans
p. 64 X War, with Engl[and]. prevented by the calmness & firmness of
p. 65 X War why Polk party talk of it
[p. 65] G. Castoroides, Wyman.
p. 65 X Court of appeals Richmond, V[irginia].
p. 65 X - [Court of appeals] English precedents cited
p. 66 G. Geo[ogy] of neighbourhood of Richmond,
p. 67 ? Federal Courts for what
p. 67 ? Supreme Courts of Mass[achusetts] & V[irginia].
p. 67 G. Geol[ogy], section of tertiary, Richm[ond].
p. 68 G. - [Geol[ogy]] - [section of tertiary], church Hill. infusorial
May 2d 1846
p. 68 ? Comparative Osteology with Wyman
p. 69 ? Schockoe [sic Shockoe] Creek with - [Wyman] p. 69 X Slaves Jail for
p. 69 X Skulls of horses, wasps nests
p. 69 X Democracy ag[ainst]. Educ[ation].
p. 69 ? Frog’s breathing
p. 70 X Gar fish Lepidosteus [sic Lepisosteus], lungs of
p. 70 X Turkey buzzards dog & hog
p. 70 X Beetle, dung Ateuchus rolling ball
p. 70 ? Negros quarrelling
p. 72 G. Geol[ogy], Miocene? near Fredericsburg [sic Fredericksburg]
p. 72 X Musk rat, & stack of reeds
p. 72 X Bull frog Acquia C[reek].
p. 72 X Orange col[oured]. fungus, Hooker’s Journ[al].
p. 74 G. Geol[ogy]. Acquia C[reek]. section.
p. 74 X Bull frog, snake.
p. 76 X Kingfisher Nenuphar, with Wyman
p. 76 X Beetle Ateuchus
p. 76 X Cedar apple Podisoma macropus
p. 78 G. Coal (Chesterfield Co.) list of pits & depth
p. 78 to 86 G. Major Sneids notes & plans of the Richm[ond]. Coal - pits.
p. 86 Alison’s blunders about the U.S. in his history
p. 86 X Excursion with Wyman to Acquia Creek. insects etc.
p. 86 X - [Excursion] Snake & dog
p. 88 G. - [Excursion] Fossils of cliff, Myliobates
p. 88 G. - [Fossils of cliff] shells Eocene
p. 88 X Gar fish field manured with
p. 88 X Birds not musical
p. 88 X Turritellas recent on shore of estuary
p. 88 G. Section on promontory
p. 90 X Potomac muddy.