Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
Mollie Belding's memory book
Image not available
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Manuscripts
The journal opens on Jan. 1861, when Mollie, a vivacious and well read young woman who thoroughly enjoyed her life as a local society belle, set out to "endeavor to keep a record of passing events, and jot down thoughts as they occur." She vividly describes her friends and beaux, in particular an exciting month she spent in New Orleans in February and March of 1861, going on "shopping excursions," and attending dances, theaters, (she was smitten with a Varieties Theater production of Jeannie Deans, starring Charlotte Thompson (1843-1898) and Fanny Brown (1837- after 1870) and opera performances with Adeline Patti (1843-1919), parties, parades, and other diversions, including a visit to the studio of Alenson G. Powers (ca. 1817 - ca. 1867), the renown New Orleans portraitist. The diary follows Mollie's tortuous romance with Richard J. Hancock, 3rd Lieutenant of Co. D of the 9th Louisiana Infantry, her feelings about the war and growing anxiety in the wake of the taking of New Orleans, and devastating family news. The diary breaks off in October 1863, on the last night Mollie Jones spent in Sunny Dell. An entry, in another hand, records her death, along with deaths of friends and family members.
mssHM 62472