Basil Armstrong Thomasson Diary 1853-62 NORTH CAROLINA

NORTH CAROLINA YEOMAN

The Diary of Basil Armstrong Thomasson, 1853-1862

edited by Paul D. Escott

University of Georgia Press; about 6x9 inches, 355 pages. 

1996 Trade Hardback FIRST Edition in NEW condition.

Dustjacket in NEW condition.

North Carolina Yeoman offers a rare personal look into the world of a nonslaveholding, small farmer in the Old South. Thomasson's diary covers the last nine years of a life spent almost entirely within a three-county area in western North Carolina.

Writing as a farmer, husband and father, teacher, entrepreneur, and aspiring church leader, he shows himself to be conventional in his simple way of life, humble economic circumstances, and steadfast independence. At the same time, however, he was an avid reader and debater who showed an openness to such concepts as evolution.

Driven by conscience more than community sentiments, Thomasson thought slavery and secession to be the heights of folly, considered moving to the Midwest to avoid the imminent war, and did not serve in the Confederate army.

Although he taught school to supplement his income, he put far more time and energy into his work than his meager salary indicated.

 Perhaps most remarkable were Thomasson's egalitarian attitudes toward women. A companion rather than a patriarch, in marriage, he taught his wife to read and write and had an active role in childrearing and household chores.

 His writings from the era leading up to and including the Civil War disclose a unique perspective on the war.

Thank you and good luck!

Mylar dustjacket cover is available for this book for an additional $1.00 (HIGHLY RECOMMEND COVERS - protects BOTH the jacket and the book!!!).