Journal and Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion, 1773-1774.

Archaic spelling and variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained except for those listed at the end of the book.
EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, BY HUNTER DICKINSON FARISH; ILLUSTRATED BY FRITZ KREDEL The University Press of Virginia Charlottesville
COPYRIGHT 1957 BY COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, INCORPORATED Previous editions copyright 1943, 1945 by Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 57-13498 The University Press of Virginia First printing for Dominion Books October 1968 Fourth printing 1990 Printed in the United States of America

Once in a great while historians find a firsthand account that provides striking insight into a past era. Only rarely is such a document written with the perception and charm that make its readers feel as if they had participated in the incidents described and shared the experiences related. The journal and relevant correspondence of Philip Fithian constitute this kind of source.
Fithian was reared in New Jersey and attended the College of New Jersey in Princeton, receiving his degree in 1772. Before entering the Presbyterian ministry, he followed the advice of President Witherspoon of Princeton and became a tutor in the family of Robert Carter at Nomini Hall plantation on the Northern Neck of Virginia. The reactions of the somewhat austere young man to the rich, warm life of a Virginia plantation are always instructive and often amusing. The Carters and their seven children were a fascinating family, liberal in their sentiments and deeply interested in books and music. Fithian sets forth truthfully, yet with lively touches, the family's assessments of the society in which it moved, the institution of slavery, and the dispute developing with the mother country. Throughout his experiences Fithian remained true to his fair Laura —Elizabeth Beatty in far off New Jersey.
The journal, with certain of the letters, was first published in 1900, in somewhat abbreviated form, by the Princeton Historical Association. Dr. Hunter Dickinson Farish, in his edition of The Journal and Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian (Williamsburg Restoration Historical Studies, III; Williamsburg, Va., 1943), included the complete journal, added other relevant letters as well as Fithian's catalogue of Carter's library, and supplied a thoughtful Introduction.