My cousin uncovered what may be either the diary of our great, great, great grandmother (1816-????) or her daughter, our great, grand Aunt (1834-1891) both were Eliza Wilson and either are a possibility.
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/womenstraveldiaries_wtddy07001/
Duke University claims that it is likely the diary of Mrs. Robert Wilson (my 3x great grandmother). However, I find it suspicious that 19 pages in to the document she has never referenced a husband or children who she would have been missing terribly. Instead only being incredibly sad at missing her brother whom she thought she might not see again. There were 10 children in the Wilson family and the youngest was my great, great grandfather, William Epiphanius Wilson (1844-1916). He would have been 10 at the time this diary was written and I have a hard time believing his mother would leave him behind to pursue this mission.
The Wilsons were missionaries. Robert was a reverend and later, his son Epiphanius entered the clergy, founding Christ Church in Bronxville, New York. The connection between the Eliza who wrote this diary and the Wilson family is entirely plausible. It may be that I won't be able to confirm the connection to our family until I finish it. Reading the diary is a bit of a chore, but it is fascinating none the less.
It seems Eliza was traveling from England to India during the Crimean war. She references a ship "Arethusa" which may be the HMS Arethusa. According to Wikipedia, that ship was the "last major ship of the Royal Navy to enter an engagement under sail power only (1854, during the Crimean War)". While Eliza was on her journey, her party stopped in Malta where she recalls seeing a number of Russian soldiers with bloody fingerprints on their guns. She was quite disturbed by the sight of this and questioned the point of "this war".
I'm off to continue my reading. Eliza has just departed her ship and has entered Egypt and the city of Alexandria.
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