Accession No. RARE.2026.0008: Purchased, 2021 February
[identification of item], Arabella Piatt McCullough and Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith Journal and Commonplace Book, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0431, Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Sierra McGee, 2026 February; Finding aid written by: Sierra McGee, 2026 February
Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith (1827-1899) and Arabella (Belle) Piatt McCullough (1830-1846) were the daughters of Arabella Sanders (Piatt) McCullough and William Budd McCullough. Arabella Sanders McCullough (1808-1830) was a daughter of Benjamin McCullough Piatt (1779-1863) and Elizabeth (Barnett) Piatt (1780-1867). Elizabeth and Arabella were raised by her grandparents on the Piatt family property located in Logan County, Ohio, known as "Mac-a-chee," after the deaths of their parents. Arabella passed away in 1846 at the age of sixteen. Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith married Thomas Kilby Smith in 1848, and they had nine children. One of Elizabeth's daughters, Arabella Smith, passed away in 1868. Elizabeth passed away on February 16, 1899 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Arabella Piatt McCullough and Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith Journal and Commonplace Book, dated 1843-1869, contains poems and short stories written by Arabella (Belle) Piatt McCullough. After Arabella’s death in 1846, the journal was used by her older sister, Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith, who signed her poems as E.B.S. Yvon Carrie’s name is written on the front page of the journal, and it is the only time her name appears. It is not known what her connection is to Arabella Piatt McCullough and Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith. Arabella signed her poems and short stories, which are dated 1843-1846, with her full name or “Belle.” She wrote poems and short stories about religion and the Revolutionary War. Elizabeth's poems are dated 1868-1869. She wrote three poems titled “To My Mother,” “To My Sisters,” and “To My Child.” Beneath each poem there is a lock of hair tied to the page with ribbon. The last pages of the journal are titled “The Three Arabellas” and it includes obituaries for Arabella Sanders (Piatt) McCullough, Arabella Piatt McCullough, and Arabella Smith, Elizabeth’s daughter.