Thank you Rebecca,
Your information is quite interesting.  Although I have not finished reading
the diary to date, all of the references to a "josey" thus far have been
related to the governess, the mistress of the plantation, or daughters of
"upper society" in the region.  None have been related to slave usage.
Thank you so much for your insights.
Jenna

-----Original Message-----
From: Textile Conservators [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Fifield, Rebecca
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 3:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Question about a josie/josey

Hi Jenna -
A josey is shorthand for a "Joseph." My research focuses on the 18th
century, not mid-19th century, so I don’t' know how they differed between
that time. From my research on runaway servants in the 18th century,
joseph/josey was particularly a garment worn in New York colony - it wasn't
used in other colonies.

Here's the OED definition:

A long cloak, worn chiefly by women in the eighteenth century when riding,
and on other occasions; it was buttoned all the way down the front and had a
small cape.  [See quot. 1708.] 1659    Caterpillers of this Nation
anatomized,   Joseph, a cloak.
1688    T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia ii. i. 33   Hide me: give me my
Joseph.
1708    Brit. Apollo No. 104. 2/1   Why is a great Coat call'd a Joseph?
From the‥upper Coat, which‥Joseph left behind him.
1766    O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xvi. 161   Olivia would be drawn
as an Amazon‥drest in a green joseph, laced with gold, and a whip in her
hand.
1807    G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 108   In the dear Fashions of
her Youth she dress'd, A pea-green Joseph was her favourite Vest.
1825    R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) ,   Joseph, a very old fashioned
riding coat for women, scarcely now to be seen.
1861    ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner xi. 176   Seated on a pillion, and attired
in a drab joseph and a drab beaver-bonnet.

Best,
Becky Fifield


Rebecca Fifield
Collections Manager
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 5th Ave.
New York NY 10028
212.650.2209
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