Mrs. Catherine Roulhac—formerly Catherine Ruffin—was born in 1810.[1] As the daughter of an influential political figure and wife of a prominent businessman—both of whom owned slaves—Catherine was a member of the highest class, the planter class. She must have also been privy to political information. At this time, that would have chiefly concerned the prospect of whether slavery would continue to exist in the South. Despite this paramount political debate, she could not shirk her duties as a wife and mother. Her recipe for infant food demonstrates that, even when their way of life was threatened, planter women still had to perform basic duties such as feeding their infants. The recipe calls for both gelatin and arrowroot as ingredients, which required time to either locate at the market or to prepare on the plantation, and the steps of the recipe required a bit of patience, as it requires ingredients to soak and boil. However, it is uncertain whether she prepared the infant food herself or instructed an enslaved woman to do it for her.

Roulhac’s recipe for infant food was found in the Cameron family papers at the Southern Historical Collection, which is surprising considering one would logically expect to find it in the Ruffin, Roulhac, and Hamilton family papers, also located at the Southern Historical Collection. However, finding Roulhac’s recipe in the Cameron family papers instead of her own suggests that Roulhac shared her recipe with another woman, perhaps a friend, in the Cameron family who shared similar roles in her respective family and inquired about a particular recipe for infant food. Roulhac and the Cameron women likely ran in the same social circles as planter class women in North Carolina during the Antebellum period. The Cameron men were active in both business and politics, so they probably interacted with the men in Roulhac’s life, particularly her father and husband.[2] This one recipe for infant food highlights women’s social role in Antebellum society and their most important role as the family’s caretaker.

Catherine Roulhac’s recipe for infant food. Subseries 5.6, Folder 3497, in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[1] Roulhac was the eldest daughter of North Carolina Supreme Court chief justice Thomas Ruffin. She later married Joseph Blount Grégoire Roulhac, a Raleigh merchant who traveled the East Coast. Biographical Information, in the Ruffin, Roulhac, and Hamilton Family #643, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[2] Biographical Information, in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

-Sarah Cheeley