[ 48 ] JENNY LAWRENCE Miriam wants me to give you an account of the meeting of the vestry last night, a thing somewhat difficult as the affair was so desultory, random shots on all sides, and some which were not at random,—home thrusts that told their own story without any explanation... I... read to them my statement of its [state of the parish] affairs which made two of them bite their lips, i.e., Mrs Luce & Mr Hatch. Mr Hatch had appropriated $140, of the church's money to his own use. My illusion to this sealed his mouth effectually when he began his complaints. Mr Luce next began to complain of my unpopularity, and I convinced to the rest of the vestry if not himself, that he had been the main cause of it, which shut him up for the rest of the evening.... The conversation then became more general, and the merits of "Aunt McGuire's" Article were fully discussed, both as to its local and literary merits. Mr Hatch thot it was silly.... Others thought it to the life, whether considered as local or general, and the grand result in regard to it was that it was a very small affair for ten grave men to talk seriously of allowing it to disturb the harmony of a Parish. William concluded his prepared statement to the vestry that "it was my intention so soon as I could without loss to myself to leave them and that my object had been to show them that I would never be driven away on mere grounds of feeling. All went home apparently well-satisfied!'52 William resigned his parish in June 1849, and the Whitchers moved back to Whitesboro where they lived with the Berrys, Miriam's father having died during the Whitchers' two-year sojourn in Elmira. A few months after her return to Whitesboro, Miriam gave birth to a baby daughter, Alice. Because of the risk of complications and death associated with pregnancy, women of the mid nineteenth century regarded pregnancy and childbirth as a "sickness!' Miriam was no exception; indeed, her first child had been stillborn, and Miriam herself had nearly died. In a letter home during her first pregnancy, Miriam offered some comparative details on how she and the women of Elmira coped with pregnancy. I walked a mile this morning, & feel better for the walk. Every body is wondering to see me keep moving, but I do'nt care—as long as I feel able I mean to go for I know it will be good for me in the end. ... It is the custom of 82 William Whitcher to M. Whitcher's sister, attached to M. Whitcher to sister, February 12,1848,