October 21 Sunday – The Alonzo Child left for St. Louis

October 28 Sunday – The Alonzo Child arrived in St. Louis.

October 31 Wednesday – The Alonzo Child left for New Orleans.

November 5 Monday – Samuel Erasmus Moffett was born to Pamela and William Moffett. Sam was an uncle for the third time [MTL 1: 383].

November 9 Friday – The Alonzo Child arrived in New Orleans

November 10 Saturday – The Alonzo Child left for St. Louis.

November 11 Sunday – Sam ran the Alonzo Child aground, about seventy-three miles above New Orleans at the Houmas Plantation. It remained stuck for 28 hours [MTL 1: 105 n2].

November 12 Monday – A rising tide freed the Alonzo Child [MTL 1: 105n2].

November 18 Sunday – The Alonzo Child arrived in St. Louis.

November 21 Wednesday – Sam wrote from St. Louis to his brother Orion and family about running the Alonzo Child aground, about prices of poultry, eggs, and apples in New Orleans. Sam, ever the speculator, wrote:

My Dear Brother:

November 23 Friday – The Alonzo Child left for New Orlean

November 30 Friday – Sam’s 25 th birthday.

December 1 Saturday – The Alonzo Child arrived in New Orleans.

December 4 Tuesday – The Alonzo Child left for St. Louis.

December 11 Tuesday – The Alonzo Child arrived in Cairo, Illinois, where it laid up until Jan. 8 1861 due to ice in the river.

December 26 Wednesday – Sam petitioned to join the Polar Star Masonic Lodge Number Seventy-nine of St. Louis, the largest in the state. In so doing, he promised “to conform to all the ancient established usages and customs of the fraternity” [MTL 1: 106-7; Strong, 88]. Sam would rise to the level of Master Mason by July 10, 1861 [Jones 364].