Saturday, April 25, 2009

April 25 thru April 28, 1886

As always, click on the picture to enlarge for easier reading of original. Feel free to contact me with corrections, additional information, or comments. Click on the map link to the right of this entry to see more about where places are. Other information can be checked out with the links to the right, including a great family picture of everybody circa 1886!

Sunday - Henry and Sarah have stayed over night with the Aaron Putnam family. They all go to the funeral of Mrs. William Johnson, and then stay for Sunday school. Omar and Jen go to visit the Conleys. Bart comes home and gets his new hat. Mills is sick again! (according to my info, today is Sarah Esther's birthday - but no mention of it in the diary?)

Monday - Omar plows with three horses. I think they now have 4 horses - Molly - used for buggy more? Kitt -(old Kitt) John, and the new horse they got last week. Omar plants all but one and a half acres of the oats. Mills get sicker, and Sarah is not feeling well now.

Tuesday - Omar works on the oats, but it rains, and he and Henry build a "stone boat".... see picture below. A "stone boat" is sort of a skid thing made of wood - possibly metal layer on bottom of runners? This tool was used basically for hauling stones out of the fields. They were also used to haul other things too heavy to lift into a normal wagon. Henry sells $9.00 worth of wheat to Mrs. S. Stanton.. the Terney's come to vist with Mrs. Stanton. Henry sows some oats late in the day, but now he has the family illness too!
Wednesday - Omar finishes the oats, and also finishes a field for barley. Henry Terney buys a half a ton of hay - does not pay the $5.00 due. Omar gets the "drill" ready for sowing the barley. Sarah works in the strawberry bed, and sets out Jumbo and Kentucky strawberries.

I'm not sure if the drill below is from the right era, but a drill is a device that spreads or plants seeds mechanically.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

April 21 thru April 24, 1886

As always, click on the picture to enlarge for easier reading of original. Feel free to contact me with corrections, additional information, or comments. Click on the map link to the right of this entry to see more about where places are. Other information can be checked out with the links to the right, including a great family picture of everybody circa 1886!

Wednesday -- Another warm day! Henry uses a double "rr" in the "verry warm" weather comment for the day! Omar spreads manure on the barley field, and plows with their new horse. Mr. Dutcher comes by and gets 1550 pounds of hay for $7.75 -- Henry figures the price wrong - should have been $8.52. He rents 6 acres of land from Mr. Terney. The rent is 1/2 of the crop - "in the field" - i.e. Henry only needs to harvest his half, and Mr. Terney will harvest his part.... seems like a pretty good deal for Henry.

Thursday - They plant the barley on the field Omar had plowed. Henry grafts a Bellflower apple onto a Tolman Sweet apple root stock.
Bellflower apples in a graphic above - Tolman Sweet below.
Henry gets a book in the mail.

Friday Henry and Sarah go to Naples. They have 8 bushels of grist for feed, and they go to Reed and Tobey and get hats for Bart and Cad. This is the first mention of my great grandfather Bart in a while. He is off working for Leicester Fox. His hat costs $1.75! Close to 4 days wages! --- Henry is making $15/month from Bart's work. Mr. Tobey gives Henry a gift of a straw hat! Omar plows the garden plot while they are gone.

Ad in Neopolitan Record for Reed and Tobey below. Mr. Reed and Mr. Tobey have recently joined forces... one is a tailor - making clothing, and the other is a clothing store owner. I'm not sure which is which.
On Saturday, they burn brush, fix fences and gates, and turn the cows out to pasture. They also sow early peas, and then go to the David Strong's house for a surprise party!