May 3 thru May 6, 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!

Monday - Omar goes on preparing the barley field - using a roller (see picture below). Nephews Will and Charles head for Naples, and on to Canandaigua on their high wheel "bicycles". Mills seems to be doing better, but gets worse later in the day... Henry sends for the Doctor again.Tuesday - Omar finishes rolling the barley field, and starts drilling the barley seed. Henry's brother Robert comes around dinner time, expecting to find his sons Will and Charles, but they have left for Canandaigua. Dr. Fulkerson comes by to see Mills. Henry goes to Naples and sells his remaining extra wheat to Woodruff and Lyon for 88 cents a bushel.

Wednesday - Henry sends Omar to Naples with the wheat for Woodruff and Lyon. Henry's brother goes with him. Mills gets even worse, and Henry stops giving him Quinine. I can't find any information about Quinine as a treatment for anything other than malaria, and leg cramps. I'm guessing that Doctors may have thought that it would treat other ailments that caused chills, etc. similar to malaria. Henry treats Mills with hot "applications" - compresses?, and an "injection". A little research revealed that "injection" was the 1886 term for emema. The tool used for this looked much like a big syringe. See below -- sorry -- I couldn't resist!
Henry takes his brother Robert to see the Welds, and then part way to Bloods.

Thursday -- Omar is plowing the oat field they've rented from Terneys. Henry takes Omar his lunch, and trades out John for Old Kitt for the afternoon plowing. Mills continues to be sick, and Henry applies flax seed poultices ( Topical application of crushed flax seed poultice can be beneficial in the treatment of chronic coughs, in treating problems such as bronchitis, in patients), and gives him "injections" every three hours! Dr. Fulkerson stops by again, and replenishes their supply of medicine. Frank Marsh stops by and gets a bushel of corn for seed.

Note: Medicine in 1886 is clearly not very advanced. One source says for example that during the Civil war - only 20 years earlier - 75% of bullet wounds were treated by amputation - without any anesthetic, and without benefit of even rudimentary cleaning of the instruments or the wound! On the other hand, other than the "convenience" of throwing it out afterwards, the "injection" appears to have not changed much? I wonder how much landfill space would be saved by nice brass and ivory implements instead of disposable plastic?

April 29 thru May 2, 1886

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Thursday - Omar drills some oats. David Strong and his wife come to visit, and Henry gives them some Kentucky variety Strawberry plants, and some Gregg raspberries. (Gregg raspberries were probably what we know today as Black Raspberries --- they used to grow very abundantly on my grandparents place just up the road from where Henry and Sarah lived! I remember well the damage caused to my skin as I picked them, and the delicious taste of the ones that didn't make it back to the house!)Friday - Omar finishes plowing the barley field, and then goes to plow on the 6 acres they rented from Henry Terney for oats. Henry finishes to stone boat ready to clear stones from the barley field. Will and Charles arrive from Mansfield on their "wheels". Will, age 24, and Charles, age 19, are Henry's nephews - sons of his older brother Robert. Wheels would have been "bicycles" similar to the one in the picture below. "Safety" bicycles as we know them are a later invention. While a 70 mile trip on a "pennyfarthing" seems very difficult, people did do long rides on them.

"In 1884 Thomas Stevens struck out across the country, carrying socks, a spare shirt and a slicker that doubled as tent and bedroll. Leaving San Francisco at 8 o'clock on April 22, 1884, he traveled eastward, reaching Boston after 3700 wagon trail miles, to complete the first transcontinental bicycle ride on August 4, 1884." Another side note --- the pneumatic tire was invented in 1888 -- two years in the future as of 1886! Thomas Stevens wrote about his trip here.
Mills is still sick.

Saturday - May 1st. -- Omar takes grist to Naples. Cad and Henry draw stones and roots (stumps) off the barley field. Omar plows some more on the Terney land in the afternoon. In the afternoon, Henry and Sarah to to fellowship meeting, and have Tea with the family of Brother T. Simmons, and then go to Grange in the evening.

Sunday -- Omar, Will, and Charles go to visit Hattie Warren. Henry and Sarah go to church. Henry "calls" Dr. Fulkereson and he comes to see Mills who is worse today. Dr. Fulkerson leaves some medicine. Omar, Will, and Charles report all is well at the Warrens. Omar goes out in the evening. Bart goes to Ingleside. Will and Charles to to Ingleside on their wheels --- quite a feat -- Wyatt and I drove up that hill on Saturday, and it is quite a climb!

Note - It looks like Henry may have used a phone to "call" Dr. Fulkerson? According to a little note in the Neopolitan Record, they were considering extending the phone line from Ingleside to Prattsburg in 1886, so somebody in Ingleside had a phone.... don't know if the Olneys had a phone? Henry might have called the doctor from somewhere in Ingleside after church?

April 25 thru April 28, 1886

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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.

April 21 thru April 24, 1886

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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!

April 17 thru April 20, 1886

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Saturday - Omar goes on with plowing. Mills continues working of berry roots for sale. They've done 1300 in all! Henry is still quite sick, and just rests all day. Mills takes over the plowing later in the day, while Omar washes his buggy. Sarah goes to visit her sister Julia. Jen catches a ride with Jane Terney to the Blodgetts.

Sunday - Henry is still very sick. He manages to go to church, but gets Elder Hibbard to cover his Sunday school class. Henry describes himself as feeling "rather weak", but thinks he'll feel better in a few days?

Monday - Henry feels a bit better, but "nothing extra". Sarah and Jen do the washing. Omar is still plowing, and Mills digs more berry roots for the Lawyer family. Mr. Stone comes by and gets a half a ton of hay. Omar spreads manure on the barley field. Mills and Henry pack some more sawdust in the ice house. Sarah and Jen clean up the sawdust left in the yard.

Tuesday - Henry and Sarah go to Bloods with butter and eggs for Slatterys. They stop and get the money for the last load of potatoes from D. Weld. They also pay Harrison Briglin for 960 pounds of plaster they got a while back. Henry buys a horse from A. Addams for $80. He pays $45 cash, and signs a 60 day note for the balance of $35. He also gets a spring tooth harrow from Briglin - An implement pulled over plowed soil that has long curved teeth of spring steel, used to break clods, level the surface, and destroy weeds.

April 13 thru April 16, 1886

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Tuesday - Henry has the family cold now, but manages to work on trimming the berry bushes. Cad is feeling better, but they give him and injection for good measure? Not sure what that means? Jen and Sarah go to Terney's to help with making a dress for Jane Terney.

Wednesday - Omar goes on plowing on the lot above the house, and also takes a load of rails to fix the fence along the road by Terneys. Mills goes on working on the berry patch, and carrying off the trimmings. Sarah goes back to Terneys to go on working on Jane's dress. Jen has stayed overnight with the Terneys.

Thursday - April 15th - I've been pretty much skipping over Henry's daily comments on the weather, but must note that it goes up to 80 degrees today! Omar takes "shingle timber" to Ed Drakes mill. Making wooden shingles is quite an industry in the Ingleside area. Henry takes some iron to the blacksmith (Avery) in Ingleside to have the metal parts made for the whiffletree he has been working on. He also has Avery fix one of John's horseshoes. Henry goes to Teal's store, and gets quite a list of stuff.... I think he is paying on a bill he already has for a whip, a pair of mittens, some tobacco papers, and a knife for Cad.

Friday - Omar goes on plowing, and Henry and Mills sort 100 berry roots to sell to the Lawyer family down the road. He also prunes some Apple trees. Henry is still feeling sick.

April 9 thru April 12, 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!

Friday - Henry Terney comes over and gets lumber to make a cupboard. Hall Bessinnett leaves - trading for his night's stay. Henry and Sarah go to Naples to Jordan Brothers. They buy 10 cents worth of round iron, 35 cents worth of green paint, and a part for the jointer ( a wood working tool) - total 70 cents. Jordan Brothers is a pretty full service hardware place, selling Stoves, Horse Blankets, Japanese Robes, Doors, Windows, Sash, Glass Putty, Gas Pipes, Hubbard Curbs, and Rubber Pumps. No idea what Hubbard Curbs, Japanese Robes, and Rubber Pumps are? I'm thinking it is a possibility that a rubber pump might have been a water pump with a rubber valve flap instead of leather? Omar and Mills clean wheat for grist. Omar, Mills, and Jen go to a Sugar party --- Maple Sugar/Syrup celebration. I'd been wondering why there had been no mention of maple sugaring yet? Lots of sugar maple trees in the area.

Ad in the Neopolitan Record in February 1886 for Jordan Brothers.

Saturday - Omar does plowing, and sows plaster on winter wheat. I'm guessing plaster could have been a source of lime to adjust the pH of acidic soil. Charles Crowley comes and buys 6 bushels of wheat at 90 cents a bushel.. "he don't pay for it" -- a favorite Henry line! Omar is plowing with a sidehill plow. The plow can be flipped over at the end of the row to cast all the furrows in one direction when plowing on hills. After another visit to the site of the Olney place last week, it looks like a sidehill plow would have been necessary on pretty much all of the land around their place! Omar also finished taking the winter insulation/banking away from the foundation of the house. I'm guessing that banking the house for the winter would have been more for keeping the cellar from freezing to protect the potatoes and apples stored there, than for keeping the living areas warm? Sarah makes soap, Jen does some baking, and Henry trims berry bushes.

One version of a "sidehill" plow.

Sunday - Henry stays home to "thoroughly" doctor Cad who now seems to have whatever has been making pretty much the whole family sick. Jane and Henry Terney come over after church. Elder Hibbard has covered Henry's Sunday school class. Cad feels better by night but remains ill for a few days.

Monday - Omar continues plowing. Mills feeds the cattle, and sets new berry roots in the places where they have died off over the winter. John Hoyt comes by to pick up the cow sold to the Washington Market in Naples last week - he pays the balance of $25 -- $32 total price for a "fatted" cow. Henry works on the berries, Jen does the wash, and now Sarah has the family cold!

April 5 thru April 8, 1886

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Monday - They sell more hay. Must be the season for it! Henry is sowing grass seed, and Mills is plowing. Mr. Myers from Washington Market comes, and buys a cow -- probably to butcher to sell the meat? Total price of $32.

Tuesday - Aggie cow has a calf.... the birth goes well. It has been raining a while, and the cistern overflows. They all spend most of the day indoors with the bad weather... the creek is full, and rising. Omar, Lois, and Ettie are all feeling bad.

Wednesday - Stern Lyon picks up the hay they arranged on Monday ... 1200 pounds for $6.00. Sarah and Henry go visit the Terneys - they have a new baby colt. Omar, Lois, and Ettie are still not feeling well.

Thursday - Mills gets the wagon stuck while spreading manure. Mills and Henry move the "banking" away from the house. Probably hay piled up around the foundation to help insulate for the winter. I remember we still piled hay bales around the house for the winter when I was a kid. A peddlar (sic) from Rochester -Hall Bessinnett - stays with them overnight. Omar is feeling better, but Henry is getting sick now. Henry write a letter to somebody for Mr. Terney and himself.

April 1 thru April 4, 1886

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Thursday, April 1st. Omar takes 33 bushels of potatoes to Bloods to sell to D. Weld at $0.30 per bushel. He does not collect the money. He gets 60 pounds of plaster from Briglin at $5.00 per ton? The plaster was put on account. Jen still seems to have a bad cold, and Henry treats her with a Sweat. I'm not sure how this might have been done - can't find any info on it except that lots of folks seem to think you can sweat out a cold, while others treat this as an old wives tale? Waddamus stays another night -- a balance of due of $1.53 is mentioned. Perhaps Waddamus is working for Henry to work on a debt?

Friday, they take grist to Naples - wheat for flour, corn for the cow, and corn and oats for the horses. They also settle up with several businesses... $23.90 to Reed and Tobey (no idea what they do or sell) and $16.69 to the Jordan Brothers (a hardware?) leaving a balance of $5.00. They get 20 pounds of nails, a pack of some kind of seeds, 2 pails, and other stuff, on account. Sarah pays up her account with the hat shop woman for $3.13

Saturday Omar burns trash, and starts spring plowing. Henry goes to the Terneys, and tries to rent a field, but it has already been let. Henry Terney says he wants to buy a ton of hay, and a Mr. Stone comes by and buys 800 pounds of hay for $4.00. (This would make the $5.00 worth of hay sold earlier 1000 pounds) Omar and Mills weigh it out -- not sure how? Henry and Sarah go to a lodge meeting in the evening.

Sunday, Sarah and Henry go to church. Omar is sick, but Jen is better - maybe the Sweat worked? Church goes well, with good attendance, despite the absence of the preacher - Elder Hibbard. The service was one of "prayer, testimony, praise, and conferring"?

March 28 thru March 31, 1886

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Sunday - Henry and Sarah, and W.E. Weld and wife, are united with the church. Henry notes that the event of much interest to all, and the house walls are full to overflowing! I'm wondering if the "house" reference means that they met at someone's home rather than at a separate church building? Again, I'm amazed that they are not already church members in their mid to late 40's.

Monday, Omar and Mills go on with wood sawing, and also sort a few potatoes. Henry cuts and draw shaves parts to make two whiffletrees..... part of the system for attaching two horses to a wagon, plow, etc. "The pivoted horizontal crossbar to which the harness traces of a draft animal are attached and which is in turn attached to a wagon or an implement. Also called singletree, swingletree; also called regionally whippletree."
Jen does the washing, but it is too windy to hang the clothes outside to dry.

Tuesday, Old Kate (cow) has a calf and both are healthy. Omar goes to Bloods to do something for Sarah, and to pick up potato sacks, and the money for the potatoes they delivered before - $14.50. C. Waddamus comes to visit. Henry sends a bushel of apples to somebody.

Wednesday, Mills takes Old Kitt - one of the horses - to the blacksmith for front shoes. It is rainy in the afternoon, and Henry and Omar sort potatoes - a common rainy day job. W.E.Weld comes to visit, and pays $36.49 to pay off a note owed by A.G. Fowler. Henry gives him the note which he had held.. I don't know if this was a matter of buying the note, so that A.G.Fowler now owes the money to W.E.Weld, or if Weld owed Fowler money and pays off his note with Henry as an indirect way of paying Fowler? C. Waddamus stays overnight.

March 24 thru March 27, 1886

Below is a memorandum from the back of the diary that relates to the repayment of seed wheat by Bradley Graves on March 24th.

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!

Henry sends Omar to Naples to Lewis Brothers to sell 196 pounds of ham - 8 hams.... average of about 24 pounds each? Bigger than any ham I ever saw in the grocery store! Note that Lewis Brothers evidently takes hams from anyone. They have also taken eggs, and I think I remember butter? to stores to be re-sold to others. Evidently they weren't as worried about inspections, etc. in 1886! Note that the buyers weighed the hams to 191 pounds.... not Henry's weight of 196. They get $0.09 cents a pound for the hams - $17.19.

Another weights and measures discrepency comes up today. Bradley Graves comes to visit, and returns some wheat that he owes Henry for some seed wheat he had "borrowed" earlier. Henry measures the wheat, and finds it comes up 14 quarts short? See memorandum from the back of the diary above. Henry seems generally pretty concerned with keeping all accounts with others correct, paid on time, etc.

Thursday, Henry goes on with soap making, and Sarah and Jen do some more quilting. (not sure if this is Sarah -Henry's wife, or Sarah Henry's daughter?) Omar and Mills saw some wood after weighing out some hay for James Demmarest --- Not sure how much - the diary says 1000 CWT (hundred weight) which would be 50 tons??? I'm thinking it was probably more like 1000 pounds? 1/2 ton, but he gets $5.00 for it which sounds like too much for 1/2 ton? The soap seems to be for sale or trade to Frank Marsh. Henry also sharpens the crosscut saw.

Friday, Henry goes on with soap making, and also helps Omar and Mills cut more wood. Sarah finishes the quilt, Jen does ironing.

Saturday, Omar draws more wood from the woods, and Henry and Mills saw wood on the skidway. A skidway is a "platform, usually inclined, for piling logs to be sawed or to be loaded onto a vehicle" --- according to the dictionary. Maybe sort of a big sawhorse?

Afternoon, Sarah and Henry go to the Christian Fellowship Meeting, and offer themselves for membership and are accepted. (I find it amazing that they are not already members, though I'm not sure if this is the same thing as church membership?) They also give William Blodgett for "ch" (sic) purposes -- not sure if this is a contribution to the church budget, or payment on money owed to William Blodgett?

March 20 thru March 23, 1886

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Saturday Henry gets things ready to smoke hams, and Omar and Mills continue cutting and skidding wood ready to saw. Jane Terney has stayed overnight, and helps Jen (Jennie) quilt. Henry Terney comes over in the afternoon, and they all go to meeting. They take 7 and 1/3 dozen eggs to Teall's store, and barter for 5 gallons of Kerosene at $0.12/ gallon, and a 25 cent bar of soap, and 9 cents cash. Eggs were valued at $0.13/ dozen.

Sunday - Sarah has stayed overnight with the Hills, and goes to church. Omar and Jen go to church - Henry stays home. Mills goes to visit Robbie Stanton. John (the horse) is feeling better!

Monday, Mills finishes smoking the hams, and keeps the leech running -- with the repaired kettle I presume, leeching lye from wood ash is my guess ... a key element in soap making which they are also doing. Omar sorts "Home Comfort" potatoes and ends up with about 24 bushels. Omar also sorts some apples, while Sarah and Jen do the laundry, and Henry mends shoes and boots.

Tuesday, Henry goes on mending shoes. Omar and Mills go on cutting wood , including a Chestnut tree that they evidently cut down to get at a coon that was probably raiding their food stores? Cad and Henry continue running the leech - for soap making. Cad hasn't been mentioned much till now. Perhaps even though he is only about 10 years old, he has been moved up in the work order since Bart is off working for Mr. Fox?

Note - directions for leeching lye from wood ash ---

Drill a lot of holes in the bottom of a small wooden barrel, make sure it's waterproof before you drill the holes!

Stand the barrel on blocks leaving space beneath the barrel for a container. Use a waterproof wood or glass container. Lye can burn through some metals.

Put a layer of gravel in the bottom of the barrel over the holes, then put a layer of straw over the gravel. Fill the rest of the barrel with hardwood ash (NOTE: hardwood -- NOT softwood), leaving a couple of inches at the top clear. Then pour rainwater into the barrel. After a long time the water in the barrel will start to drip into the container. Leave it until it stops, then replace the container with another in case of odd drips.

Use an old iron pot, or a steel pan (One you will not be using for anything else!). Boil the liquid until it is so concentrated that a fresh egg (still in it's shell please!) will float on top. Then destroy the egg. Remember to take all precautions not the let the liquid touch your skin or clothing.

March 16 thru March 19, 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!

Tuesday, Omar takes some white potatoes to Bloods, and gets paid for the red potatoes delivered last week -- $29.85 @ $0.40/bushel. A bit under 75 bushels. He gets more than the originally agreed $0.38/bushel --- must be based on some sort of variable commodity pricing? Sarah goes to a funeral of Mrs. Eli Northrup, and to the "Donation" for Elder Lawton --- some sort of fund raiser for paying the preacher? A wedding occurs in the evening - Abigail Polmateer.

Wednesday Bart goes to work for Leicester Fox. Omar draws manure to one of the fields. Henry feels so bad that he soaks his feet, and goes to bed. Sarah joins him for a knapp (sic). Daughters Jen and Sarah quilt most of the day.

Thursday, Omar and Mills cut blanks for making shingles. Henry mends the "chaldron" kettle mentioned last week, with a piece of metal riveted in place. (I remember various pots, pails, etc. repaired with riveted metal patches when I was a kid - you didn't just go buy new ones!) Jen and Sarah go on quilting. Mills goes to meeting in the evening.

Friday, Omar and Mills continue cutting shingle blanks. They sort potatoes later while it is raining, and then go to skidding wood out of the woods. Henry and Jane Terney come visit in the afternoon. Jane helps quilt. Henry is still feeling bad.

Note that Bart isn't mentioned in the chores listed on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, so I assume he will be living with the Foxes for his new job.

March 12 thru March 15, 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!

They start to sort potatoes and take them to Bloods to fulfill the deal they made on Thursday to supply potatoes by 10AM Monday. Henry goes to visit the Terneys, and Bart goes to Litterary? I assume this might have been some sort of book club - discussion group?

The next item is of great interest to me! Henry goes to visit Leicester Fox to discuss hiring Bart (my great grandfather - age 17) to work for him. Mr. Fox promises an answer by Saturday evening.

Saturday, they take more potatoes to Bloods. Bart and Mills cut wood. Sarah takes eggs to the store in Ingleside. Henry goes to Ingleside later, and they go to the Christian Church meeting in the afternoon, then to Grange meeting, followed by meeting at their church. Henry complains of a bad cold, and almost as an after thought, he says "I hire Bart". Leicester Fox has agreed to hire Bart to work for him for 7 1/2 months at $15 per month - see small note at end of Monday's entry.... I think the line indicates that this little note goes with Saturday's entry. Below is the Memorandum from the back of the diary that lists the terms of Bart's employment. Picture below.Henry had asked for $16 per month, but Mr. Fox has countered with a lighter work load, including letting Bart cut the grain with a reaper? I'm thinking that perhaps Bart worked for Mr. Fox last year - 1885? Perhaps Bart had to harvest grain with a scythe and cradle last summer, and now Liecester Fox has a mechanical reaper of some sort? Henry has negotiated for Mrs. Fox to do Bart's laundry and mending... final deal is for $15 per month with Henry getting all Bart's wages within 3 weeks of the end of the 7 and one half months. It looks like all the money goes to Henry.

Henry continues to fight his cold on Sunday and stays home from church. The rest of the family goes to church.

Monday Bart and Jen go to Wallace. Omar and Mills cut wood. Henry also has them fill the "leech" and they find the chaldron kettle broken? My first thought was that the "leech" might have to do with the outhouse -- we currently refer to a leach field where the liquid drains from a septic system. Filling the leech might have referred to moving the outhouse, and filling the old hole??? The reference to the kettle, might refer to leaching lye (alkali) from ashes. Omar goes to Naples in the afternoon to get Bart a pair of overalls and some rubber boots -- preperation for his new job? It will be interesting to see if Bart dissappears from daily enties soon? Not sure if he will be staying with the Fox family, or if he just goes there to work each day?

March 8 thru March 11, 1886 - republished in order?

This is an attempt to republish this in the correct order... if it works, I'll go back and delete the version that got published out of order?

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!

Monday - Henry goes to Wayland to visit Harm and Hattie and granddaughter Florence who has a bad cold. He takes Mills, Lois, and Ettie (Sarah Esther) with him. They head home around 4PM - still daylight?

Omar goes to Naples on Tuesday - Sarah sends a suit she got at Tobeys for Cad for Omar to return. (I wonder if they are getting ready for the photo?) Omar, Bart, and Jen had spent the previous evening at the Lawyers for a surprise party. Oate (sic) Baldwin comes to visit. Also Elder Lawton and family come to visit, and stay overnight. Jane Tenney is there too - helping quilt. Henry takes the Lawtons to visit the Nickles on Wednesday. Aaron Drake's folks are there too.

Another of Henry's asides??? - "Mr. Nickles don't put in an appearance." Henry seems to use the word "don't" when he is expressing an opinion? I've read a couple of "He don't pay" mentions for example, and now another one?

Note: I'm wondering if the Lawtons live in the area, or if Elder Lawton is a visiting preacher from somewhere else who stays with various families while in the area? Henry seems to be their transportation for a few days?

Thursday Henry takes the Lawtons to Bloods to visit the Deloss Clarks.. Elder G.B.Fuller is there too. Henry makes a deal with D. Weld to sell red potatoes for 38 cents a bushel... delivery by Monday next at 10AM... maybe to meet a train schedule? The train station is in Bloods (present day Atlanta, NY) They make it back to Ingleside with Elder Lawton for evening services.

March 4 thru March 7, 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!

Thursday they cut and pack more ice and finish filling the ice house. All but about a half dozen cakes fit in. No idea how big a cake of ice was? Mills shells some corn, along with packing more sawdust in the ice house.

Friday, Omar and Mills get more sawdust from Clark's Mill in Ingleside. Sarah and Bart take a grist of wheat, and corn to Naples, and get 25 pound sac (sic) of flour. Sarah gets a "suit of clothes" each for Bart and Mills - cost $12 for one and $8 for the other - plus 90 cents worth of underwear, at Tobeys.

W.E. Weld comes to visit on Saturday morning. He rides back to Ingleside with Sarah and Henry when they go to visit Charles Conley in the afternoon. Charles Conley has been to the city with a load of potatoes, and evidently has money because he settles up with Henry - the 75 cents owed. Not sure what city Mr. Conley went to with the potatoes. I would assume Bath, NY. When I was a kid, a trip to Bath (County Seat of Steuben County) was still sort of a big deal. Rochester, or Corning would be a possibility, but not likely given the distance involved.

Sunday is the usual meeting in the morning and evening. Elder Lawton preaches on Isaiah 55, verse 6 - "Seek ye the lord, while he may be found". I think this is the first specific Bible reference from Henry. Henry uses Roman Numerals for the Chapter and Verse, with the number listed first..... "LV Chapter, VI Verse". I remember learning and being tested on Roman Numerals when I was a kid. I wonder if they are still taught? I sort of doubt it? I'm sure that particular passage from Isaiah is still used regularly! I remember many sermons on that theme at the Ingleside Christian Church in my own youth!

February 28 thru March 3, 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 Sarah and Henry go to church in the morning and in the evening. Omar and Hattie Warren also go in the evening, along with Jen and Hiram Avarrey (sic). There is a conference meeting after the evening preaching. Note: Ingleside Christian Conference was a big sort of revival meeting with special guest preachers, etc. held in the summer when I was a kid - 1950's. Not sure if it is still held, but I would suspect it is.

Monday, Omar, Bart, Mills, and Henry all work on cutting and storing ice from Ingleside - probably Evergreen Farm? Sarah makes fried cakes and pies. Frost gets into the cellar - probably a sign of a pretty good cold stretch.

Just for fun I went looking for evidence of the pond on Evergreen Farm, and have created a link to an aerial view of the farm... the pond is quite large, and near the road - present day Route 53. It is pretty much exactly 4 miles between their place and the pond. Click here to see the aerial view, or the link to the right in the collection of relevant links. Cutting and storing ice was the normal cold storage system in 1886. Even large cities relied on ice cut from lakes, ponds, etc. and stored for later use. In 1886, there were around 200 commercial ice plants in the US - all cutting and storing ice. Believe it or not, refrigeration technology on any large scale would not exist for another 20 years or so. Railroad cars, and trucks were still cooled with ice into the early 1940's!


Tuesday and Wednesday the ice work continues - cutting, drawing, and packing in the ice house which is about half full by Tuesday evening. Looks like a total of 8 loads of ice by Wednesday afternoon. Mrs. Nickles sends Sarah a line canceling a planned visit to them by the Lawtons and others. Maybe she caught Omar on the way by with a load of ice? Omar and Jen go visit the Warrens Wednesday evening, and Sarah and Bart go to meeting. Looks like Omar and Jen went to meeting too with the horse... probably took Hattie Warren.

I've been wondering about how they found their way around at night in those days? We've seen lots of night time visiting! Dad says the horses knew their way around, and would find their own way home even at night - even if the "driver" were asleep! Wednesday night March 3rd 1886 was for example a waning crescent moon -- less than 3% moonlight even on a totally clear night! And based on Henry's weather comments on Wednesday and Thursday - light snow both days - it probably wasn't a clear night! For the truly demented among you, the moon phases for any month from 3999 BC to 3999 AD, can be found here. I just love the internet!

February 24 thru 27, 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!

Note--- I've added the location of the school house to the map, probably the Tenney place too since Henry refers to the Tenney schoolhouse.

Another note --- Dad says the folks I've been calling the Terneys, are the Tenneys ----- my bad! I've gone back and corrected all the previous entries.

Wednesday -- Sarah and Henry go visiting again -- this time to the W.E. Weld family - Evergreen Farm. David Strong family is there, along with the T. Simons family. They get home around 6PM, and have a surprise birthday party for Omar. I assume it is a birthday party because Omar turns 24 on Friday -- Not sure why the party wouldn't be on Friday.... maybe the date I have for Omar's birthday is wrong?? The party is organized by Hattie Warren - his girlfriend, and future wife.

Thursday --- Omar takes grist to Naples. Bart and Mills cut wood. Jen cleans up from the party, and Sarah makes collars for shirts and dresses. Henry works some more on the lumber wagon -- putting springs on the seat.

Friday - Sarah and Henry go to Aaron Drakes. The Lawton's are there too.

Saturday Omar and Bart pull limbs and small poles (saplings) out of the woods, and pile them on something???? Mills goes up to Ingleside to the blacksmith, to get hardware to hang the seat on the lumber waggon (sic). Bart takes 7 1/2 dozen eggs to Teals for cash at 18 cents/dozen. - $1.35 I think Teals is the store in Ingleside?? No Grange meeting that night.

March 8 thru March 11, 1886 - revised

My apologies for accidentally publishing "March 8 - 11" out of sequence. --- "Mother Goose". I tried to un-publish the original, and re-publish in the correct sequence, but it is not working! Uttering Henry's "Mother Goose" thing isn't working! I guess that like Henry, I just need to add this note, and go on. Click here if you missed Henry's reversal of days back in January. Check the comments too.

March 8 thru March 11, 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!

Monday - Henry goes to Wayland to visit Harm and Hattie and granddaughter Florence who has a bad cold. He takes Mills, Lois, and Ettie (Sarah Esther) with him. They head home around 4PM - still daylight?

Omar goes to Naples on Tuesday - Sarah sends a suit she got at Tobeys for Cad for Omar to return. (I wonder if they are getting ready for the photo?) Omar, Bart, and Jen had spent the previous evening at the Lawyers for a surprise party. Oate (sic) Baldwin comes to visit. Also Elder Lawton and family come to visit, and stay overnight. Jane Tenney is there too - helping quilt. Henry takes the Lawtons to visit the Nickles on Wednesday. Aaron Drake's folks are there too.

Another of Henry's asides??? - "Mr. Nickles don't put in an appearance." Henry seems to use the word "don't" when he is expressing an opinion? I've read a couple of "He don't pay" mentions for example, and now another one?

Note: I'm wondering if the Lawtons live in the area, or if Elder Lawton is a visiting preacher from somewhere else who stays with various families while in the area? Henry seems to be their transportation for a few days?

Thursday Henry takes the Lawtons to Bloods to visit the Deloss Clarks.. Elder G.B.Fuller is there too. Henry makes a deal with D. Weld to sell red potatoes for 38 cents a bushel... delivery by Monday next at 10AM... maybe to meet a train schedule? The train station is in Bloods (present day Atlanta, NY) They make it back to Ingleside with Elder Lawton for evening services.

February 20 thru 23, 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!

Dave Olney has sent along a great picture of the Olney family circa 1886. Click on the link to the right to access the picture, or click here. I think I've got all the names correct- or at least good guesses. Not sure why, but hover your mouse right about where each person's feet would be to see the names, or click on the names to the right on the Picassa page. I can't tell you how exciting it is to have a picture of what they all looked like within a year of the time of the diary. This would have been quite a production -- everyone is in their Sunday best, and the picture would have been planned well in advance, and taken by a professional photographer (the first Kodak box camera - The Eastman Cossitt - was produced in 1886, so home photography was not yet available to regular folks). It looks like it is taken in front of their house, giving us some sense of what the house was like!

More mysteries! Saturday, Sarah and Omar go to Naples to pick up grist, and they take the "road warrant" to the town clerk. I can't find anything about what a road warrant is except that it might be a legal document related to taxes for road maintenance? No money seems to be involved, so I'm stumped? Dad says that sometimes local people did work on the roads, hauled gravel, etc. in lieu of taxes -- sort of an official barter system.

They also pay $1 for The Neapolitan Record for 1 year. Some research reveals that
The Neapolitan Record was published weekly from 1884 to 1887. The Naples Library evidently has all but a couple of issues for 1886 on microfilm! How easily excited I am! This will hopefully give me lots more info on the businesses that the Olneys traded with in Naples, etc. The Naples Record - successor to The Neapolitan Record - is still being published. Naples is named for the city in Italy, so the term Neapolitan might well apply! My handy dictionary says:

Ne⋅a⋅pol⋅i⋅tan–adjective

1.	of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Naples: a Neapolitan love song.

–noun

2.	a native or inhabitant of Naples.

Sarah gets 3 pair of slippers for $1.90 and has them "chd"??? Possibly she charged them --- no mention of this $ in the ledger section, though Sarah might have spent some of her own money? I seem to recall her recording some purchases from her own money in her 1885 diary. Bart takes cider to the Marshes, and trades for vinegar. Maybe they kept apples through the winter? Cider would have long since turned to vinegar if pressed in the fall? Possibly the Marshes made especially good vinegar - maybe a secret recipe?

Sunday, Sarah and Omar take the buggy and John (one of the horses) to church, but Bart and Mills walk to Ingleside. Jen and Omar go to meeting in the evening - again John is mentioned. A very light day on diary entry. Note that it has been warm long enough to make use of the buggy feasible rather than the sleigh.

Monday lots of chores get done. Omar draws wood, Bart and Mills cut it up. Jen washes clothes, and Sarah does some baking. Omar also takes 17 dozen eggs to Cornishes in Bloods, and gets $2.56 in cash and balance in trade. Uncle Agustus and Aunt Mary visit....Agustus is Sarah's mother's younger brother.

Tuesday Henry and Sarah go visiting again -- they go to Catherine Welds, and are joined by Harmon Drake's folks and Stephen Stanton's folks (not sure if this is those families, or if it is their parents??) Also Mrs. T. Simons is there. Then there is the first mention of how visiting got arranged ... they are invited to the Drakes to visit with the Lawtons on Friday. (Friday's entry confirms that they went)

February 16 thru 19, 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.

Tuesday - Omar and Bart skidd up wood for sawing. I'm thinking this would refer to sliding actual logs out of the woods -probably by pulling the logs with one of the horses - possibly for sawing into lumber later rather that cut into short sections for firewood? Mills goes to school -- another indication that going to school may have been something to do when not needed for chores, etc?? Henry has a lame shoulder again..... probably a real problem when the whole family livelihood depended on hard physical work.... probably had what we call a torn rotator cuff?

Wednesday - Jane Tenney comes to help quilt again -- I guess she is not the school teacher. A neighbor - William Blodgett, comes to buy wheat at $1 per bushel. He says he will get 16 bushel in about 30 days, but will want 4 bushels sooner for grist. Cash transactions are not real common. They grow a lot of their food, and barter a lot, but not a lot of cash.

I'll try to get the money ledger entries from the back of the diary on a web page soon - I just went looking at them, and don't find any reference to William Blodgett actually getting wheat later. In looking through the ledger entries, I notice that Henry actually pays Omar for at least some of his work. Omar is 23 years old - 24th birthday next week. Bart is 17 (turns 18 in August) and does not seem to get paid. Soon, Henry will "rent" out Bart's services to a neighbor.

Sarah and Henry go to visit the Nickleses (sic) in the evening.

Thursday - Sarah and Jane are still quilting. Mart and Julia Drake come to visit. I'll have to try to figure out who Mart and Julia are. I'm related to the Drakes on my mother's side, so they are probably relatives of mine. Julia helps quilt, and they finish the quilt. They all have a social chat. Everybody goes home, and Henry and Sarah go visit the Frank Marsh family. Daughter Hattie and Harm and granddaughter Florence are there too. I wonder how these visit are planned? No phones!

Friday Hattie, Harm and Florence come to visit, but leave their horse at the Marshes? Henry doesn't "think much of that". William Blodgett sends his son to get the grist of wheat mentioned earlier. Henry gave him the 4 bushels, but mentions that he "didn't pay for it". Sarah and Henry go to visit the Blodgetts in the evening.

Note: Catherine Blodgett - descendent of William Blodgett - was a big Naples/Prattsburg area history buff till she passed away recently, and was the one who got this diary from one of Lois's descendants. ... James Robinson. I sure wish she was still around to talk about all these folks with. She lived on the Blodgett place - probably less than a mile from Henry and Sarah's place as the crow flies.

Note: Talked a bit more with friends about the frequency of getting grist ground into flour or cattle feed recently, and got two more theories. 1. A possible way of limiting those pesky little moths that infest flour --- if you've ever had them you know you don't want them in the flour! That could have been an even bigger factor than spoilage. A Cornell Entomology web page notes --- "Long term storage of flour and meal products often leads to infestation, therefore, such products should be purchased in quantities suitable for early use, unless adequate containers are employed." It just occurred to me that dry storage of a lot of flour might have been an issue too.... no plastic bags, etc in those days! Large crocks or metal bins would have been about the only option. 2. Given transportation - i.e. buggy or sleigh - it may have just been a lot easier to haul a few bags at a time when going to Naples for other things, rather than hauling a big load.

February 12 thru 15, 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.

The Tenneys are there to visit again... Jane and Sarah quilt. They go to Peter Johnson's funeral?? Omar cuts wood, Henry sorts a few potatoes again. Jane Tenney goes home at night. Bart goes to Tenney's schoolhouse??? Not sure what that means. Maybe Jane was a school teacher? Maybe not? Jane is at their house all day. Maybe the Tenneys owned the school house but somebody else taught. I'm not sure how the school system was organized at that time?

Saturday, Henry Tenney asks Henry to come over to help with a sick cow, but he gets there too late - the cow is dead. Henry helps Henry Tenney and Henry Polmeteer skin the cow. Three Henrys! They probably don't use the meat of a sick cow, but they certainly don't let the skin/leather go to waste! Omar and Jen don't go to see Susie (probably Susie Conley) because it is stormy.

Sunday Bart goes to church - sounds like Sarah and Henry stay home - Sarah is sick. Omar and Mills go to church in the evening, taking "Old Kitt" and the buggy. It appears to have been warm long enough to not be able to use the sleigh? It has been 40 or 50 everyday for a while. This is the first mention of one of the horses by name. I know from later entries that there are at least 3 horses --- Molly, Old Kitt, and John?

Monday - Various chores -- washing, quilting, potato sorting --- most mentions of potato sorting seem to use the pharse - "a few potatoes" - obviously not a favorite task! Henry mends shoes... they used to fix stuff! -- you didn't just go buy a new pair. Henry may have even made the shoes originally? ( note: Thomas Olney - the original Olney in this country - 1635 - was a shoe maker among other things - Henry is 9th generation in this country) Bart and Mills don't go to school. Friday's mention of Tenney's Schoolhouse must have referred to going to school.... maybe school attendance was sporadic depending on weather, work that needed doing, etc??

February 8 thru 11, 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.

Some more interesting information... Omar and Bart to to Evergreen Farm for a load of ice, while Mills and Henry shovel sawdust out of the ice house to get ready... sawdust was used to insulate the ice to make it last as long as possible into the summer..... possibly even into the following winter according to some.

Evergreen Farm is the home of Henry's sister Ellen, who is married to William Eber Weld. If I've got it worked out right, William E. Weld is also Sarah's 1st cousin? (They previously checked the ice on William Johnson's pond?) Evergreen Farm is located on the hill on the road between Ingleside (Riker's Hollow), and Prattsburg. Location noted on the map. (link to the right) The row of evergreens is still there according to notes from my Dad. Sarah's parents (Eber Hill and Lydia Matilda Weld) live on a farm near Evergreen Farm.... also noted on the map.

Omar and Jen go to Wayland to visit their sister Hattie and husband Harmon (Harm) and their neice Florence. Bart and Mills go to visit Salem I. Cloun (sp?)

Note: Wonderful story of how Sarah's grandparents - David and Hannah Weld - happened to end up in this area here.

Tuesday Henry fixes a whiffletree to the Democrat wagon. I knew what a whiffletree is, but a Democrat wagon??? --- " a light flat bed farm wagon or ranch wagon that has two or more seats and is usually drawn by one or sometimes two horses". One source says you have seen one if you ever saw a western movie. I'm not sure how fancy their Democrat wagon was? The one below is a restored pretty fancy one. The term Democrat was often capitalized as Henry does.
A whiffletree is a system of cross bars hooked together to harness two horses to a single wagon, sleigh, plow, etc. The wagon above is set up for one horse. The Olney's Democrat wagon must have been fitted for two horses. With such a large family, maybe their's had more than two seats? Again, you've seen a whiffletree if you've ever watched the hero climb over the runaway horses pulling the stagecoach to sure destruction in one of those western movies. My dad and mom both remember Democrat wagons still in use when they were kids. According to Dad, the seats were probably removable .... sort of like the modern day family mini-van? Seats in to haul the kids, or out to haul lumber? I did find a reference on the internet to some kids falling out of a Democrat Wagon because the seat was not fastened.

Omar and Jen return from Wayland -- I guess they stayed overnight. Omar and Sarah head to Naples to pick up 2 bags of feed from the grist taken to the mill last week. Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. I'm not sure why so many trips to Red Mill and Lyon's Mill. Seems like bigger batches would have been better? Maybe grain kept better whole than when ground into flour or cattle/horse feed?

Wednesday is a bit hard to read... for some reason Henry writes over the original entry at a right angle. Henry goes to Tenney's to get Sarah, and he and Omar draw wood. Henry and Jane Tenney are there to visit. Jane and Sarah are quilting. Omar and Bart haul wood. Henry sorts Potatoes. (note - sorting potatoes was a constant task to get rid of the ones that might be going bad so the rest would last longer - bad ones probably went to the animals - remind me to tell you Dad's "Decisions" story one day) Mills finishes husking corn and puts it in the cornhouse. ( Note: We now have two more structures on the farm in addition to the house and barn -- an Icehouse, and a Cornhouse.) Sarah and Bart go to Peter Johnson's funeral.

On Thursday, Jen bakes. Henry sorts potatoes again. Omar goes to Naples takes more grist to Lyon's mill and picks up previous grist. (Note: does this indicate that Lyon's Mill is in Naples rather than at the Blodgett place as previously thought???) Sarah and Jane continue quilting. Henry Tenney and Jane stay overnight. A midwinter thaw --- it has been 50-60 degrees for a few days.

I think we've located the blacksmith shop mentioned earlier - Avery's - probably located in Ingleside - near the church and the Grange Hall -- location on the map --- click link to the right.

February 4 thru 7, 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.

Very interesting entries. Omar goes to Red Mill in Naples for horse feed and flour - ground from their own grain. Omar goes to Stoddards to get a thermometer. Henry lists some people, but doesn't mention anything about why -- were they there to visit? Some are just first names? Orva (sp?) Weld and wife, Aunt Catherine, Ella (?) and E?leanor Ca???, and Frank and Erma or Emma? Any suggestions on reading this gratefully received.... maybe some later entries will clarify some of these names. (later note - I think that light word might be "came". Maybe these are folks who came over to visit?)

Friday - A lot of visiting today! -- Henry and Sarah go to visit the John Averys -- William Blodgett and wife and Mrs. J.W. Lawton (preacher's wife) were there too. They head home early because some young people are expected at their house for the evening. Six couples spend the evening playing and engaging in "social chit chat". Not sure what "playing" would refer to. Playing cards would not have been a proper Christian thing to do --- perhaps board games, charades?? Dad says there might well have been music involved. Bart played fiddle, clarinet, and coronet later in life, and was an avid member of the Ingleside Band as an adult. Just a side note that I wish I knew more about their house, and the homes of their friends and neighbors. 6 couples, plus Henry and Sarah, plus the younger folks in the family, could add up to about 20 or 21 folks in the house that night? Omar, Jen, and Bart might have been included in the 6 couples - older "kids" in the family who might have had dates? Mills is 16 -- he might have had a date, but that still leaves Lois (14), Esther (13), Cad (10), Prudence (8), Stella (5), and Kent (3) What sort of house could host such a gang? Remember the bathroom was definitely an outhouse! Even with Hattie married and living in Wayland, there are 13 or 14 people living there all the time.

Saturday Omar and Henry go to Avery's shop -- a blacksmith -- and have the horse's hooves sharpened and shoed, at the cost of $1.00, and order some ice tongs made for 50 cents! They try the ice on William Johnson's pond, and find no water - frozen solid all the way! Henry and Sarah go to visit Mart and Julia in the afternoon, and to Grange in Ingleside in the evening. More visiting! While in Ingleside, they pay $5.67 on their bill at the store, and barter 10 dozen eggs for $1.90 off the bill - 19 cents a dozen.

Sarah, Henry, Jen, Ettie (Hattie), Omar, and Bart to to church. (Bart is my great grandfather) Ettie must be visiting? She lives in Wayland. Elder Hibbard gives the sermon. I'm not sure how leadership of the church is organized... several folks seem to give sermons, lead services, etc?? The church still is in Ingleside - not the same building - I wonder if I can find old records?? Omar and Jen go to church in the evening with dates - Omar with Hattie (Warren) and Jen with Hiram Warren. Omar will marry Hattie later (not sure of date). Henry throws in another little comment about Omar -- "Omar takes Hattie I guess". If I were counting, I'd say this makes three little asides about Omar so far this year.

January 31 through February 3, 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.

Sunday is a full day of church... looks like they go to their regular church, then go to Methodist meeting in the afternoon, stay for some sort of class, and to to prayer meeting in the evening. I'm not sure where the Methodist's meet. Dad said something about another church there in Ingleside? They go to visit Aunt Catherine Weld between the Methodist Meeting and the evening prayer meeting.

Monday Henry fixes the harness and harnesses the horses to go the George Pulver's to visit... they don't go until Tuesday, so I'm thinking it was a process of making sure the harness was in good shape for a longer than usual trip? Eber Weld and wife stop by. Eber goes on the Bloods and returns. His wife stays to visit, and they all visit into the evening on his return. The children have colds.

Tuesday, Sarah and Henry go to visit the Pulver family (George and Belle) -- about 2 hours away by the "new road" - a much shorter route Henry notes. They stay overnight, and return home the next day a bit after noon. The kids still have bad colds.... note there are "kids" ranging in age from 3 to 22, so they aren't being irresponsible in leaving overnight. Omar is back from Mansfield, PA. Everyone there is well, and Uncle Robert (Henry's older brother) got baptized on Sunday. (Note: The family's Christian faith would have made this baptism -fairly late in life - a pretty big deal... maybe Omar went to Mansfield specifically for the baptism?)

Note that Mansfield is about 75 miles away - quite a trip by horse! One reference suggests about 25 miles per day as an average distance traveled by horseback? Another suggests 15-25 miles per day. Omar must have pushed it since he was in church in Mansfield area on Sunday morning and got home Tuesday night. I wonder who he stayed with along the way - Sunday and Monday nights?? Definitely no Motel 6 along the way, though there might have been small Inns or boarding houses, or taverns with rooms to let and a place to stable the horse? Maybe he just slept under a tree?

January 27 through 30, 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. NEW --- I've added a map link that will help you see where things are in the neighborhood where this story takes place. Click on the Map link to the right of the title of each page. Zoom out to see where Naples is located in New York State. Zoom in to see Ingleside and exactly where the Grange Hall, and the Church were. I'll add pictures and more locations as I can.

On Wednesday Henry finishes up some steps in preserving the meat prepared last week, including "pickling". Pickling is not a vinegar process like we do with cucumbers, but involves, salt, sugar, salt petre, and water to cover the meat. Click here for a civil war era recipe that is probably similar to what Henry would have done.

Henry also cuts a board for a wagon seat. This may have involved cutting a board from a section of log? I'm pretty sure they didn't just buy lumber the way we do now. Waddamus came to visit at night. No idea who this is? Not sure if this is a first name or a last name? Henry usually uses full names or at least initials. Henry still has a lame shoulder - several days now.

Thursday, Sarah is still working on Jen's dress. With all the day to day activity of feeding and caring for 13 people with no "modern conveniences", there probably isn't a lot of extra time in the day for projects like this? Henry is working on the seat still - for the lumber wagon. Omar harnesses up the horses to go to prayer meeting (Thursday nights), but they don't go because of heavy rain. Grange meetings are Saturday night.

Friday the weather cools off again, but there isn't much snow for using the sleigh. Sarah finishes Jen's dress!

Saturday they draw manure.... a process of hauling manure from the cows, horses, and pigs out to the fields and spreading it around. They go to Christian Fellowship Meeting in the afternoon, and draw a load of firewood to the woodhouse at night. Cutting, gathering and storing firewood is a big winter time activity. There aren't crops to tend to, and the trees will dry much better when cut in the winter when they aren't growing, and there is a much lower moisture content.