January 3 through 6, 1886

Weather will be a big part of every day's entry. On a farm weather is very important. Henry stays home on Sunday instead of going to "meeting" because of the inclement weather.

On Monday, Henry works at "cobling and mending" things... Shoe repair for Bart, Stella, and Jen, and repair of a horse harness. A lot of things are made or repaired right at home. No quick trip to the store to buy a new one!

On Tuesday, Sarah and Henry go to town (Naples). 4 bushels of wheat gets them two bags of feed, and a bag of flour at Red Mill. Sarah gets button hole shears, and gets measured for a dress. Henry buys this diary for 45 cents!

Wednesday he and Sarah go visiting. Visiting is a common activity even though it involves pretty much the whole day or sometimes even overnight because transportation is horse and buggy, and even fairly short distances by today's standards involve a few hours of effort.

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January 1-2, 1886

You'll notice Henry will give a brief summary of the weather every day. As a farm family, pretty much all income, food, and other stuff, like heat, comes from the farm, and the weather is critical! The 4 cords of wood cut on New Year's Day, will heat their home. January 1 is definitely not a day off! Omar (24 years old), Bart (18 years old), and Mills (16 years old) are the three oldest sons. Bart is my great grandfather!

Click on the picture to enlarge for easier reading of original. Feel free to contact me with corrections, additional information, or comments.