May 15 thru May 18, 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!

Saturday - Omar and Henry borrow two corn row markers from Frank Marsh, and mark the ground in a field for planting corn in regular rows. They both mark with Molly and Kit - two of the family horses - Molly is usually used for pulling the buggy. I suspect that pulling the corn row markers was not heavy work? Then with the help of neighbor Willie Polmateer, they plant corn for 5 hours till it starts to rain about 3PM.

An old corn row marker ... the large wooden implement with 4 vertical
posts on the wall - the triangular piece below is probably the draw bar
for hooking it up to a horse? . Drug both ways behind the stock this would
mark the rows of corn for planting. Then the farmer would go back
over those same marked rows with a planter to plant his corn seed.

Sunday they go to church and Sabbath school - I think this is the first time I've seen him use the term "Sabbath school". His sister Prudence, and her husband Fowler come to visit Sunday afternoon. Omar and Jen go to meeting in the evening.

Monday morning they wake to a frost in low places, and "nearly a freeze" but not much damage to early crops. Sarah and Jen clean house, and do the washing. Prudie and Fowler have stayed over night, and leave to visit W. E. Weld. As I recall, Henry's sister is married to one of Sarah's cousins? Omar and Henry low in the marsh land. Later Henry plants some corn with a corn planter that the Frank Marsh has sent over for Henry to try. Omar takes "Old Moll" - one of their horses - to Horse in Ingleside. Some discussion with Dad about a similar entry coming up on June 7th, we concluded that the mare was taken to be bred with a stallion owned by somebody in Ingleside? There are 3 weeks between the two attempts at breeding.

Tuesday Omar prepares a potato field, including marking rows. Henry finishes up the corn planting and returns the corn planter to Frank Marsh. Charles Conley and his wife come by to visit, and to get some corn seed for planting. Henry "engages a hand to drop potatoes" tomorrow. Potatoes are propagated from pieces of potato cut to insure that each piece has at least one "eye" -- the spot where they sprout if you leave them in the basement too long. This is the first time Henry has mentioned hiring anyone outside the family -- he does pay Omar, but Omar is the oldest son. I'm not sure if he just needs to get the potatoes in quicker than the family can get it done, or if potato planting is particularly hard work? It does seem like there would be a lot of bending over involved!