March 28 thru March 31, 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, 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

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 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!

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.