JANUARY 1900
Mon. Jan. 1st. Cloudy and chilly in morn from NW but bright and nearly clear in eve. Willie took Miss Minnie Comfort to schoolhouse in morn with Joe to Lewis' buggy and left the buggy at home. I helped Wiley to saw and bolt up some picket timber for his yard in morn and Willie helped him in eve and I hauled 2 cart loads of oak wood from NW of Wiley's in eve and Pa helped me some. Rena and baby here most of eve and Nellie was sick late in eve and Rena made some tea for her and bathed her feet and put her to bed at sunset.
Tue. 2nd. Clear and cold, a hard freeze in morn and didn't thaw in shade all day and wind from W of N. Pa walked to Clara's in morn and returned late in eve. Willie helped Wiley to saw and split timber for railings all day and I hauled picket timber to Wiley's house from near creek most of day with Joe and cart. I hauled 8 loads in morn and brought a load of wood home at 12 and I hauled 5 loads in eve and brought another load home late in eve and I put 6 young hens in pig pen for Seymour late in eve and tolled Willie's Joe Miller sow to Wiley's after sunset and put her in lot there to fatten.
Wed. 3rd. Clear and very hard freeze in morn and didn't thaw in shade all day but calm and pleasant in sunshine in eve. Bob Fugler came in morn and got the 6 young hens and paid for them. Willie worked most of day in 3rd Cane hollow cleaning it up. I hauled 2 cart loads of picket timber and 4 loads of posts for Wiley and brought a cart load of wood home by 12 and I hauled all of railing from branch near creek in 5 cart loads in eve and brought another load of wood home late in eve.
Thu. 4th. A hard freeze in morn and cloudy all day but bright and sun shined dimly most of day and wind from SE and all of ice and ground thawed by late in eve. Willie worked most of day in 3rd Cane hollow piling and burning logs. I hauled all of hearts of the picket timber (that we got out for Wiley) in 3 cart loads with Joe (to make stakes) by 11 in morn and I cut up wood till 11 3/4 and I patched up fence on W side of yard and shucked corn and drew water and helped Rena to milk in eve and carried the baby home at sunset.
Fri. 5th. Cloudy some from S or SE all day but sun shined some and warmer today and dropped rain late in eve and some at night. Willie worked in 3rd Cane hollow most of day cleaning it up and Pa got some straw today and some on yesterday too. I drove Joe to cart to Cohen's in morn and carried 2 bu of yams to Mrs. Johnson but she took only 1 and I brought the other back and I got $1 worth of coffee for us and 1/2 sk of salt and paid for them and I got 19 lbs. nails for Wiley for 70cts. cash. I got home at 12 1/2 and I walked to Wiley's at 1 1/4 to 2 1/4 in eve.
Sat. 6th. Cloudy some, but bright, and pleasant and calm and sun shined most of day. Willie worked in 3rd Cane hollow in morn and till 3 1/4 in eve and came home with a bad toothache but it soon got easy. Pa got some broom straw in morn and helped me to get some wood in eve. I rode Joe to Cohen's in morn and got a plaid worsted dress for Nellie to give to Rena for a birthday present and I hauled 2 cart loads of wood from W or NW of Wiley's in eve and cut up wood and drew water and helped Rena to milk. Wiley dug all of holes and set all of posts for his yard pickets today.
Sun. 7th. Bright and calm and pleasant and dry. Pa walked to Clara's in morn and returned late in eve. I walked to Wiley's and back in morn and Nellie and Willie walked there at 12 3/4 to 2 and Wiley and Rena and baby came back with them and Wiley rode Goulden and Willie rode Joe to Mr. D Chambers and returned at dusk.
Mon. 8th. Cloudy and calm and sun shined very little, and that dimly, and began to rain slowly late in eve and lasted through the night in slow showers. Pa got broom straw most of day and Willie worked in 3rd Cane hollow burning and cleaning it up all morn and some late in eve. He took my ax to Seymour's at 1 to 3 1/2 in eve and ground it. I worked on fence from yard to cow pen putting in new red oak stakes at bottom and some more rails and finished it by 11 1/4 and I cut up wood till 12 1/4 and I walked to Coon field and brought a part of a spool of wire to cow pen to repair fence from cow pen to branch and I packed some locusts posts from yard to cow pen in eve. Willie had a severe toothache and headache and a cramping spell at 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 at night.
Tue. 9th. Cloudy and no sun today - rained in little showers some in morn and some in eve and some at night too. Wind from S or SE. Pa threshed cotton stalks in orchard part of day and Willie worked in 3rd Cane hollow and I hauled a cart load of locust posts and stakes from back of field early in morn and put them by cow pen to repair fence there and I cut a large bay beyond branch W of cow pen (or SW of there) and cut off butt cut by 11 3/4 in morn and I made 2 gluts and an elm maul in eve and rain ran me home at 3 and I cut up some wood and drew water and milked. Nellie kept the baby here at night.
Wed. 10th. Dark cloudy all day and rained in slow thundershowers from SW all day and most of night and rained hard part of time and a big fall of water in all. We did not work today only to get wood and feed and milk. Rena and baby here most of day and Wiley dined here too.
Thu. 11th. Cloudy and a cool wind from NW and rained some in morn and some in eve too but not much. Pa threshed cotton stalks part of day in orchard and by front gate and Willie and I split up the bay cut (which I cut off on day before yesterday) on branch W or SW of cow pen and we sawed off 2 more cuts and made about 100 good rails out of the 3 cuts and we cut down a poplar tree there and rain ran us home at 2 3/4 and we cut up wood in a slow rain and milked and fed.
Fri. 12th. Bright and quite cool from NW. Some clouds but sun shined all day and pleasant in sunshine. Pa threshed cotton stalks most of day and Willie and I cut and split up the poplar on spring branch (which we cut down on yesterday eve) and it made 6 cuts and nearly 100 rails and we finished it by 10 in morn and cut up some wood. Nellie washed in eve and Willie cut trees in Luckett field and I worked on the new fence just beyond water gap most of eve. I set stakes (locusts) and put up some of the 15 pannels which it will take to build the new fence. Wiley finished his yard pickets late in eve.
Sat. 13th. Bright and a white frost in morn but sun shined all day and a gentle breeze from SW and pleasant after 10 in morn. Willie cut down trees in Luckett field in morn and Pa threshed stalks in morn and walked to Clara's and back in eve. I put up the new rail fence just on other side of spring branch (15 pannels) and water-rack in morn and Willie and I hauled a cart load of beech wood from NW of Wiley's in eve and cut up good deal of wood. Wiley drove Fanny mule to cart to Cohen's in morn and got his and Seymour's Sash.
Sun. 14th. Bright and pleasant from SW. Wiley rode Goulden to his Pa's in morn and returned late in eve. Tigner D came early in morn and drove Fanny mule to Wiley's buggy and carried Rena and baby to Clara's and drove them back late in eve. Willie rode Joe to Seymour's in eve and Nellie walked to Lewis' and Miss Minnie C came back with them at sunset and stayed till 7 and Willie walked back to Seymour's with her. I walked to Sims at 1 1/4 to 3 in eve and got some little japonica trees for Rena to set in her yard.
Mon. 15th. Cloudy, but bright and pleasant from SW. Willie cut down trees around Luckett field and Pa threshed cotton stalks most of day. I fixed water-rack on spring branch and cut off butt of old beech log near cow pen and rolled it out of way in morn and I dug post holes and set some locust posts to put wire fence from cow pen to branch in eve. Buddy here in eve awhile and Rena and baby too.
Tue. 16th. Cloudy, but bright and pleasant, and wind from SE. Pa threshed cotton stalks most of day and Willie cut down trees in (or around) Luckett field most of day. I set posts from SW corner of cow pen to branch and took down old wire fence there to move it and cut up some wood from an old beech stump and a log by 11 3/4 in morn and Willie helped me to put up the wire at 1 1/4 to 2 3/4 in eve and I sharpened and drove down most of short stakes at bottom of it and I hauled 2 cart loads of the old beech wood from S of cow pen to house at 3 1/2 to 4 3/4 in eve. Nellie walked to Wiley's late in eve and brought the baby back with her and we kept her here at night. The Negro boy Linwood Williams came to Wiley's to live late in eve.
Wed. 17th. It rained at 5 to 7 1/2 in morn - a good hard shower in all - with some thunder and bright from W after 10 in morn and sun shined all eve and pleasant too. Willie cut trees around Luckett field in morn and rode Joe to Clara's in eve and Dan fox hunting at night. Pa threshed cotton stalks most of day. I worked on wire fence from branch to SE corner of cow pen putting in short stakes and rails at bottom most of day and finished all there by late in eve.
Thu. 18th. Cloudy and cool breeze from W of N all day and bright and sun shined out late in eve. Willie and I and Wiley and Lin killed and cleaned and cut up and salted down our old curly sow and a barrow (weighing I suppose about 300 lbs.) by 12 and Wiley and Lin and Clarissa dined here. Nellie and Willie and Clarissa made some sausage in eve and Willie carried some to Mr. Sims. Pa threshed cotton stalks most of day. I hauled 3 cart loads of wood (old rails and some pieces of old logs) from just S of cow pen and hauled 1 load of beech from NW of Wiley's in eve. I had a dull headache all day but it left me just after dark.
Fri. 19th. Cloudy and chilly from W of N and no sunshine all day. Nellie cooked her lard in morn and I helped her to strain it at 12 3/4 to 1 1/2 in eve. Willie and I cut and split oak rails just S of Wiley's house most of day. We cut down 3 oaks and sawed 3 cuts from each tree and made 125 rails in all. We are getting rails to repair calf pasture fence. Pa staid in house most of day - he has a cold. Buddy here in eve and Willie rode old Tom to B C's to borrow Dixie's buggy (for tomorrow) late in eve.
Sat. 20th. It cleared off from W of N at 8 1/2 in morn and clear and a very cool breeze from there most of day but pleasant in sunshine all eve. Willie drove Joe to Dixie's buggy in morn and carried Miss Minnie C home. Pa lay in bed all day with a headache and cold. I hauled 2 cart loads of red oak wood from NW corner of Wiley's in morn with Fanny mule and I hauled 1 load just after dinner (pine and beech) and I cut up some wood and Violet Camfield and her grandchildren brought about 3 pks of corn and I let them have potatoes for it.
Sun. 21st. Clear and a frost in morn but calm and a beautiful and pleasant day in sunshine. Lewis came in morn and brought a birthday cake to Pa. Pa was up most of day and seems good deal better. Wiley and Rena and baby here most of day and Lewis and Cousin Mary and all of children here in eve and Mr. Sims here awhile in eve. I began to take a cold in eve in my throat and it bothered me all night. Miss Minnie C didn't come back from Mrs. James' in eve although Nellie and I looked for them to return.
Mon. 22nd. Bright, and nearly cold enough for frost in morn, but wind from SW and warmer in eve and some clouds. I cut a water oak S of Wiley's (in the head of hollow) early in morn and cut off and split 3 cuts from it and made 41 rails and I packed them (and all that Willie and I split there on last Fri.) to top of hill by 11 1/2 in morn. Miss Minnie and Willie returned in morn and Willie and I cut 3 more oaks and made rails most of eve (S of Wiley's). Wiley plowed and harrowed his front yard in morn and Nellie and Rena set some flower bushes in it in eve. I was feverish and ached all day with a cold and I had good deal of fever at night and sweat some and didn't sleep well. Pa walked about some today and seems better.
Tue. 23rd. Bright and cool and dry with a breeze from N. Willie and I made rails most of day by new SW corner, some on our side where Willie cleared the 3rd Cane hollow, and some on outside of wire fence - mostly water oak, but we cut a long red oak just before we came to dinner, and sawed 4 cuts from it and split them up in eve and made 84 good rails out of it. We made over 200 in all today and enough to repair calf pasture fence. I had a dull headache all day and was feverish too with cold and didn't sleep well at night.
Wed. 24th. Bright and cool in morn, but sun shined most of day, and warmed in eve with a breeze fom SW. Willie and I tried all morn to thresh peas (out of cotton house) but we only threshed out 10 baskets in 2 beatings and made about 5 1/2 bu. - rough - by 12 and I winnowed them in eve and 1 bbl. of cotton too and Willie cleared up ground in 3rd Cane hollow most of eve. Pa walked to Clara's and back in eve and was sick late in eve and at night. Buddy and Gordon and Willie and Nellie went to Wiley's at night to fiddle and returned at midnight. My headache left me entirely in eve and my cold was better at night.
Thu. 25th. Cloudy some from SW or W early in morn and wind changed to W of N at 9 1/2 in morn and rained a little slowly till 10 3/4 and quit then and wind blew cold from N all eve but sun shined most of eve. Willie cut trees around Luckett field till 9 3/4 in morn and all eve. Pa in house most of day. I hauled 4 cart loads from back of field to roadside with Joe and brought home 1/2 load of wood by 10 in morn and got half wet and I shucked and shelled some corn and cut up some wood till 11 1/2 and I hauled 7 loads of rails in eve (about 165 rails in the 11 loads hauled) and put all on roadside to repair calf pasture fence.
Fri. 26th. Cloudy some all day and a light freeze in morn and sun shined but little and wind from NE and chilly all day. I carried big kettle and water tub to Wiley's on cart with Joe early in morn and Willie and I and Wiley and Lin killed and cleaned and salted down Wiley's 2 white sows (one of them the Joe Miller sow) and Willie and I dined at Wiley's and we got through by 2 and came home by 2 1/2 and I cut up a good deal of wood and drew water and fed and helped to milk. Pa in bed most of day. Willie rode Joe to Seymour's late in eve with Robert James and they went foxhunting at night.
Sat. 27th. Cloudy from W with a chilly breeze from E all day, but sun shined part of day and dry. Wiley drove Fanny (mule) to cart and I rode Joe to Cohen's in morn and Wiley carried some corn to mill and got some meal and he got a bbl flour and some sausage buckets (5) to put lard in and some other things and I got a pair of congress gaiters for myself on credit and one dollar's worth of coffee and some other things which I paid for. I got home at 1 1/2 and Wiley got home at 3. Aunt Margaret cooked Rena's lard today. Robert James here part of today and at night and he and Willie and Gordon and Tigner and West went coon hunting at night.
Sun. 28th. Bright most of day and a white frost in morn and a freeze but sun shined most of day and a cold breeze from N all day and clouded up late in eve from NW and wind blew some in early part of night from NW and turned colder and cleared off in night again. Robert James left in morn. I cut up some wood in morn at 8 3/4 to 9 1/2. Wiley and Rena and baby came at 11 and here till late in eve. Willie rode Joe in Elmwood field and to Clara's in eve hunting cattle.
Mon. 29th. Clear, and a hard freeze in morn and a cold breeze from N most of day and didn't thaw in shade all day. I led Joe to cart to Wiley's early in morn and brought the big kettle back and Wiley and Willie and I killed the 2 little sows in pen (one white and the other spotted which Willie got from Jack) and they weighed about 100 each and we finished salting them down by 11 1/2 and Aunt Margaret cooked the lard for Nellie in eve. Rena and baby here most of day. Pa lay in bed most of day. Willie cut and I hauled 2 loads of green oak wood from S of Wiley's and 1 load of dry beech, from NW of there, in eve with Joe to cart.
Tue. 30th. Dark cloudy and no sun all day, and a freeze in morn but wind from E, and began to mist rain at sunrise, and got harder at 9 1/2 to 12 and misted rain all eve and chilly. Pa up most of day but sat in house by fire. Willie cut trees in Luckett field most of morn in rain and came home wet at 11 1/4. I cut up wood till 9 1/4 in morn and got nearly wet and I shucked and shelled corn till 10 and sat by fire till 12. Bob Fugler walked here at 10 in morn and here till late in eve and Willie rode Joe and went to Seymour's with him late in eve. I fixed our hearth (to fireplace) and walked to Wiley's and back in eve.
Wed. 31st. Foggy or smokey early in morn till 9 and clear after 10 in morn - a freeze in morn and a cold NW breeze all day. Pa up all day and walked about some. Willie cut trees around Luckett field all day. I hauled rails most of day with Joe and cart around calf pasture fence on W and NW sides of it. I hauled 3 loads from back of field and finished all there by 10 in morn and I hauled balance of day from S of Wiley's and finished hauling all by late in eve and I brought home a load of wood by 11 1/2 in morn and another late in eve. Nellie sick with headache late in eve and at night. Miss Minnie C came late in eve and went home with Rena for the night.