NOVEMBER 1884
Sat. Nov. 1st. Clear and very cool early in morn and heavy dew -pleasant in eve with wind from SE. I rode Julia to Ed Ward's early in morn and she took his horse twice (the 1st time). I returned at 9 and sorted and put away our potatoes in house by 12. Dixie rode Julia, I rode Nell and Willie walked to church in eve. Brother Cecil preached. Nellie and Rena stayed home.
Sun. 2nd. Bright and cool. Dixie and Willie walked from here to Sunday School. Nellie and Rena rode Julia to Pa's and I rode Nell to Pa's pasture gate and brought Julia back home and stayed home all day. Bud came back with me and ate some sugar cane and left here at 12. I made some coffee and boiled some potaoes for my dinner. Clarissa came in eve. The Negroes had a baptizing by Ash Spring in creek at 12 to 1.
Mon. 3rd. Clear and quite cool early in morn - wind from N. I walked to Mr. Sims after Ed Ward left. He came early in morn and we tried Nell but she refused. Willie walked with me to Mr. Sims to get a bar of soap but he had none. Willie rode Julia to Pa's and borrowed 2 bars of soap at 9 1/2. Nellie and Dixie washed and scoured and sunned beds. I made some mortar and fixed hearth at 9 to 10 and cut some sugar cane at 10 to 11. Mr. Sims got 12 stalks at 12. Willie, Rena and I walked hunting in field and woods but got only 1 squirrel in eve.
Tue. 4th. Bright and cool in morn - wind from N - cloudy in eve and cool from N. Willie rode Julia and I rode Nell and we went by Pa's and he rode Hunter and we went to Ferguson's store and voted. Willie and I came by Dune Veal's to see him about sugar cane. We got home at 12. Willie and I walked hunting in eve but only got 1 squirrel. I had a dull headache all eve.
Wed. 5th. Bright and cold - N wind all day. Alice and I went to town in morn and returned at 1 1/4. Bud, Beau Chambers and Lewis here. They left just before sunset. I cut and mat layed last of our sugar cane in eve.
Thu. 6th. Bright and cold - N wind all day. Dune Veal came early in morn to see our sugar cane and Willie and I walked to creek with him to see road. Pa came at 9 and here till 3 in eve. He and I walked in field to see the top crop on my cotton (it is beginning to open - I saw the 1st one yesterday) at 10 to 11 in morn. I climbed a little beech in pasture and got some grapes at 2 to 3 in eve.
Fri. 7th. Clear and cold - a white frost and freeze in morn - wind from N. I had a pain in the left side of my head all last night till 12 today and it went then into right side and I suffered all eve and part of night with it. I walked early in morn to Mr. Sims and again late in eve. He got thrown from his buggy and badly hurt last night. Dr Therrel came out there at 9 1/2. I cut and hauled 2 cartloads of wood from our watermelon patch and 1 from SE of garden in eve by 4.
Sat. 8th. Clear and a white frost in morn. A beautiful and pleasant day. Willie and I went to town on cart and got an empty molasses bbl 50 cts, 1 gal molasses 40 cts, a large tin bucket 40 cts, 1 box blacking 10 cts, 1 1/2 yds black calico 10 cts from Kaiser and paid for all. We got 1 bu meal at Meyer's mill 75cts and 2 balls knitting thread from Schaefer. We got home at 3. I put some iron hoops on the molasses bbl and took it to spring and put some water in it at dusk.
Sun. 9th. Clear, frost in morn - a beautiful and pleasant day. I rode to Mr. Sims early in morn and dressed his wounds and I rode Nell and Dixie rode Julia to Sunday School. Willie walked and Nellie and Rena stayed home. Nellie was sick yesterday with cold and took 4 alt pills last night and is better today. Nellie, Dixie and children walked to Mr. D's in eve. I stayed home. Dan came in eve and Mr. Batey C and Pa came by here in eve walking home from Mr. Sims.
Mon. 10th. Clear and frost in morn - a beautiful and pleasant day. I pulled up some cotton stalks and made a road through new ground from sugar cane to fence and cut 3 cartloads of wood outside of fence there and stripped 1 load of cane which Dune Veal hauled at 10 1/2. Children and I stripped about another load of cane at 1 to 2 and I hauled 3 cartloads of wood at 2 to 3 1/2 and looked all eve for Dune but he didn't come. I washed out the molasses bbl at spring late in eve and took a cramp in my left side.
Tue. 11th. Clear and pleasant - a little frost in morn. I rode early to Ed Ward's and led Nell but she and Julia both refused. I returned at 8 1/2 and Willie and I cut some wood beyond new ground and looked all day for Dune V but he didn't come. Misses Fannie Ida and Cooke came at 10 and here till 3 1/2. Dan dined here. Willie and I walked hunting late in eve but killed nothing.
Wed. 12th. Cloudy some all day and calm with the appearance of rain. Dune Veal hauled 2nd and last load of our sugar cane at 9 to 10 in morn. I hauled 3 cartloads of wood from beyond new ground at 7 1/2 to 10 1/2. Dixie, Willie and I hauled a molasses bbl of water from branch by old field (and broke cart by bbl slipping out behind) at 10 1/2 to 12. I patched cart at 1 to 3 and Willie and I took cart to Dune V's and got about 8 gals syrup (half of what our cane made) and we got home at 9 1/2 at night. Adah W stayed here last night.
Thu. 13th. It sprinkled rain early in morn and cleared and bright and pleasant after 9 in morn from NW. I drew and strained some molasses and sent a 1/2 gal to Pa's by Willie and 1 gal to Mr. D's by Rena at 10 in morn. I scraped some cotton in Gate cut at 10 to 11 1/2 in morn and Willie and I picked some in eve at 1 to 2 1/2. Willie, Rena and I walked hunting in field in eve at 3 to 5 and killed 2 squirrels.
Fri. 14th. Bright, cool, dry and beautiful and pleasant weather. Wind from NE. Willie and I picked over Persimmon cut of cotton and got about 5 pds in morn. I shot at a squirrel in big poplar E of garden in morn at 9 1/2 but didn't get it. But I killed another then in Mr. Sims' pasture. I grabbled back cotton in cotton house and got out a bbl of my planting seed and gave some (the 1st) to cows at night. Willie and I walked hunting in woods below Mr. D's in eve but saw nothing to shoot.
Sat. 15th. Bright and cool - a little frost in morn. Willie and I walked hunting towards Coon's early and killed 1 squirrel. Dick and Clara came at 9 1/2 to 11 in morn and took away the bitch puppy. I rode to Cohens' at 10 to 1. Willie and I rode to town at 2 1/4 to 4 and stayed to torchlight procession and returned at 11 at night. Nell cut up when we started. I had a dull pain in left side of my head. I have had a cold for several days.
Sun. 16th. Bright and quite cool early in morn - pleasant in eve. Dixie rode Julia, I rode Nell and Willie walked to Sunday School in morn. Nellie and Rena stayed home. Beau C came back to dinner with us and Nellie and Rena rode Julia, Dixie rode Rosa and I rode Nell to chapel in eve. Dr West preached and we returned at dusk. Willie and Gussie stayed here in eve. I had a dull pain in right side of my head most of eve and all night and my head is full of cold.
Mon. 17th. Cloudy, chilly in morn but warmer in eve with wind and clouds from SW. William Walker brought his wagon early in morn and carried my second and last bale of cotton to Cohen's. They ginned and pressed the bale by 2. It weighed 405 pds and I sold to Cohen at 9 1/8. We returned at 4. I suffered all day with severe headache and vomitted several times in morn and had a little fever at night. My head ached so that I slept but little.
Tue. 18th. It rained enough to run from SW with some thunder just before day and dark cloudy and misted some all day and cold at night. The headache left me at 11 in morn. Willie, Rena and I pulled and hauled a cart load of green cotton bolls and spread thm in new ground by 10 1/2 in morn. I rode Julia to Pa's at 1 to 3 1/2 and Dick and I drove up Sue cow from there over here. I put her and Lizzie's heifer in pen for Mr. Sims to see and we put Dollie and her heifer, Emma and her heifer, Hester, Lottie and her heifer, Lu and her bull calf, little Nora and Mr. D's heifer, and Fosselman's black bull all in field at 4 1/2 in eve.
Wed. 19th. Bright, but some dark clouds in morn and chilly from N. I put all of our cattle (except 2 calves) in field. I sold Mr. Sims our Sue cow and Lizzie's brindle heifer for $30 on land early in morn. I drew and strained a gal of molasses early in morn. Willie and I picked cracked bolls of cotton most of day. We picked some in Mr. Sims' cotton in eve. Dixie, Willie, Rena and I packed some water to wash with late in eve.
Thu. 20th. Clear and cold early with a white frost. I rode early to Ed Ward's and Julia took his horse twice (the second time). I picked about 10 pds of cotton out of cracked bolls in Gate cut at 9 to 11 1/2. I took 19 chickens (young hens)(Rena went with me) on cart to Cohen's in eve at 1 1/4 to 5 and got 25 cts apiece for them. I got a bbl of flour $5.65 which left me owing 90 cts. I got 56 pds meat, 1 box sardines, and 5 cts cakes which I paid for.
Fri. 21st. Bright and chilly frost in morn - clear and pleasant in eve with wind from SE. Nellie, Seymour and Willie went in buggy to Tigner's in morn. I rode as far as Woodville with them. I paid Judge Van Eaton $30 (from 2 cows) on land bringing down note to $113 and I paid Kaiser $32 on my account and gave him my note for $40 at 10 % interest. I got a coconut and 2 apples for Rena and Dixie and returned at 1 1/4. I picked cotton all eve in Gate cut pulling open bolls.
Sat. 22nd. Cloudy and damp with strong SE wind. It thundered in W all morn till 2 in eve and then rained heavily from SW at 2 to 4 1/2. I gathered cracked bolls in Gate cut most of morn. Dixie, Rena and I picked all of cracked bolls out of cartload of bolls spread in new ground and hauled a cartload of wood and I cut it up before rain. Lewis came at 1 1/2 and Dick came and brought us butter and milk and then he and Lewis left just as rain began. The wind blew down the hollow gum in new ground in eve.
Sun. 23rd. Bright and cold - N wind. I rode to creek at Walker branch ford but nothing had crossed (the creek was very high last night). I crossed at our Sunday School ford and went on to Pa's and carried some flour and went on to Sunday School. Dixie and Rena stayed home. Nellie, Seymour and Willie came home from Tigner's at 1. Dick, Clara and Dan came in eve at 2.
Mon. 24th. Bright, cold and white frost in morn, pleasant in eve. I gathered cracked bolls all about but mostly in Gate cut in morn and picked cotton out of bolls on gallery most of eve. I hauled a load of wood from pasture by bass late in eve. Dixie at her Pa's all day quilting.
Tue. 25th. Dark, cloudy and began to rain in slow shower at 11 in morn and lasted all eve. Wind from E, clouds from W. I picked cotton out of cracked bolls in Gate cut till 11 and Willie, Rena and I picked cotton out of gathered bolls in house most of eve.
Wed. 26th. Bright and pleasant after 9 in morn. I cut and hauled 3 cartloads of wood from SE corner of garden by big poplar by 9 1/2 in morn. Willie, Rena and I picked cotton out of bolls on fodder house from 9 3/4 to 12 and Willie and Rena finished it in eve. I put most of cotton that I have picked on roof of house over gallery at 1. I picked 15 pds of green cotton out of cracked bolls in Gate cut in eve.
Thu. 27th. Dark, Cloudy, rainy and slow showers, rained steadily all eve and most of night. I went to Ed Ward's early, Julia refused but Nell took horse. Children and I picked cotton out of cracked bolls out of Gate cut most of morn. I sat in house most of eve.
Fri. 28th. It rained most of last night from NE till 9 this morn and quit then but cloudy and strong winds from N and cold. I cut wood in pasture from 9 to 11 1/4 and hauled 2 cartloads from there at 1 to 3 in eve. Willie and I walked to creek late in eve to hunt ducks but saw none. Lewis here late in eve.
Sat. 29th. It cleared up just after dark last night and clear and cold and white frost and slight freeze in morn. Wind from S all day. It clouded up and rained just after dark and lasted most of night. Nellie swapped her Cochen rooster to Henry Ward for a Dominique yesterday. I picked cotton out of cracked bolls in Gate cut most of day and got about 26 pds of green cotton. Dan, Bud and Dick cut locust posts most of day for Sims and all 3 dined here. I put some cotton on house and spread balance on gallery at 1 and took all down at sunset.
Sun. 30th. Clear early in morn but clouded up at 9 and cloudy and cold from N. Nellie, Dixie, Willie and Rena went to preaching and on to Mr. Dick Chambers. I stayed home all day. I cooked my dinner. Gussie brought Julia home at 1 1/2. I went to creek to cross Nellie, Dixie and children. Stayed there untill it began to get dusk before they started. Nellie and I had a spat about it.