Fonds Level Description

Accession Number: 87-006

William Standen fonds
87-006

Diary: January 1879 - November 1881

Note: Capitals, periods, and commas have been added or eliminated in some instances for clarification purposes. Square brackets [ ] indicate indecipherable text, or a section that in the original is comprised of dashes, taken to mean that the missing text is identical to the text that is directly above on the page. Also, occasional misspellings appear in the original and these misspellings have been maintained (examples of some of the common misspellings are "intrest" for "interest,", "feild" for "field," "staid" for "stayed,"and "tomorow" for "tomorrow")

Note: This diary is not in strict chronological order, as a larger-sized section of pages seems to have been inserted. The transcription, however, is in chronological order.

1879: January

1. A beautiful day, thaws in the sun. I got the horses shod on their hind feet, A.M. I split wood etc., PM. Put a load of hay on the sleigh ready for Barrie tomorrow. Mr. Wadds helped me. He got a pailful of peas. Making 7 bus. which he has had altogether.

2. I went to town with the hay. It sold at $8.00 per ton, 19.30 lbs., $7.75 cts. I got S Tracys grist back with me. Came on a fearful snow storm about 3 PM. with strong cold biting wind. Mr. Bremners young folks came bringing Bessie, Annie & Ada Morren. We spent a pleasant evening and they started home about 9 PM. I hope they all arrived safely at their destination. The roads are fearfully drifted. I think we shall surely have a thaw soon. I got this load from the old stable loft.

3. Very cold & stormy. I carried water to all the beasts in the stable & split wood, AM. The storm increased in violence. I never saw such drifts so early in the season. The Lord help the poor the cold & hungry. "Who can stand before His cold.

4. The wind began to rage from the west which blocked up the Concessions, but last night it shifted to the north & has filled our lane, and I suppose the side lines. I went up to Fathers to see how they were doing, & laid down some fences so as to make a road to the Concession but it is still very stormy tho not so bad as yesterday. I carried water to all the beasts in the stable. I am thankful that they are all so snug, and that we have a good supply of wood. I cut up & salted some pigs that I killed on the 24 Decr. Ten years married today. Calm tonight.

5. About a dozen of us met in the Chapel this AM. I walked up and all the rest staid at home. Mr. Holmes went to Toronto last Wednesday and I do not see how he will get back for I expect the railways are all blocked up with snow. About 25 met this evening again in the Chapel, and we had a good prayer meeting. Calm & cold. Heard that A Primroses baby had died of Croup.

6. I chored around etc., AM. and went down to A Primroses, PM. They are in great distress. The baby is to be buried tomorrow, PM. I went up to the meeting at night it is the week of prayer. Mr. Holmes arrived about 7.30 in Mr. Bremners sleigh. Fine but cold. I left Mamy & baby with Fanny at the store. Fanny is ailing. May the great Physician Heal her.

7. I went up to B. Tracys & bought 6 1/2 cords of dry wood at $1.80 ct. per cord. I shoveled some snow in the lane and drove the horses through a few times so I can get out pretty well now. Went to the Funeral, PM. Fine but James Day brought Mama & baby & Fanny down. She seems better.

8. TBS & Grandpa helped me to put on a load of hay & I went to town with it. I agreed to let A Arnall have 3 tons at $9.00 per ton. I had 1585 lbs. on this load the roads are very bad. Fanny not so well. Cold & snow. I got this load from the big leanto.

9. I cut up & salted the pigs that I butchered on 24th Decr/78. I hope it will be none the worse for lying so long. I split wood etc., PM. Cloudy & snowy not very cold. Went up to prayer meeting tonight. Fanny was very restless last night but seems better now. Thank God.

10. T.B.S. & Grandpa helped me to put on a load of hay & I got to town about noon. I took it to Johnson at $8.00 per ton, 1820 lbs, $7.28 cts. I got home a little after sundown. The roads are better but very rough & full of pitchholes. Cold & wintry. Thirty six years old today. "Ebenezer". I got this load from the old stable loft.

11. J. Kindle & Grandpa helped me to put on a load of hay & I went to town but owing to the roughness of the road the load got "dislocated" & I had to rebuild part of it again before I got onto the market, which made me late. I got $8.00 per ton, 1790 lbs., $7.16 cts. I got home about dark. I sold a load to T. Lawson, to be delivered next week & one to Shortreed. (Milder). I got this from the old stable loft.

12. We went to meeting as ususal. And I went with Mr. Holmes to see Fostors afternoon. The road is passable for foot passengers but would not do for teams. We had a full meeting at night. May it please the Lord to hear our prayers to save souls. Fine & Milder.

13. Went up to help T.G.S. to saw with machine. Still mild, but does not thaw.

14. I "Chored around," AM. and got Mr. Wadds & Grandpa to help me to weigh a ton of hay for Thomas Lawson. I could not take it all up at once for the road is broken very near to the fence, so I have one 1/2 left to take up tomorrow. I got this load from the little leanto (north). Cold & wintry.

15. I took up the rest of the hay to T Lawson, and got 20 bus. 35 lb. of wheat from Mr. Phillips which he borrowed off me in the fall. I took it out to the mill, PM. intending to call for it tomorrow. I got home in good time, & Mr. Wadds & Grandpa helped me on with a load of hay. Very cold SE wind.

16. I went to town with the hay, took it to Shortreed, 2125 lb. at 9.50 per ton $10.9 ct. I sold a load to go to R. King tomorrow at the same price. I called at the mill, and brought home the grist, and began putting on a load of hay but it got too dark to finish. Very cold, AM. Milder, PM. I got this from the big leanto.

17. We finished putting on the hay, and I took it to town to R. Kings, just one ton at $9.50 ct. I got home about 4.30 PM. & put on another load for town tomorrow, to Arnalls, it is not quite as good as I would like. Fine mild day. I got this load from the big leanto.

18. I started to town with the hay from the big leanto, but it upset just as I started on the Conces & I had to go down & get Mr. Wadds to help me on with it again which hindered me a good bit. I was delayed a good while on the road near Barrie with teams drawing wood & sawlogs etc. Upsets were frequent. The road is full of pitcholes & is rapidly getting worse. I got home about dark. The hay went to Arnall at $9.00, 2025 lbs. Fine winter weather. Paid Shortreed & Laidlaw $55.00 being all I owe them. (Thank the Lord).

19. Went to meeting as usual. Andrew & Grace with wee Andrew came down. We had to leave at 5.30 PM. for the evening meeting. Mr. Holmes went to Phelpston. James Johnston took him & some others they had a good time. Praise the Lord. Frequent falls of snow. Cold.

20. I went up to see T.B.S. He is sick. I split him a little wood, & then came home & looked over the pork putting on more salt. I got down two load of wood & split some, & put on a load of hay from the west leanto, for Barrie tomorrow. R. Robertson came wanting hay & I agreed to let him have a load on Wednesday. Cold but fine.

21. I took the hay to Barrie. Mr. Brown got it at $8.00 per ton, 1800 lbs., $7.20 ct. I agreed to take a load to Cooks in Barrie some time this week at the same rate, and half a ton to Bemrose area Fostors. I came home across the flats. The road is hard to break, & soft in spots. Cold and wintry. Paid Mr. J. intrest & agreed to keep the $100.00 another year.

22. R. Robertson came over this, AM. & we weighed out a ton of hay. I took it over at two load in the afternoon as the road is very heavy yet. He has promised to pay me $9.00 for it on the 5th Feb. May the Lord make him able & willing to keep his word. T.B.S. thinks he is a little better, but his children are sick, & I hear tonight that S. Tracy's little ones are ailing, and his sister Mrs. Stokes. The Lord knoweth how to forgive iniquities, & heal diseases. Cold & wintry, with some snow.

23. I weighed out 1000 lbs. of hay for Mr. Bemrose (Mr. Wadds helped me) and took it over, AM. I split some wood got out a bag of potatoes, got down a load of wood for T.B.S. Mr. Wadds helped me to put on a load of hay from the west leanto. I went down to Campbels to a prayer meeting. Promised B. Tracy to get him some pork tomorrow. Rather late home. Fine pleasant, winter weather.

24. I went to town with the hay 1575 lbs. at $8.00 per ton, $6.30 cts. I got a pig for G Tracy for $7.00, being 30 cts. more than I owe him for the wood I bought on the 7th I having paid him $5.00 on it then. I brought home the two barrels of lime for the parsonage. I went, & came home, across the flats. Mild & pleasant.

25. I started for the old barn for the pupose of weighing a load of hay for Stewart at Shortreeds Mill but it came on very squally & so I had to postpone it till a more convenient season. The gale increased and though it thawed a little this morning it is very cold tonight though not so windy. I cleared away ice & snow & dung from the stable doors & watertrough, split wood & "chored around" generally. S. Tracy came over to tell us that his little one died last night. (The good Lord help).

26. We went to meeting as usual, & had the funeral service in the S.S. hour. Old Mrs. Tracy came down with two of her daughters. Fine, cold, & wintry.

27. Mr. Wadds came & we weighed out 1876 lbs. of hay, & I took it to Shortreeds mill afternoon. Mama went with George Bessie Anne & Grace to Ivy to see Jane but they had to turn back when about 3 miles from their destination on account of snow drifts. They got home a little while before me. I took Grandma & Byron down to Elizas after I got home. He complains of sore throat. (A heavy thaw, the roads getting soft.

28. I got a load of wood from B Tracys, AM. & took a load of [chunks] to the Church stove which were too big to use here, brought another load from B. Tracy's, & "chored around." Heard that Miss Bilborough was at Barrie & that she was come to take Mary Pitt back to the Home. The good Lord bless the child & make her His. Soft, AM. Freezing, PM.

29. I went to Barrie early & brought Miss Bilbrough out. Took her down to Mr. Adams' to see Lizzie Shaw, & to Mr. Kents to see Nelson Pauley. She staid to the prayer meeting, & has to be back to Barrie by 11.27 AM tomorow. Fine & sunny.

30. I went to Barrie taking Miss Bilbrough & Mary Pitt, & saw them safely off on the cars. Mrs. Holmes went with me, & we got home about 4 PM. T.B.S. helped me to put on a load of hay for town tomorow. Fine. Soft.

31. I went to town with the hay, had just a ton, & squared up with Arnall. $25.63 cts. & got an order written out to Shortreed & Laidlaw for the hay I took to Stewart last Monday $8.45. I did not get home till dark. Cold with snow squalls. N.W.

1879: February

1. It is very cold today, fine snow falling with strong North wind. I tightened up some cracks in the stables, & chored around, AM. I split wood, PM. I am thankful that I have all things so comfortable & convenient. "Not more than others I deserve yet God hath given me more." The Good Lord comfort the cold & hungry ones, & make the mourners to rejoice. Bitter cold North wind.

2. We went to meeting as usual. Mabeth, & Fanny staid at home & Mama went leaving the baby with Lizzie Holmes. J McLeod took Mr. Holmes to Phelpston. The storm has abated somewhat but it is still very cold.

3. I cleared up round the yards, AM & went down to Mr. Bremners, PM. Took Mama Mabeth Andrew & baby. Grandma R went along. I paid Mr. B $44.00, $25.00 being principle, part of the $100.00 that I borrowed two years ago, & $9.00 intrest, which leaves me $65.00 yet to pay with intrest at 9 per cent. We got home about dark & then I went back to a committee meeting. I am wearied with them. The Lord make me patitent. Fine winter weather.

4. I went up to the Manse & took a cord of dry wood from Mr. Marshes to keep the house warm till the plaster dries. I straightened up a little, and got home about 12.30 PM & weighed out 1000 of hay for S McDonald to go to [ ] at $10.00 per ton. I do not think I shall need to sell any more at less than that at the barn. Went dow to the bush meeting, at night. Fine winter weather.

5. I cleared up around the barn & threshed a few peas, with the flail. Fine weather, rather soft.

6. I started off canvassing for funds for the Manse. I called at nearly every house on the road and got home about 8 PM weary & worn having received promises of $27.00 to be paid within the year. Soft & rather snowy.

7. I went around to see if some of the neighbours would turn out to help with the sawing machine for Mrs. Hindle, AM & got down a small load of wood. I went up to the machine, PM, & we got a nice lot of wood cut. Rather blustering, with snow.

8. I got Mr. Wadd to help me to weigh out 1000 lbs. of hay & took it over to a shanty across the flats, AM. I took Mama up to the Manse and we cleaned & scrubbed it out. Mrs. Armstrong, Janet Campbell & Miss Tracys helped. Also Neil Livingston We got home about dark bringing Fanny with us. She has been staying with Grandma R, and is not very well. John is suffering from cold, & sore throat too. May the Lord heal them, soul & body. 4 in snow fell last night. Soft.

9. The wind changed through the night and blew heavily from the north all day with some snow which drifted up the lanes & sidelines, so that very few could get out to the meetings. It is calm tonight but very cold.

10. I got away as soon as I could to the corner & agreed with A. Malcolm to put up belting & shelves in the Manse, & with Mr. Lumley to do the paintings. I cut up some wood til 3 PM & then went to see Mrs. John Armstrong about joining the Church. Mama went along. We got home about dark. Cold SE wind.

11. I went over to the shanty across the flats to get my money & took the young folks with me to Fostors. I did not get my money but announced - a meeting for 7 PM Friday evening. I got home about noon and fixed some shoes for John & straightened up around the yards intending to be at a tea meeting in the WM Church tonight. Andrew & ME are ailing. Soft snow falling, AM. Light rain, PM.

12. I straightened up round the barn and took Fanny Fostor home as she is not well. I got the money for the hay from Mr. Adams. I threshed a few oats, PM and went up to Prayer meeting at night. Very cold blustering N wind with snow.

13. I threshed a few more oats & cleaned them up for present feeding. I [fanned] up 4 bags of barley for grinding, AM. & went with Mr. Holmes to Phelpston, PM. Staid at Mark Knapps, and held a meeting at night. Late home. Very cold. N wind with some snow.

14. I got away as soon as I could, taking 2 bags of peas & 4 of barley to the mill, and then went on to Barrie to see Mr. Griffin about getting the church & Baptistry - to baptize some friends next week. I was rather late home, & while I was away, the boys found a young lamb. I think it is from a sheep I got from Lawson in the fall. I went over to the shanty to bring Mr. Holmes back. Very cold with some snow.

15. I straightened up round the yards, AM. & drew a load of wood for Mrs. Hindle, none for myself., PM. I have to help Mama a little in the house for she is not very well, and has no one to help her. The children are all suffering somewhat from colds. The weather seems more moderate tonight.

16. We went to meeting as usual. Mr Holmes put the question to the meeting, and it was agreed to have our school for the future from 10 AM till 11. & the meeting for worship from 11 AM till 12.30. Mr. Dixon took Mr Holmes to Phelpston. I was too sick with cold & headache to go to meeting at night but was much better when they came home (the prayer of faith shall save the sick"). Fine, cold, but snowy.

17. I am able to do up my chores this morning but did not do much else. Cold but fine.

18. I am thankful to say I am better today. I "chored around." Fine & sunny, freezing hard in shade.

19. I got Mr. Wadds to help me to weight out 2075 lbs. of hay, AM & took it to Shortreeds mill, PM. I brought back 2 plank for one of those composing the rack is broke. I am thankful I got there without upsetting. I suffered a little from cold but on the whole I am getting better. Cold SE wind all day. Snow tonight. Mr. Wadds help - $1.70.

20. I rigged up the rack and drew a load of wood, AM. I started Mr & Mrs. Holmes and Mama off to see Mrs. John McLeod. I split up wood, PM, & looked after the youngsters. Cold N wind, freezing very hard tonight.

21. I cleared a lot of frozen straw off the stack and took 2 logs off the pen so as to give the cattle a better chance at the straw. I got down 2 load of wood, PM. Mama went with me to see Mrs. Wm. Johnston. They are living now on the place Benj'm Tracy got from Moren's (opposite Orchards). There is 5 or 6 loads of wood yet to draw. I hope it will put me through till spring. Clear & sunny, but freezing hard.

22. I threshed a few oats, AM. and took a jag of hay up to Mrs. Hindle's, PM. Brought a load of wood from the pile. Some snow fell AM. but it is quite mild clear & sunny, PM.

23. We went to meeting as usual only we had the SS first from 10 to 11 AM. A sleighload of folks came from Phelpston, and Mr. Holmes had the pleasure of receiving four into membership. We had a good time. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Fine, AM. Cold & snowy, PM.

24. I straightened up around the barnyard and threshed some oats & peas. Fine winter weather.

25. I went up to the Manse as soon as I could and began making preparations for puting up a W.C. & henhouse at the south end of the woodshed. Cleared away rubbish etc. Got home about dark. Cold, S.E. wind with snow.

26. I went up to the Manse again. Neil Livingston, T.L. & Alvin Johnston were there & we got the buildings well on the way. Cold, N. wind with snow.

27. I went up to the Manse again. Neil Livingston was there & we completed the buildings all but some window & door fixings. Neil promised to be up and fix them soon. Very hard frost last night, bright & sunny today. Miss Kent is married today. The good Lord help them.

28. I put the pork to dry and split wood, AM. and took Mr. Holmes to see some folks on the west side of the Nottawasaga River. We promised to be there a week from next Sunday at 3 PM. to hold a regular service in the house of Mr. McNab. We got home at 7.30. Very cold. Cold SE wind hard frost last night.

1879: March

1. I split wood, AM. & weighed out 1000 lbs. of hay and took it over to Walkers Railway Shanty, PM. I sold it at $10.00 [per] ton. Soft west wind & rather blustery. Colder tonight.

2. We went to meeting as usual. Mr. Campbell took Mr. Holmes to Phelpston. Hard frost last night & sunny today.

3. Mr. Wadds came and helped me to weigh out a ton of hay for Andrew Ronald. I took up 1200 lb first and it filled his stable up, so I put on 300 more with the 800 lb that I had weighed out and took it to Grandma R. Mr Anderson who owns a mill on the townline came down and bought the remnant of the stable loft & the big leanto for $40.00. T Murray, Mrs. Doeg & Grace came down. Fine clear & sunny.

4. I came of a soft snow & rain this, AM, so I did not take the hay to mill as I intended but chored around till 2 PM when Mr. & Mrs. Bremner came to spend the evening. Father Mother & Alice came too and we had a pleasant time. Clear this PM. but soft.

5. Freezing this morning. Mr. Wadds helped me to load the hay & I got to Andersons Mill all right but the road is badly cut up and I cannot load heavy. I expect to have 3 more loads. Clear & cold, warm in sun, snow at night.

6. Went to Andersons Mill as yesterday Willie Wadds & Father helped me to load. I got home about 3.30 PM. and then went to Mr. Coles's with Mama to spend the evening. Warm & sunny, AM. Blustery wind, PM.

7. Went to Andersons Mill with another load of hay. Mr Wadds & Father helped me to put it on. I took the shovel along with me to fix the roads for they are very bad in spots. Got home about 4 PM. Warm & sunny, freezing in shade.

8. I went to the Mill with another laod of hay. I think they will average about 1700 lbs. per load. There is about 400 lb. left yet but the roads are so full of [sidling] holes that I could not take more. Very warm and sunny, thunder shower 2 PM.

9. We went to meeting as usual. S. Coles took Mr. Holmes to Mr. McNabs beyond the river & they had a good meeting. Mama staid at the store all day, and Aunt Bessie came down, & drove the horses up at night so that I could stay at home with the youngsters. Very warm all day, thunder shower tonight.

10. I went out to Andersons with the last of the hay, and brought a load of scantling back for the Presbyterian Church. Had some little difficulty in getting home as the roads are very soft. Very warm today. Colder tonight.

11. I straightened up a little round the barn and then threshed peas. Cold blustering, N.W. wind.

12. I got down two load of wood from the pile I bought off B Tracy, and took one load up to the Manse, which is all I have to last me till after seeding, except a little there is left of the pile I cut from my own bush last summer. Calmer & warmer, roads very soft & broken up.

13. I split wood and threshed a few peas, AM. A little snow fell last night but the wind is rather soft though rough. Mama & I went to see Mrs. Dixon but they were not at home, so we came back to the corner and "rigged" some furniture in George's house. He is to be married on Monday. May the Good Lord bless them & make them a blessing. Mr. Bell gave me a Dollar for S.S. Calmer tonight, but not very cold.

14. Threshed peas today. Very stormy, but not very cold.

15. Father helped me to clean up the peas, about 18 bus. I put by 6 for him and 12 for myself for seed. I put the pork in the North bin in the barn. I salted it upstairs over the kitchen, and packed it away in oats this, AM. I thrashed some oats, PM. Rather squally, freezing hard tonight.

16. We went to meeting as usual, but Mama and the two youngest staid at home for baby has been croupy for the last two nights. Grandma & Aunt Bessie came down. Some snow showers, not cold.

17. I split wood etc., AM. Went up to the Manse and put the pump in the cistern & made a platform for a stove in Mr. Holmes's study. Came down home & [fild] up the things, & then went back to welcome the Bride & Bridegroom. Got home 12 PM. May Gods blessing rest on George, & Euphemia. Fine pleasant day.

18. Rather late up. I hitched up as soon as I could & took Mr. Holmes's stove and some furniture up to the Manse. I got Herman Coles to come down for another load while I got the stove pipes fixed up. Mr. Crawford came for a load, PM & Mrs. Taylor, Bessie & Annie came to the house and fixed the things up, so I think they are pretty comfortably settled now. May the Lord make them contented and not to proud to help themselves. Cold nights, warm days with some snow.

19. I put up some fence to keep cattle off the wheat, & got [ ] shoes fixed, AM. Threshed peas, PM. Warm sunny days, & cold nights.

20. I finished threshing the peas, AM. & father helped me to clean them up, P.M., with 7 bags of barley. Sunny, but cold N wind.

21. I took 7 bags of wheat & 7 of barley to the mill & then went on to Barrie. I agreed to take the Ram that I got from Orchard a year ago last fall, to Mr Lowe the butcher. He is fat & I do not want him any more. I bought 2 pair of bedsteads off Mr. Freeman & ordered a large dining table. I got home about dark, but, only brought back the barley from the mill. The wheat is not done. Fine sunny day, freezing hard tonight. Anderson paid me forty Dollars for the hay he bought off me on 3rd & I gave it to father for rent, with $20.00 besides leaving $18.00 yet to pay.

22. Mr. Wadds came & we put some straw off the hay in the west [ ] of the old barn, & I took 2 load of about 1400 lbs. up to the Store and got one down to my barn. Grandma paid me for all the hay I took up including the 2 load on 3rd - $26.90 cts. I hope we shall have enough for the things till grass grows. I left $30.00 for Mr. H. Salery, giving a receipt for $10.15, which he had in provisions. Snow from the S.E., pretty stormy.

23. I went to meeting taking John, M.E. and Andrew. They walked back home and I went on to Phelpston to see how they were getting on with the Sunday School. I took tea with Mr. Good, and got back to Minesing in time for meeting at 6.30 PM. Got home about 9 PM. Cloudy but soft.

24. I cleaned out the pig pen, calf pen etc., AM, and went to the Mill for the grist I left on Friday. Mama Andrew Fanny & baby, went with me. We left Fanny at the store. And the rest went to Mr. Dixons. I called as I came back and we got our tea there and then came on home after a short call at the Store. After doing up the chores I went up to Grandpa's and spent the evening with T. Thomas & his Bride. Soft snow, AM. Light rain, PM. Colder with snow tonight.

25. Had a chat with Thomas. Thomas & [I] split wood, AM. Threshed some oats, PM. Rather cold & stormy.

26. I helped Father to [rig] up the pump in the old barnyard, AM. Cut up oat sheaves, PM. I have began feeding the calves on it to save the hay. Paid Guilroit $12.00 for the mares, insurance on colts. Cloudy. Raw, soft, S.E. wind.

27. I went up to the store as soon as I could, and Herman, Coles, & I started to Shortreeds Mill with two big logs. Herman upset on Thomlinsons hill which hindered us a good while. We brought timber back for the enlargement of the store. Got home 4.30 PM. Soft, warm, cloudy.

28. I drew 2 load of wood from Fosters and piled against my gate so that it can be got with a waggon if the sleighing goes. Mrs. Ronald has bought 20 cords off him and they have not much drawn yet. Mama & I and the children went up to the school examination, PM. The Lord bless the children and sheild them from evil influences, and make them His early in life. Soft, raw SE wind. Cloudy.

29. A very heavy rain fell last night. I went over to Fostors & got a small load of wood but the ice across the flats is covered with water and getting rotten so I will not venture anymore without it freezes up again. I split some wood & cleaned up the oats I threshed on Tuesday. Got a shoe set on Gip etc. Drizzling rain. Raw N.W. wind.

30. We went to meeting as usual. Mama Fanny & baby staying at home. I went up to Hindles in the afternoon. I walked up to meeting at night. Stormy blustering N.W. wind with snow.

31. I started off to town s soon as I could taking the Ram with me. Mr. Lowe paid me $8.00 on him. He is to give me $1.50 for the skin & 6 ct. per lb. for the carcase. I paid Dr. McCarthy's bill $5.75 and got a large dining tabel at Freemans, which with the two bedsteads came to $12.00. I gave him a note payable in 6 months drawing 10 per cent intrest. Got home about sundown. Very keen N wind, warm in the sun.

1879: April

1. I got a hind shoe put on Gip which I lost yesterday, & then drew 3 load of wood from Fostors, but the ice is flooded & breaks through a good bit. I went down to Camerons and got Jannet, a young girl about 16 years old, to help Mama in the house. She has to have $4.00 per month, may the good Lord bless us in our relations to each other. Cold NW wind, but it thaws fast in the sun. I noticed a ewe ailing at noon and gave her a dose of castor oil. (His tender mercies are over all the world.

2. When I got up this morning I found the sow with 13 pigs. I was up till after 12 with her last night and fastened her in a stall in the stable for it is very cold, I think nearly as cold as it has been all winter. I gave the sick ewe another doze, salts & saltpetre. I cleaned out the stables where I fattened the heifer & the Ram, and where I have been keeping the ewe & lamb that came on 14 Feb. I put her and the sick ewe in the place where the ram was, so as to have the spare stall in the stable when the other sheep may lamb. Very cold biting NW wind. Snow falling & drifting.

3. Found a pig dead this morning. I went up to Fathers & squared up. I am owing him $7.00. I went down to the Marley Creek Mill & drew up two loads of lumber for Andrew Ronald. When I got home I found more pigs dead, and some dying so I brought them into the house and fed and warmed them up. The sow is wild from being put in a strange place but it is the best place I have for her. Still colder, & some snow.

4. Found more pigs dead this morning. She has only 7 now and one of them I think will die. A ewe has just dropped 2 lambs. It is fearful cold so I got them into the horse stable. I went up to draw wood for A Ronald from Mr. Kents. Got home about 6 PM. and fed up, & then went up to a Committee meeting. Did not get home till 12 oclock. Very cold NW wind with snow.

5. A light snow falling. S Tracy & a man from H Tracy & Mr Moore came & we cut cord wood all day in the bush near TBS's. Snowy forenoon. Sunny, PM, but cold wind.

6. We all went to meeting but Mama is not very well. Grandma R & Aunt Annie came down, also old Mr Crawford of Rugby. Mr. Bremner took Mr. Holmes to the river to preach. Some warmer. Sunny.

7. I fixed the hall door which had got unhung. Mama took much worse so I went for Aunt Bessie. Grandma R came down, PM. I hope the worst is over. I split wood, cut up oat sheaves etc. Sunny, but a cold NW wind. Two more ewes gave birth to twins.

8. Mama is much better this, AM (thank the Lord). The ewe that has been sick so long, was worse this morning, so I got Uncle TBS to help me and we brought away a lamb but I think it will die. Grandpa came down a while after & I got away another which seems livelier. The ewe has no milk so I have to feed them. The old sow has only 5 pigs left of the 13. Church meeting tonight, appointed trustee for the Manse. Much warmer but chilly.

9. Mama is still better. I fed the lambs & did the best I could for the ewe, and then hitched up and drew down some of the wood that was chopped on Saturday. The snow is going very fast. Henry Fuller came down and advised me to give the ewe a dose of [laud-], but I do not think it will do any good. She seems to choke when I drench her. Warm & sunny.

10. Began raining about 7 AM & it soon turned to snow. It fell heavy all day. The wind was quite a gale last night from the SE. I found the ewe dead & one of the lambs and the other one dying. I skind her & cut her open to examine her, & found that the liver & [ ] were rotten. Every thing else seemed all right. 2 more lambs came last night. I split wood etc. [ ] ceased, it is calm tonight, freezing hard.

11. I got down the rest of the wood that was cut last Sat. & all I could get conveniently of the remnant that was sawed last July. I took Aunt Bessie home. The "Ducky" went with her for Mama is not well enough to stand her hanging round her. I signed a note to Grandma R. $176.00 which is what I have left unpaid from 1877. It is made payable next Jany. Fine and sunny, but strong cold NW wind. Got shoes taken of Doll & put her in box stall.

12. I made another pen of the single stall that Doll stood in, for Flora's calf that came last Decr. Mended up Gip's manger. Cut oat sheaves etc. Mama is still getting better, thank the Lord. I got out 7 pails of potatoes. They seem to be keeping well. Sunny, but cold NW wind.

13. We all went to meeting but Mama & M.E. The baby is staying with Aunt Bessie. Grandma R & Aunt Grace came down, PM. I took the sleigh up, for it is better than the waggon though the roads are bare in some places. Some warmer. Cloudy.

14. I turned the sheep and lambs out to get a bite on the bare spots. 2 more lambs came this AM, 1 black & 1 white. These are all I expect this year for one young ewe is not with lamb & I think I will kill her soon. I began to make myself a wheelbarrow. Father made me an iron wheel. Rather milder. Sunny.

15. I did up the chores and finished the wheelbarrow. Fine & sunny but cold wind.

16. I split up all the sawed wood that was in the shed so as to get it drying. Went to prayer meeting early and got Grandma Rs gig down as Doll does not seem able to get around very well, and Gip does not foal till 24th May. Frost nights but sunny days with cold NW wind.

17. I took Mama up to the store to stay a few days, and then I began putting on the siding that I got last year to finish the kitchen above the south verandah. Frosty nights and sunny days, with cold NW winds.

18. Father helped me to butcher the ewe that was not in lamb. She was nice and fat but not heavy (62 lbs.). I got a note from Grandma R telling me that they roads were not fit to go to Barrie with the gig, so I cut the sheep up and put it in the milkhouse till Tuesday. I got out the white carrotts that I pitted north of the house last fall. Frost nights, day some warmer.

19. I finished putting on the siding and then put new sleepers under the verandah. As we go out of the back kitchen the boards were pretty rotten from not having fall enough to throw the water off quick enough. Some warmer today.

20. I went up to meeting in the gig. Jannet Cameron and Fanny rode with me and the rest walked. Mama & baby came down with me at noon. She is much better, thank the Lord. Fine and sunny. Cool winds.

21. S Tracy came over & we piled up the stumps and rubbish etc. on the field that I stumped last fall. We fired some & they burned well. The peice is about half done, it is 5 acres. East side of No. 1 S. the west 4 acres is in fall wheat (Seneca). It looks well. J Hindle came down and agreed to come to help me for a month for $9.00 to begin on Wed. S. Tracy is coming again then and I think we shall finish the peice well. The land is pretty dry. Warmer, snow nearly all gone.

22. I went to town with the gig & Gipsy. I took the carcase of mutton that I butchered last Friday & the skin of the one that died of diseased liver. I sold the mutton for $4.50 & the skins for $1.60. I took 5 lbs. of butter to Mrs. King, at 22 cts. per lb. I met Mr. Urquart & his daughter. I got the lady a ride out with Mr. Bremner and Mr. U came with me. I got home about 4 PM. Warm & sunny. Roads bad, but on the mend.

23. S Tracy did not come as he promised as it looked like rain. J. Hindle & I "did up" most of the peice S.T. & I were at on Mon. Mr. U came down with the buggy from the store & his beast ran away making a bad smash but nobody hurt, though it hindred me a good bit. Warm & cloudy, some rain fell.

24. I began ploughing today in the peice we have been stumping but it is slow work as I have to stop occasionally to help J.H. to trim round the pine stumps, & Doll's time ws up last Tuesday week. She is swelled a good bit under the belly, but seems able for moderate work, though I have to be very careful with them. I quit work at 5 PM & went up to the store to spend the evening with Mr & Miss Urquart. I was very late home. Mama was with me of course. Warm & sunny.

25. Bagan ploughing again, but had to quit about 2.30 PM. as it came on to rain so I sowed grasseed on the seneca wheat & on the [Diehl] 9 acres. I could not get time to sow the swale in big field, as I had to go and attend to one of the steers that I got last fall. He seems a little bloated and I think it is from costiveness. I gave him castor oil & turpentine. He seems better tonight. (His tender mercies are over all His works). Close warm weather with showers.

26. I went up to Henry Fuller to see if he could give me some advice about the steer. He seems not so well this AM. but he had gone to town so I gave the steer a doze of salts & saltpetre and he seemed better afternoon. I plowed what I could till 5 P.M. & then sowed grasseed in the swale in the big field, and a land about 16 ft wide down the middle of the field to act as a road to get at the hay in the swale. Warm and close and cloudy. Threatens rain.

27. I went to meeting with the gig taking Andrew & Mabeth. John & James walked & Mama & Fanny & baby staid at home. Mr. Holmes took the gig to Phelpston so I put Andrew on Gip & the rest of us walked down home again. I went to meeting alone at night. I put he mares in the front feild to get a bit of grass afternoon. I expected Doll would have foaled before this. Her 11 mos. was up on the 15th. Gip's time does not expire till the 22nd May. Steer seems better. Very warm and cloudy. Some sunshine.

28. I went up to see the steer and gave him 3/4 lb of E salts 1/2 lb of salt, & some ginger & mollases. He drank 3 pails of water afternoon. J.H. is grubbing round pine stumps and can hardly keep ahead of me. I ploughed quite a peice today. If Doll holds out til Wednesday night I think I shall be nearly odne, but it is very slow work. Quite a heavy shower last night. Clear & cool today. N.W. wind.

29. I drenched the steer with 4 qts of gruel, and then went on ploughing till dark. The land is plenty wet enough but I can mange very well. I gave the steer more gruel again at night. Warm, close & cloudy.

30. I found Doll had given birth to a big horse colt through the night. Mare & colt seem all right (thank the Creator). I went up to Grandpa's and gave the steer a pound of salts & some mollases & ginger & salt. I made a whippletree for the light waggon and put on the shafts and went with Mama & Andrew to see Aunt Louisa. Wm Collins is laid up with a sore back. We got home about 4 PM. Found the mare and colt all right & the steer better, gave more gruel. Very cold. N.W. wind, AM. Snow, PM. Freezing tonight.

1879: May

1. I gave the steer more gruel. He seems nearly well. Doll & colt all right. J.H. threshed some hay seed up at the old barn, and then he helped me to clear & oil the harness. Cold, N.W., wind with dashes of snow. It is all gone tonight.

2. Uncle T.B.S. brought a load of hay from the old barn as there is more than is wanted there and I am scarce here. He is ploughing for Grandpa. I helped J.H. to grub stumps and pick up etc ready for ploughing. If it is fine tomorrow I think I will work Doll a little. Cloudy with cold NW wind, AM. Sunny, PM.

3. I ploughed with Doll today, giving the colt a suck morning & afternoon. She seems none the worse for the days work. There is half a days ploughing yet to finish the peice. J.H. is picking up etc. Chilly, N.W. wind but sunny.

4. We went to meeting, Mama & I and the children, leaving the baby with Jannet. Bessie & Mama intend starting to Avening tomorrow to see our freinds the Murrays, and recruit a little as they are both in need of a rest. Some few showers. Warm.

5. I finished ploughing & sowed some starting J.H. to harrow. George R came down and took Mama & Fanny leaving Fanny at the store. They went on to the Railway crossing at Tomlinsons Hill near Dobbins, but the train did not come owing to some mismanagement. Chilly damp & cloudy.

6. I finished sowing & J.H. harrowed it all one way pretty well but I have a mind to harrow it cornerways yet. Cold NW wind with some rain.

7. I plowed and sowed the headlands and started J.H. to harrow cornerways. I grubbed some stumps on the lower 6 acres of No. 2. S. which was in fall wheat last year. I think it will plow well better than if I had plowed it last fall. ("All things work") A letter from Mama to Grandma - they arrived safely at Avening on Tuesday - Fine but cold, N.W. wind.

8. Finished crossharrowing No. 1. S. & stumped and began plowing No. 2. S. J.H. is picking up. I let the cattle out today for the first time. There is not much grass but they will get a bite which will do them good. Fine & some warmer.

9. I plowed in No. 2. S. J.H. is picking up. The land breaks up nicely. A letter from Mama. She talks of coming home tomorrow coming down to Minesing flag station and taking her chance of a ride to the corner by some teams coming from Barrie. Fine and a warm S.E. wind.

10. I went on plowing till teatime and then took Doll & the light waggon up to the store where I found Mama. She is looking some better (thank the Lord). We brought Fanny down with us. She has been staying with Grandma R. while Mama was away. Fine but hazy, with warm SE wind.

11. I turned the horses out this morning. The colt has been penned up all the week & just getting a suck when I came in with the horses but he is looking well. Mama and the three youngest staid at home, and the rest of us walked to meeting and back. Fine, but hazy, with warm S. wind.

12. I finished plowing about 4 PM. J.H. began harrowing & I sowed about 2 acres of oats. It is so warm that I threw off my flanel drawers. I left the horses out tonight. It is very sultry. Clearer but still hazy with a very warm S wind.

13. I finished sowing the oats and then harrowed them and plowed the south headland etc. J.H. is working at the strawberries. The land I have just finished seems in splended order. May the Lord bless the seed sown, and give me a good increase and wisdom to use it arright. I have the 6 acres in No. 3 S. to go at next. Very warm thundery sultry weather. It cleared off a little since dark.

14. I stumped and branded No. 3 S. (6 acres of the lower end 2 acres at the top being in sod the same as No. 2. S.) & then plowed and harrowed a peice in front of the house to put in carrots & strawberries. I then plowed from noon till 5 PM in No. 3. S. It works nicely. After 5 PM. it came on a heavy shower. I could not go to prayer meeting, but the Lord knows all about it. May he grant that we may be all filled with the Spirit, to the praise of His glory. Warm & sultry till 5 PM with occassional cool breezes.

15. We worked in the garden, planted strawberries, got out the potatoes. I am thankful they have kept so well. I think I can spare 2 bags they are worth a Dollar a bag. Aunt Grace with an aquaintence of hers Mrs. Caruthers came down. Andrew R. fetched them home at night. The rain last night made the land too wet to plow. Cold raw wind (N.W.) with light drizzling rain.

16. S. Tracy & Moore came and chopped 45 logs ready for the sawing machine. I want to saw before haying if I can. J.H. & I worked in the garden, sowed some white carrotts. I planted some currant trees but it is rather late. Cleared off bright about 9 AM. Cool wind, N.W.

17. J.H. dug among the plum trees on the north side of the garden. I plowed the rest of the garden and planted most of it with potatoes. Fine and sunny, N.W. wind.

18. We all went to meeting but Janet & the baby. I took Doll & the light waggon. I walked up at night. Mr. Dixon took Mr. Holmes to the River. Fine warm & sunny, with N.W. wind.

19. J.H. is gone to harrow for T.B.S. George Hindle is picking up ahead of the plow. There is a good bit of rubbish on the ground that needs picking up. The land plows nicely. I think 2 more days will finish the 6 acres. Fine & sunny with cool N.W. wind.

20. J.H. is picking up. I plowed. It has been very warm today but cleared of with a brisk N.W. wind and a few drops of rain. Cloudy & sultry.

21. I plowed till noon & then cleaned up the oats. There is barely enough good ones to seed with. I plowed after but did not quite finish as I had a lamb to butcher, the one that Robbie Holmes & Andrew found on the 14 Febr. J.H. is splitting rails from the timber lying on the lane. Very cold NW wind. Cloudy till 9 AM. Afternoon clear & bright.

22. I sowed about 3 acres oats No. 3. S. & started J.H. to harrow. I split some rails, AM. Finished plowing & sowed & harrowed some more, P.M. J. Hindles time is out tonight. I offered him $8.00 for the next month or at that rate for as long as he likes. He will let me know on Monday. Jenny calved, heifer calf. Dixons bull sired her. Very hard frost last night. Cold bright & windy today.

23. I finished sowing the 6 acres of No. 3. S. & harrowed it in & then rolled the 6 acres of No. 2. S. Another hard frost last night. Cold wind, N.W., but warmer than yesterday.

24. I rolled No. 3. S. & then drew rails that were split in the lane, & made a fence across No. 1 N. I intend to fallow 3 acres at this end of it as the land is very poor, but the wild grass is so high that I think the cattle can live a while off it to advantage. S.E. wind blowing last night, no frost. Warmer today, threatens rain & rather cloudy.

25. Cleared off this AM with a strong N wind. We all went to meeting but Mama & baby. Grandma R came down with us and Andrew. He & I had a "bout" on the "Conditional Immortality Question." I am sorry for him. I went up to meeting at night. I drive Doll in the light waggon. Gipsy foaled last night a filly. It is doing well. Dolls colt is doing fine. "The voice of the Lord maketh the [hinds] to calve." Cool fresh N wind.

26. J.H. came this morning, & I started him splitting rails in the lane, while I went down to G Kerfoots with the old sow. She seems "all right". I worked in the garden afterward planting corn, beans, & potatoes etc. Fine & sunny, but very cold N wind.

27. We drew rails & made a fence across No. 2. S. leaving the 6 acres of oats on the south end & 2 acres for pasture for the horses at the north end against my barn. J.H. worked in the garden afternoon and Mama & Andrew & baby went with me to spend the afternoon with Mr & Mrs. Holmes. Mr. Griffin was out with his wife & boy. We got home about dark. Some light showers fell, P.M. Heavy frost last night. Cloudy and some warmer today.

28. J.H. & I worked t the strawberry bed that was planted last year. It has been neglected and is very weedy. J.H. split some rails on the lane & up against the bush to finish the fence we began yesterday. I dug post holes, & hung a gate into the pasture feild in front of fathers house. Clear & sunny. Fine cool breezes.

29. I filled up an old well, & fenced round an apple tree that used to be in front of the old log house were we all lived after the first year we came to the bush. J.H. split some more rails, & T.B.S. helped us to wash the sheep. Mosquitoes pretty bad. Warm sultry south wind with thunder. Threatens rain.

30. I drew some rails to patch up the fence round the fall wheat against the bush, and got down 2 load of wood from the pile that was sawed last July with the machine. I cleared up the peices of rails, cedar chunks etc from the lane which improves the apperance of things wonderfully and gives us a lot of light wood for summer use. J.H. was helping me. Very warm & thundery.

31. J.H. hoed in the garden, A.M. & went to Mr. Kents raising, P.M. I sheared 3 sheep for Grandma R., 5 for Father & 9 for myself. I feel as if I had done a good days work, & thankful to the Giver of all good for the ability he has given me. Warm sultry south wind, thunder shower at 5 P.M. & again tonight. 'Twill make things grow.

1879: June

1. We all went to meeting but Janet, Fanny & baby. It rained quite a bit through the day. There were not many out to meeting at night. May the Good Lord bless His own work, and keep us faithful. Cooler tonight. The rain ceased.

2. I plowed a furrow on each side of the lane and J.H. is throwing it up. I got Doll's front shoes put on & then began plowing in the big feild the 7 acres on this S.E. part. I must summer fallow. I seeded it down last spring but the seed did not take well. A cool drizzling mist from N.W. Clear sunset.

3. J.H. is throwing up earth in the lane. I plowed till noon, when Moore came. He is going to stay a month for $14.00 to be paid in the fall. He plowed till 3 P.M. when it began to rain. Chilly, drizzling, S.E. rain. Heavy since 3 PM

4. I helped J.H. to throw up earth in the lane, A.M. Afternoon, I mended & rehung the gate of the big feild. Moore plowed. Came on a heavy rain about 5.30 PM. I did not get to prayer meeting. Showery, AM. Dry, PM, till 5.30, then a steady rain. The air feels warm.

5. J.H. finished grading the lane. Moore plowed. I let off some water for it rained very heavily last night and then went up to the corner, and gave my vote. I saw C. Wattie who is Councilman for this section. He gave me the Road List. I drew up a petition for means to open the road accross the flats and got several signatures. I then went down & measured how many rods of crossways want laying. I find it is nearly 100, & a deal of water on the road. Cold, drying N.W. wind. Feels like frost tonight. May the good Lord hang a curtain over the tender [ ].

6. Moore finished ploughing and began harrowing the fallow in the big feild. J.H. began turning dung in the barnyard. J. made a gate and hung it between the henhouse and the west fence of the garden. It opens into the barnyard, and will be needed to draw in the crop from No. 1. S. I chored quite a bit beside. A smart shower fell at 7 AM, but it soon cleared off with a very storng cold N.W. wind. I hope it will not freeze. I ordered pears & an apple tree from Richardson to be delivered next spring. $2.00.

7. J.H. & I picked up in the peice against the bush which we logged a day in last fall. Another days logging will put it through I think. Moore harrowed the fallow in the big feild crossways. A very hard frost last night. Tomatoes, potatoes, etc are some the worse. Cool N.W. wind today, clear & bright.

8. We all went to meeting but Mama & the three youngest. Grandma R. is unwell so, Herman Coles, who is working there, came down & took Mama up. She is better tonight. Cool N.W. wind but some warmer than yesterday.

9. J.H. & Moore are drawing dung from the old barnyard to the peice I intend to fallow in No. 1. N. I went up & looked at a peice of ground of Mrs. Hindles which I think can be cleared easily & put in potatoes. I went on from there to the store & got the loan of a horse & went out to the Town Hall at Midhurst where the Council were sitting. I presented the Petition which I drew up last Thur. - & urged the case, but do not know how it will come off yet. Rather cloudy, much warmer, S. wind. Mosquitoes thick tonight. Butchered a lamb.

10. Mama & I went to town taking the lamb & 7 fleeces of wool. The carcase sold for $2.60 & the skin 20 cts. We got through most of our business & then went to the Baptist Chapel, where the Northers Association meets this year. Heard a fine discouce on the (Kingdom of the stone). Went to the Wollen Factory & got some yarn for wool, & sold the remainder at 19 cts. per lb., $3.11 cts. Butchered another lamb tonight. J.H. & Moore drawing manure. Find & rather warmer.

11. J.H. & Moore drew dung, AM. & I chopped some timber on Mrs. Hindles peice ready to log. Moore went home afternoon & J.H. & I went up with the team & logged off about 1/2 an acre & I started plowing it. Uncle Fred & his wife & baby & Motherinlaw, arrived about 4 PM. T.B.S. went for them, & took the 2 hind qrs. of the lamb I killed last night & the skin, $1.51 cts. Freds arrival was a surprise. I went up to meeting at night and we had a stirring address from Re'd Mr. Cook, a fellow student of Mr. Holmeses at the Pastors College. Fine & hot. Cloudy tonight, a few drops of rain & then wind.

12. J.H. & Moore at manure. I was up talking to Fred when H. Johnson, machine agent, came, & I traded T.B.S.'s old reaper off to him for $12.00, & agreed to give him $28.00 this winter in hay & cash, $50.00 in March 1881, $50.00 in Mar. 1882, & $50.00 in Mar. 1883, with 7 per cent intrest for a new Royal Reaper, a Mower, & a Horse Rake. I went with him to Knapps, J. Parker's, & Foysten's & directed him to some other places. Fred [ ] spent the afternoon here & George R. & his wife & sister & Annie R came down, & we spent the evening at Fathers. Fine & pleasant. Some cooler.

13. Mama & I went with the "folks" & we all dined at Louisas. We all went from there & took tea at Elizas'. They all got home about dark & I stayed up to the committee meeting. J.H. has been hoeing in the garden. Moore has been plowing at McDonalds for T.B.S. so as to let his team go round with the folks. Fine but rather cool.

14. Moore & J.H. finished the manure in the old yard and then Moore went on harrowing the fallow. J.H. picked up, in the peice against the bush. I called at Hindles & saw Hannah about joining the Church. Went down to Mr. Bremners to see him about buying Harvesting Machines. Called at G. Tracys for dinner. Went from there to Gowans. Had a long talk with the young girl & Gowan. Went from there to J. Armstrong's. From there to Store. Had a talk with Mr Holmes, got Charlie & the gig & went down to John McLeods to see his sister Hannah but she was not there. Got home about dark. Fine, A.M. Came on rain 2 PM., heavy at night.

15. Mama & I & John & M.E. went to meeting. Mama staid up to the store, & I spent the afternoon at Grandpa's with the "folks". Fred & his wife went with me to the meeting at night, but they went to the Presbyterian meeting first. Mama came down with us at night. The weather was cloudy & "moist" all day, and a few heavy showers afternoon.

16. J.H. is putting in his statute labour, & I set Moore to fix the plank on the hill & wheel some earth into some of the holes. I took Freds baggage and some of the folks down to the flag station by Dobbins & then Moore & I fixed up the gate & the fence round the pigpens. Sunny, very cold, drying, N.W. wind.

17. H. Fuller came down & Moore & I went to work with him & we tore down my south line fence & began putting it up straight, digging holes for the posts to hold the rails. J.H. went up to the Store to help to draw out manure. Fine & breezy.

18. We finished the fence. There is about 38 rod of it. About 30 rod is well staked & ridered in the old fashioned style so we left it. I hope Mr. Kent will take it into his wise head to continue it along the rest of the line. J.H. has been doing statute labour for Mr. Young today. Fine, cool & breezy. Warmer than yesterday.

19. Mr. Moore went to work to gather up the rails that were left off the fence. I piled them up in the lane, & he drew the debris down to his own house for firewood. We did some stumping in the fallow at this end of No. 1. S. & afternoon I spread dung & he began plowing. Mr. Jacobs came & persuaded me to castrate Dolls colt. J.H. is hunting a calf they have lost. Pleasant, some warmer.

20. J.H. is here today so we went up to the peice against the bush & finished logging what we began last fall. It is splendid land but overgrown with weeds. I butchered a sheep at night, & T.B.S. loaded up his old reaper ready for me to take to town tomorrow. Fine, but very much warmer.

21. I went to town with the old reaper & took 3 qrs. of the sheep. Sold at 5 cts. & 6 cts. - $2.50 cts., with the skin, 25 cts. I kept 1 qr. at home. I left the old reaper with Johnson & brought the new one back but could not get the mower. It will have to be another trip. J.H. spread manure & Moore plowed. They took Beauty heifer to Dixons bull afternoon. I got home about 6 P.M. Dolls colt is very stiff. May the kind Creator pitty & heal him. Warm, with close S wind.

22. We all went to meeting. Jannet Cameron went from there to see her Mother, & did not get back till late, which kept me busy allaying Mama's indignation. I walked up to meeting at night. Dolls colt is pretty sick. Fine & warm.

23. Moore finished ploughing the fallow in No. 1. N. & J.H. spread manure. I got Henry Fuller in to look at Dolls colt. He gave it some medicine and I have been bathing it with hot water & putting a mustard plaster on the small of its back, & just behind the shoulder on each side. It is costive and we gave it an injection, which moved it a little. Warm & dry.

24. I was up very early attending to the colt, and watched it all day. It had no passage from the stomach till afternoon, and then the [ ] seemed too much for it and griped it severly. It died about 6.30 PM. I am real sorry but hope to be able to manage better in similar circumstances if it should occur again. Jannet Cameron has been in bed all day with a pain in her side, which leaves Mama very busy. May the good Lord help & direct us. Very warm & close. Moore & J.H. "picked up" against the bush.

25. Jannet is still in bed. I buried the colt putting a peice under the 3 apple trees on the south side of the orchard, & then took Doll up & the waggon & brought Aunt Annie down to help Mama. Moore went to help Morrens at their raising & J.H. is working in the garden. I got out a snag in the fallow in the big feild & fired a small heap of roots there is left. It came on a heavy thunder shower about 2.30 PM. but cleared up occasionally through the afternoon. I took Jennet Cameron home at night. Very hot & close.

26. Moore is unwell today. I harrowed awhile in the fallow. It came on a heavy thunder shower, about 10 AM., cleared up at noon and came on heavier than ever about 3 P.M. Mr. Holmes came down & I had a chat with him. J.H. chored & cleaned out the sheep pen. I sent 3 1/4 [3 quarters] of a lamb to town with T.B.S. 8 cts. fore [&] hind, 25 cts. skin, $1.85 cts. Very hot & close.

27. I harrowed most of the day. J.H. worked among the garden stuff. Very hot & close.

28. A very heavy rain fell last night. J.H. is throwing up dung in the barnyard. I got a horse from T.B.S. to put beside Doll & went to town to do some business for myself & the Church & T.B.S. I did not get my mower but expect to have it next Sat. and have agreed to mow 20 acres for Mr. Bremner. The Lord teacheth my hands to war & my fingers to fight. Cloudy, some cooler.

29. We all got up early this morning, and Aunt Annie who is staying with us till we get another girl, went with me and I called at Hindles & took up Hannah & her Mother to Mr. Livingstons. We got there about half past eight A.M. & Mr. Holmes baptized 5 and afterwards they were received into the Church. Aunt Bessie came down afternoon, & we went up to meeting at night. Poor Mama did not get out at all today. Cleared off bright & sunny.

30. J. Hindle's time is in. I have to give him $17.00 for the last 2 months, in the fall. I spoke to H. Fuller, P. Phillips etc about coming on to the road for statute labour next Thursday. The Flatt are too wet to work at & we are doubtful about getting help from the Councill. I went up to the corner and enquired about the scrapers, helped Mr. Holmes out with his cooking stove, got home awhile afternoon & hoed in the garden. Went up to Church meeting at night. Moore is harrowing No. 1. N. I took Brindle to Morran's. Fine cool breeze, N.W.

1879: July

1. I mowed some fencecorners, and then went up to the Store and got the colt & buggy and brought Mrs. Holmes down. I hitched to the waggon afternoon & went down to A. Primroses and got two road scrapers. Cut the rest of the fencecorners in the fallow, and then Mama went back to the corner with me when I took Mr. & Mrs. Holmes home. Grandma R is sick. John McJannet came to stay 3 months at $6.00 per month. Fine summer weather.

2. I went down to the creek to help H. [Falkes] to put some logs against the creek to keep the water from overflowing. He is going to wheel dirt & bank it up well. I went up to the "peice" against the bush & [chinked] up.

3. I went on the road, and started all the men with the Statute labour. Moore is plowing. McJennet is helping Father. We got along nicely on the road though it rained 2 hours in the morning. They made it up after tea. Warm, rainy, close.

4. Came on quite a wind storm in the night. Moore is sick so I ploughed. Mr. Phillips is on the road today which is all the time due except Papineau's. Mr. James is helping Father. Cool and windy.

5. I went to town today with the heavy waggon. John & Andrew went along. I got the Mower & Horse rake, and got home about 6.30 PM. I expect Johnson the agent out on Monday to put the machines together. Fine & some warmer.

6. Aunt Annie staid at home, and Mama went with me to meeting. I wrote to Mr. Spurgeon afternoon giving him an idea of how the Church is doing. The Lord bless his own work & make his proffessed followers more earnest & devoted in His service. Fine, rather warm.

7. Moore plowed. McJannet hoeing potatoes for Father. Mr Johnson came out & we put the machines together and tried the mower. Afternoon J. Paris green'd the potatoes. Fine, very warm.

8. Mr. Bremner sent Walter down with his team & I hitched them to the mower & went down to cut some meadow for him. The machine works well, but the ground is very rough. Moore is plowing & harrowing the fallow in big feild. McJannet is hoeing potatoes in the garden. Fine, cool & windy. N.W.

9. I finished cutting about16 acres for Mr. Bremner & Bertie brought the machine up to the corner. I expect to cut Grandma R's hay tomorow. Moores time is out. Alex. McDonald offered to come & help me through haying. I think of starting next week. Fine, some warmer.

10. Threatened rain so I got in a load of hay for Father which is all he has ready. I then took the horse rake up to the corner as J. Johnson wanted to use it. Took Grandma R's horses & cut some grass, but we had some heavy thunder showers so I did not finish. Warm & close.

11. The weather still looks showery, but I went up to the store & finished cuttng the 8 acres against the sideline. I am suffering from a pain in my hip so I did not do much after I came home, but write to Fred. Rained heavily, P.M. Cleared up about 7.30 P.M.

12. I took Aunt Bessie up to the Store. Got the S.S. books & rigged them up. Very warm and close still tho the sun shines brightly since 10 AM. I made a set of whippletrees for the light waggon. Emily Wadds came down to help Mama for awhile. Warm & close.

13. We all went to meeting, but M.E. and baby. Emily took charge of them as she is not able to get out very well with a sore foot. The weather is fine but close.

14. Sandy McDonald came this morning, so we all went up to the store but I found that there was not hands enough to draw in with two teams so I came back and cut the north end of No. 1. N. about 5 1/2 acres (the lower end is fallow). Fine but very hot.

15. Sandy & McJannet went up to the Store to finish getting in the hay there, & I mowed the fencecorners in No. 1. N. but I find it hard work, for I have been suffering from a pain in the hip & back since I cut with the mower for Mr. Bremner & at the store it seems to be a kind of Neuralgia. A thunder shower passed over at noon but it did not rain much here. It is cooler since.

16. Herman Coles came down with the Store team, & S. McD. & McJ. helped to draw in the peice I cut on Monday. I raked it up with Doll, by noon, & then I hitched to the machine & cut 4 acres in No. 3. N. There is 2 small load of fencecorners & rakings in No. 1. N. yet, to get in. I am thankful that we have it got in so well. Fine, with cool N.W. breeze.

17. McJ. is putting poison on the potatoes. S. McD is mowing in No. 3. N. We finished by teatime, fencecorners & all, & I had No. 1. N. nearly all raked over for the last time, unloaded the hay in the barn & got in another. One load out yet. Fine & cool, cloudy, A.M. Sunny, P.M.

18. I went up to the store to arrange some business, and agreed for Herman to bring down the horses and help to draw in tomorow. H. Tracy came and he and S. McD mowed the fencecorners round the oats, and afternoon we got in 5 load of hay. It is in fine order. If it keeps fine till tomorow night I hope to have all No. 3. N. safely in. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness. Fine and very cool.

19. H.C. came down, & we got in some 3 load but found it was rather green so H.C. went up & got another horse from the Store & we gave the grass a turn over while he was away, & S. McD. began mowing a peice at the South end of No. 2. N. I raked up another load & H.T. & H.C. & J. McJ. are going on drawing in the hay is making fast since it got the turn. We got in all but what is to rake from the [harrows] that were pitched. Fine and some warmer.

20. John, Andrew, Maybeth & I went to meeting, & Mama went to see Mrs. Stoke's little one who is sick. Grandma R. came down from meeting with us. Mama went up to meeting at night. Warm and rather close.

21. S. McD. came over this morning and as the weather looked like rain, we went to work getting in the 3 acres of N. 2. N. which Sandy cut on Saturday and the fencecorners H. Tracy & he cut on Friday forenoon. We got it all in nicely tho a slight thunder shower came on at 5 P.M. After tea S. McD hitched to the machine & began cutting the rest of No. 2 N. Rather too warm for dry weather.

22. I went up to the corner & took old Charlie that I have had down here since Sat to run in the rake. He seems inclined to be "heavy". S. McD. run the machine till noon, when a light rain came on. So I finished cutting the No. 2. N. & then "lay by." Sandy went home at noon. I do not know if he will be willing to stay with me at the wages I have offered him. J. McJ. cut a few fencecorners. Cloudy, A.M. Light rains, P.M. Heavier at night.

23. J. McJ. is working at the fencecorners. I put poison on the potatoes, AM. & cut the peice of meadow North end of No. 3 S. 2 acres and put the machine away for this year. It has done me good service & seems all right yet. I am thankful that it run so well, and that no accident happned with it. "He maketh grass to grow for the Cattle." Mr. Lowe bought the 2 steers for $51.00 to go in on Monday. Cloudy till 10 AM. Clear and fine after.

24. S. McD. came this morning & so we went up to the Store. I took the new Reaper and cut the 5 acres wheat against the corner. The machine does good work & runs very light. I had a slight breakage with the rakes which hindered me some. I got home about 5 P.M. J. Mc.J. is working at the fencecorners. He is rather slow. The good Lord make me patient and wise to deal with him. Fine but a fresh S.E. wind.

25. S. McD. finished cutting the fencecorners in No. 2. N. & then H. Fuller came and helped us to haul in 7 loads. I raked up etc. and got the 2 acres in N. 3. S. put up in cock. There is 3 or 4 load in No. 2. N. yet and it threatens rain. Lord make me rest contented in thy will. Aunt Annie came down bringing Jane and her two little ones. They are not looking very well. Fine but threatens rain. S.E. wind.

26. T.B.S. came down with his team & Angus McDonald helped awhile, and so we got in all but the rakings by noon. We finished them afternoon & mowed some fencecorners. J.McJ. helped T.B.S. afternoon. I must get at the wheat as soon as I can. I am thankful that the hay is so safe. Lord help me to use it rightly. Threatened rain all day. Very close & hot. Cleared off at night.

27. Emily staid at home with the baby & we all went to meeting beside them. The air feels fine and cool. Thundered heavily in the north yesterday.

28. J. McJ. with John & Andrew went with me to Barrie to take the steers that Mr. Lowe bought last Wednesday. I took one in with me for Grandma Ronald, as H. Coles came down and harrowed the 2 fallows for me. We got home at 5 PM. all right. S. McD cut roads round the 4 acres of wheat in No. 1. S & the Diehl wheat against the bush. (S. McD. did not do much after tea.) Dry & dusty. Came on gusty winds & a thundershower at 6 PM.

29. H. Coles came & S. McD. & we cut bound & shocked the 4 acre wehat in No. 1. S. & began at the 5 1/2 acres Diehl up against the bush. They are both light crops. I think old Jenny went to Morrens tonight. (J.McD. came about 9 AM.) J. McJ. helping T.B.S. Fine, cool & sunny.

30. H. Coles & S.McD. came again & we finished all we can cut with the Reaper by 10.30 P.M. & then we went to T.B.S. to cut his. J. McJ. helping T.B.S. Fine, rather warmer.

31. S. McD. cradled the rough peice against the bush, and I bound it. He took a headache afternoon and went home. T.B.S. came down after tea & we got in the fencecorner hay that was cut on Sat. & 2 load of the Seneca wheat that we cut on Tuesday. It has dried up very quick. Son John helped me to shock the wheat we cut this AM. J. McJ. is helping to draw in wheat at the Store. Very hot.

1879: August

1. I left J. McJ. hoeing the strawberries, & S.McD. went with me up to the Store and I cut 8 acres of wheat, and got home at teatime. Afterward we got in the rest of the Seneca wheat, 4 load tonight, 2 load yesterday. Very hot, A.M. Breezy, P.M.

2. We got at the wheat as soon as we could. Finished the 5 acres against the bush. It is Diehl, not very good. There was 7 pretty big load. We got it in about 3.30 PM & I began raking up the stubble but a gusty thundershower came on about 4 P.M. & stopped harvesting operations. S. McD cut a road round Fathers wheat, and went home after tea. Very hot, A.M. Windy, PM. Not much rain.

3. Emily went to meeting & took care of Fannie, and Mama staid at home with Andrew & "Ducky." Mama went to meeting at night. Fine, rather cool.

4. G Tracy, G Campbel, S. McD. [ ] S. McD. & T.B.S. came, & we cut Fathers wheat, & nearly finished mine in the big feild, but a little bolt got loose which caused a casting to break that holds one of the rakes on the machne, which hindered me some. T.B.S. & J. McJ. got in the rakings of the 5 acres against the bush, & 4 acres of No. 1. S. Fine, rather warm.

5. The 2 Sandy's came, and with G. Campbel we finished the cutting & binding & shocked 4 rows, and then we began drawing in with 2 waggons as it is quite dry. We finished all but about 7 load. Fine with stiff N.W. breeze.

6. I got T.B.S. to come with his team & finish the drawing in. S. McD. came so they got in all mine by teatime & then drew in fathers all but 1 load. I went up to the Store and cut some oats but could not finish the peice on account of the casting which broke on Monday. Andrew R is going to Barrie tomorow & he will get me what I need. Fine summer weather.

7. We got in the last of Fathers wheat, & then as Mr. Woods wanted the Horse Rake, I let him have it & began plowing the 3 acre fallow in No. 1. N. J. McJ. picked off the sticks and then mowed thistles in the pasture against the bush. Rather warm. Came on a sharp thunder shower 5 P.M.

8. J. McJ. is cutting thistles. I went up to the Store & put the castings on the Reaper, & then it worked all right. I finished the oats & got home about 1 P.M. Mama has been poorly lately. Aunt Bessie came down to see her this P.M. I plowed, & T.B.S. raked over Fathers wheat stubble & some of mine. Cloudy with cold N.W. wind. Some showers tonight.

9. M. McJ. is helping T.B.S. to draw out dung. I plowed till 10.30 AM. and then finished the stubble raking by noon. S. Tracy came down afternoon and helped me to get in the rakings, and I helped him to get in a load of hay. He has put it against the N.W. corner of the old barn. Fine harvest weather. Light shower last night.

10. Mama & Emily are not very well this AM. so the two boys & M.E. went to meeting with me. Aunt Annie came down to spend the afternoon with Mama, and she & Emily went to meeting at night. Showery afternoon. Warm, AM.

11. I finished plowing the fallow in N. 1. N., AM. and began the fallow in the big feild, PM. J. McJ. is helping T.B.S. Fine. Rather hot, PM.

12. J. McJ. is hoeing in the garden. I am plowing. Rather hot and close, a few drops of rain fell at noon.

13. I ploughed till noon when it came on to rain. Mr. Papineau machine came down about 4 PM. so we straightened up round the barn to be ready for tomorows threshing. Warm & close, rain again tonight.

14. We got threshing about 7.20 AM. & finished about 3 PM. The wheat turned out 22 bushels to the acre all round which is far more than I expected. May the good Lord make me grateful and "content with such things as I have." S & H. Tracy stayed and helped to straighten up the straw, we cleaned up 21 bags of wheat, 12 for sale, 6 for grist & 3 for T.B.S. (Spotty to Dixons). Cold N.W. wind with occasional light rain.

15. Late up this A.M. I got J. Richards to go with J. McJ. to Dixons with "Pruny" heifer & then I ploughed. I butchered a lamb at night. J. McJ. is choring in the garden. Fine & cool but the weather looks treacherous.

16. J. McJ. went to help T.B.S. and I went to town with the wheat 17 [bags]. I left 5 at the mill as I went and took in the 12 for sale but I could only get 80 cts., 26 bus., 16 lbs., $21.00. I got my grist back & brought some freight for Grandma R. Dull & cloudy. A few drops of rain fell about 10 AM. Cold chilly S.E. wind. Clear tonight.

17. Mama went to meeting with us this morning leaving the Ducky with Emily. Aunt Grace came down and went up with us at night. Fine, cool, pleasant.

18. I am plowing in the fallow in the big feild. J. McJ. is hleping Father to pull his peas. Fine, cool & pleasant.

19. I finished the ploughing about 6.30 PM. I must get on harrowing as soon as possible. Angus McDonald got the Reaper to cut some oats & spring wheat for himself. Fine & some warmer.

20. I began harrowing the 3 acre fallow in No. 1. N. but Mr. Johnson the agent that I got the machines from, came out bringing Mr. Green the manufacturer so I went down to where McDonald was cutting and shewed them a few of the weak spots. They want me to go to Knapp's to try it with some other machine on Friday. I began cutting the oats in No. 2. S. Fine but rather close & hot.

21. I started J. McJ. binding the oats, but a light shower came on and stopped that work so I put a foot rest on the Reaper that was broken off. J. McJ. worked round the barn afternoon. I harrowed the rest of the fallow in No. 1. N. & after tea I went over to H. Tracys and got 2 heifers from him & gave him Flora the cow that we got from Grandma R last fall. He is to have 2 bushels of Seneca wheat as well. I hope the cow will do well with him. Very hot and close. Heavy thunder shower at night.

22. I started J. McJ. harrowing the big fallow. He manages it pretty well. I cut some grass round the house & orchard, AM. Afternoon Mr. H. Johnson came & I got the Reaper ready & went down to Knapps. There were 3 others there. Mine did not go through the tangled stuff as well as I thought it would. I got home about 5.30, just before a heavy thunder shower burst over our heads. Very warm & close.

23. J. McJ. is harrowing, & I rigged up a faulty spot in the Reaper. I believe if I had had that done yesterday it would have worked better. Afternoon we turned the peas & oats, and after tea we bound some but they are not quite dry enough yet. A light shower fell about 10 AM. but it cleared off bright & cool.

24. We all went to meeting but Emily & "Ducky." Mr Holmes was preaching for Mr. Griffin in Barrie, so His morning duty devolved on me. A Mr. Moore from Mr. Griffins Church preached at the river & here in the evening. The Lord hath been among us. May we give Him all the glory. "He doeth all things well." Fine, cool and pleasant.

25. I got Gips front feet shod & then cut the rest of the oats in No. 2. S. J. McJ. helped T.B.S. to get in Fathers peas. Afterward Father came down and we got in 4 load of peas from No. 1. S. The straw is badly spoiled. Fine, cool & pleasant.

26. We got in all the peas but one load. There is about 5 acres in all. T.B.S. is cutting his peas with the mower, as there are a good many thistles & oats among them. He went down to the flat station near Dobbin to meet Fred's wife & little one & sister. He expects to go with them down to where Fred is in the States, about the 1st Oct. Fine, cool & pleasant.

27. T.B.S. came down & helped us off with the load of peas & to get in the one left out yesterday. We are cramped for room. Afterward J. McJ. went up to help him to cut his peas. I pulled the tops from the potatoes that were planted along the headland by the garden in No. 1. S. so as not to run any risk from poisoning the animals as there has been poison put on them to kill the beatle. Afterward I bound oats in No. 2. S. Fine, cool. pleasant. Some warmer.

28. J. McJ. helped T.B.S. to finish his peas & then helped me to bind oats. Father came down afternoon & shocked up after us. We finished binding by teatime and got 2 loads in. Close & thundery, a few drops of rain fell at 5 PM.

29. We got up the potatoes on the headland against the garden & then went on drawing in the oats from No. 2. S. Got done about 4.30 PM. & then went up and got in 2 loads of peas for T.B.S. He is cutting oats. R. Fletcher & little Lizzie came down. They are looking well. Grace came down with R. Murrays wife & little one. Fine harvest weather, rather hot.

30. J. McJ. went with me up to T.B.S.'s & we drew in peas till noon. When T.B.S. finished cutting his oats, so I brought down the machine and began at my oats in No. 3. S. (6 acres). I got them about half cut. Fine harvest weather. Very hot.

31. We all went to meeting but Emily & Ducky. The children walked home after school, & Mama & I staid Dinner with Grandma R. & then went down to see Aunt Eliza who has been sick. She is better now. We called to see Mr. Livingston who is very frail. We got home to tea & Emily went up to the meeting at night. Very hot & close & dusty.

1879: September

1. J. McJ. helped T.B.S. till about 1.30 PM. I finished cutting the oats by noon & then went on binding & shocking. They are a good crop. Fine harvest weather. Hot.

2. We finished binding & shocking the oats in N. 3. S. A strong S.E. wind. Close at night. A few drops of rain.

3. A little sprinkle of rain fell. We went up & got in Fathers oats, & then moved a few rails that made a fence on the north side of the fallow in No. 1. N. but it came on a very heavy rain so I threshed a few oats and cleaned up 18 bags of wheat, 15 for sale & 3 for gristing. Warm, close & rainy.

4. We finished moving the rails & then I put J. McJ. at the harrowing in the big feild. There is 7 acres of fallow there & 3 in No. 1. N. I went with Freds wife & sister to Aunt Elizas, Aunt Louisa's, [Foystens], & called at the store where we had left Mama & Ducky & then came home. J. McJ. is choring. Very high cold N.W. wind with drizzling rain.

5. J. McJ. finished harrowing the fallows. I got out a pine stump & chored around generally. I went up to the corner to do some business for Grandma R. She is not very well so Mama went up as Bessie is away on a health seeking trip & will not be home till tonight and poor Aunt Annie is all alone. Fine & bright with cool N.W. wind.

6. I went to town with 18 bags of wheat leaving 3 at the mill for gristing. The 15 bags weighed 33.30 lbs. at 31 cts., $27.10 cts. The wheat grew against the bush of the Diehl variety. It is badly shrunk, but I am thankful for so much. I do not intend sowing any more of that kind. I got the grist back with me, and some freight for Grandma R. Got home about 5 PM. and drew in a load of oats from No. 3. S. Cool. A sharp shower fell about 7.30 AM.

7. I went to meeting on horseback & John & Mabeth & Emily walked & the rest staid at home. Mr. Holmes is away on a Holiday so the service fell to me. I started to the station at the river & fell in with a Mr. Blatherwick of Angus who had agreed to prech for us at night so he took the service there as well. Mama walked up to see Grandma R afternoon so I brought her home with Mr. Dixons buggy which had been borrowed to bring Mr. Blatherwick. Cool & cloudy, with some rain.

8. I took Mr. Dixons buggy home & then began rigging up the 7 acres of fallow in the big feild. J. McJ. is picking up in the pealand No. 1. S. Cool & cloudy. Some showers.

9. J. McJ. is picking up sticks in No. 1 N. I plowed till noon & then we drew in 4 loads of oats from No. 3. S. & put them in the old barn on top of the wheat. We got one load in our barn down here leaving 2 loads out yet. S. Jacobs got (I think) 7 bus. wheat (Seneca) for seed. Cool & cloudy but no rain.

10. We got in the other 2 loads of oats, & then J. McJ. went up to help T.B.S. to get in his. They finished about 6.30 PM. I plowed in the fallow in big feild. Mr. Papineau got 7 bus. 38 lbs. of Seneca wheat for seed. (Frost last night). Fine & sunny but cold NW wind.

11. J. McJ. is picking up etc. I ploughed in the big feild. I sold a lamb to a butcher for $2.25. It is not much but everything is cheap now & I want him out of the road. He is the last ram lamb I have left. (Frost last night). Fine, some warmer.

12. Cold last night but no frost. I finished ploughing the 7 acres in the big feild, and got it sowed with Seneca wheat. J. McJ. harrowed some of it but I cannot depend on him making a good job of it. I got it all pretty well covered by dark. It came on a heavy rain then. Fine through the day. Close.

13. I ploughed the headland & finished the 7 acres in the big feild. I left J. McJ. to clean out the furrows, & began at the 3 acres of fallow in No. 1. N. Came on rain again at night. Mr. Phillips got 11 bus. 24 lbs. of Seneca wheat for seed. Fine through day.

14. I took Doll in the light waggon up to meeting so that Mama & the little ones could go. I fed her there and then put on the saddle and went on to Phelpston. Got back to Minesing again & led the meeting in the evening. I am weary & tired and wish I could do the Lords work better but "He Knows All." Mr. Holmes has been away on a holiday for nearly 2 weeks. I hope he will be back soon. Fine, rather cool.

15. Uncle T.B.S. came down with his team & waggon & he & J. McJ. began drawing manure out of the yard & put it on No. 1. S., 5 acres of pea land that I intend putting in with wheat. I finished plowing the 3 acre of fallow in No. 1. N. & got half of it sown and harrowed in. Mr. Phillips got 113 lbs. of Seneca wheat.

16. T.B.S. came down with his plough & began plowing the pealand crossways. I finished the 3 acres in No. 1. N. & then pulled up some stumps in the pea land, forenoon. We both ploughed, PM. J. McJ. spread the manure that was put out yesterday & then picked up roots etc. Fine, cool, cloudy, some rain at night.

17. T.B.S. came down & we ploughed the rest of the pealand. We got through about 3 PM. & then harrowed it once over for it is very rough. J. McJ. picked up roots, cut wood etc. Squally sharp showers of rain.

18. I got up to the old barn as soon as I could this AM. McDonalds have got a new threshing machine & T.B.S. wants to thresh so we concluded to wind it all up at the same, time. We worked away till dark leaving about an hours work yet. The oats are yeilding well but the wheat is very poor. Cool, some showers, but fine on the whole.

19. We finished the threshing 135 bus. wheat, & 92 bus. oats, a tremendous lot of straw. Father had 45 bus. wheat & 40 bus. oats. We got up to T.B.S.'s as soon as we could & threshed away all day. 100 bus. oats, 70 bus. peas, 61 bus. wheat. We left some peas yet to thresh. Cool. A few drops of rain.

20. J. McJ. is helping T.B.S. I got son John & Andrew harrowing while I sowed Treadwel wheat on the 5 acres of pealand in No. 1. S. I got it all harrowed twice but about an hours work. Mr. Phillips got 9 bus., 46 lbs. wheat Seneca. Cool & pleasant.

21. Emily, John, Andrew, & I walked to meeting as the horses have worked very hard lately. I staid dinner with Grandma R. Mrs. Murray is up from Toronto, looking pretty well. I got down home about 4 PM. Aunt [Lou] & William Collins were to tea. Mama rode up with them to the corner, & I went with T.B.S. after I had done milking. Fine, cool & pleasant.

22. I finished harrowing No. 1. S. & took the waggon up to the old barn and put on a load of hay to go to H Johnson, the agent I got the machine off. I cleaned out some furrows in the wheat land & got in the chaff that had been put in the shed when we threshed last Thursday. J. McJ. helped T.B.S. forenoon. Fine today & pleasant, rain tonight.

23. I went to Barrie with the hay. Could have sold it readily at $8.00 but I took it to Hughes on H Johnsons account (1780 lbs.). I find the market is livelier and wheat on the rise. May the good Lord ever lead us on the right way, for His gloryy & our good. J. McJ. is picking up sticks. The rain cleared off at daybreak, but the roads are slippy. Fine, close, AM. Cool, PM.

24. Threshed peas forenoon. Cleaned them up & then took the mill up to the old barn & cleaned up, 19 bags of wheat. Blustering NW wind with some rain.

25. Went to town with the wheat. Sold at $1.00 per bus. (42 bus.) Got home about 5 PM. Took tea & then sowed Timothy on the 7 acres of land that is in with fall wheat against fathers barn (by field). I am tired tonight. J. McJ. went to town for T.B.S. to help him with his cow. Cold, fall weather.

26. Cleaned up 19 bags of wheat in old barn. J. McJ. went to picking up sticks in No. 1. S. I rolled the peice where I sowed the grasseed last night, & then fired some heaps in No. 1. N. Fine & pleasant.

27. I went to town with the wheat. Could only make 96 cts. per bus., 42 bus., 55 lbs., ($41.25 cts.) I brought home 200 brick for H Tracy, & paid T. Lawson 57.70, being what I owed him last year for 2 steers & use of machinery, with ten per cent intrest. I am thankful that it is paid. May the good Lord in his abundant pity give me means to pay all I owe, & make me grateful for all his benefits. J. McJ. picking up sticks. Fine through the day, raining tonight, warm.

28. We all went to meeting, & Mama & John & M.E. went with me down to Mr. McKinleys for the afternoon & then came up to the meeting at night from there. Got home about 9 P.M. & then had the pleasure of milking Jenny & Spotty. Emily had milked Brindle, and kept the children all right. (He that Keepeth Israel slumbers not nor sleeps). Fine, but cloudy, a light rain fell about 4 P.M.

29. I went up to T.B.S's & got his waggon, & called at the old barn & brought down some wheat screenings, & some oats, & then went at the manure in my barnyard. I am drawing it out to the S.W. corner of No. 1. S. where the seneca fall wheat grew. There is a good catch of grass, but the land is sandy & a top dressing of manure will do it good. J. Hindle came down & I settled up with him for the 2 months he worked here in the spring. Fine & very warm S.W. wind.

30, We finished drawing out manure, at least all we will do at it this year, & then we cleaned up 3 bags of wheat & 20 of oats. J. McJames time is out tonight so I gave him his money $18.00 for the three months. I do not know where he will go next. I have offered him 50 cts. to spread the manure that we have just hauled out. Fine and sunny, as warm as in the summer.

1879: October

1. J. McJ. went away this morning. I spent most of my time getting up potatoes in front of the house, which is all I have. They are a nice crops as good as I could expect as this is the third year I have grown them in the same place. Grandma R came down & Aunt Annie. Mr. T.E.J. came about 3 PM. I saw him away about 5 PM. (Thou God [ ] me). Left $5.00 with A.R for Mr H. Fine, warm as summer.

2. I went to town with 20 bags of oats & 3 bags of wheat which I left on the way at the [vespra] mills. Emily & John went with me. I sold the oats, 54 bus., 15 lbs. at 28 1/2 cts. ($15.50 ct.). I got my grist on the way home. I paid the note I gave Mr Freeman on the 31st March $12.60 & left $2.00 for G Campbels harvest wages with Granma R. Got home about dark. Warm with close smothery wind. A few drops of rain fell about 3 PM. A heavy rain tonight.

3. I rose early this morning & finished sowing the grasseed on the east part of N. 1. S. which is in fall wheat. I then went on digging potatoes in front of the house. They are a very fair crop. Father has been ailing for some time with a pain in his back, and is worse today. I went up & split some wood, etc. Fine, & cooler. Fine fall weather.

4. I finished up the potatoes putting them in pits in the old spots, & covered them lightly with earth. There is a small strip yet to dig, which I think the boys & girls can manage, and we can use them right away. Father is some better. I have promised to supply a preaching station at Sunnidale for him tomorow. May the good Lord go with me & ("be with my mouth"). Fine, pleasant weather.

5. I was up early so as to get to Sunnidale by 10 AM. I staid with Mr. Buey, and got down to Mr. McNabs at the river just as Mr. Holmes was beginning the meeting. I got home about 5.30 PM & after straightening up the chores I went up to the meeting at night. Father is some better. Fine & hot as summer.

6. After cutting wood etc., I began spreading the manure I hauled out last week, as the grass below the heaps was beginning to suffer. I went up to the committee meeting at night & was late home. Feeling weary & worn out. Very hot, with south wind.

7. I finished spreading the manure and began ploughing the wheat stubble in the big field. Very hot with south wind.

8. I ploughed till 4 P.M. & then butchered a lamb for Grandpa, & went to straighten up & transfer the Treasurers accounts to James Johnston. Warm & close, warm rain tonight.

9. Ploughing. Very hot and close & cloudy.

10. Ploughing. A little clearer, very warm.

11. I ploughed till 11 AM. when I had to quit as I had a severe pain in my stomach and intestines. By use of hot water, turpentine, etc. I was much better by night. Thank the Lord. Some cooler & clearer.

12. I walked up early to meeting. Mr. Holmes with most of the members were down at Mr. Livingstons where Mrs. Gowan & George Crawford were baptized, and afterwrd received into the Church. Mama went up with me at night to the new Presbyterian Church which was opened today. Much cooler & plesanter.

13. I began threshing peas but James Johnson came down & got me to go with him & straighen up with Father who holds the note that he gave me for Bonny the young mare that I sold to him in March 1878. I then squared up with Father all the little accounts that have been running through the year and gave receipts for them. I got the Mill down and cleaned up the peas. Fine, warm & summery.

14. I cut some wood and then went up to the corner with Gip in the light waggon taking Andrew with me. When I got there Aunt Annie said she would go with me to Avening so I got Grandma R's light rig and we all started off together. We got to our journeys end about 4 P.M. & found our freinds the Murrays all well and glad to see us. Fine and summery.

15. Robert Murray went with me to Creemore where I saw Mr. Cluson who promised to come and plaster Andrew Ronalds house next week. We spent the rest of the day at the Stumping Machine which was working at some pine stumps in Murrays feilds. Dry. Unusually hot weather for Oct.

16. I went down to see Mrs. Carruthers in Avening this A.M. & afternoon Robert hitched to the buggy & took Annie, Andrew, Mrs. Murray & myself a drive arround the hills. The scenery is fine, but the atmosphere was too hazy to see Minesing from the heights. The weather is very warm, sometimes oppressively hot. Looks a little like rain tonight.

17. We started for home about eight A.M. having spent a pleasant visit with our kind freinds. We arrived at the Store about 12.30 PM. & got to Evergreen Home about 1 PM. thankful for journeying mercies, and to find all things well at home. I helped Father to overhaul the pump in the old barnyard and made up a breach that a tree had made in the fence in the pasturefield against the bush. A few drops of rain fell this AM. but it cleared off with a lively wouth wind.

18. I went on with the ploughing which I had to leave last Saturday on account of my sickness. There is about half a days ploughing yet to do. Came on cooler with west N.W. wind. Some light rain squalls tonight.

19. Mama, John, & Mabeth went with me to meeting. Grandma R. & Mr. & Mrs. McKinley came down in the afternoon. Cold N.W. wind. Freezing tonight.

20. I finished ploughing the west half of the big feild forenoon & cleaned up a load of wheat afternoon & a grist for Father. Took Mama down to Old Mr. Kirks at night to see about the horse blankets being wove. Fine, with N.W. wind, freezing tonight.

21. I went to Barrie with 17 bags of wheat, 26 bus., 30 lbs., sold at $1.16 cts. per bus., $42.35 cts. Was late home, but went with Mama to McDonalds to wish Sandy & his Bride much joy. Fine & some warmer.

22. I butchered a calf for Father & cleaned up a grist for myself and got down the oats that were threshed to my barn, afternoon. I drew in some cornstalk for old Mr. McDonald, cut some wood & then went down to Mr. Bremners & paid him $31.50 cts., which with the $6.00 he owed me for cutting his hay, made $37.50 cts. being the amount due him for intrest on the $500.00. Fine, with lively S. wind.

23. I went to town leaving Fathers grist & mine at the mill on the way, and the veal that I butchered yesterday. Mother went with me taking chick hens, butter, eggs etc. I got my grist back with me but could not wait for Fathers as I am going to town again next week. Very cold N.W. wind with blustering squalls of snow & rain.

24. I went up to the hill with the scraper and horses and filled up some holes that were washed with rains. I worked at it till noon, & that completes the Statute labour for this year. I chored around afternoon and went down to Mr. Bremners at night and got a ram lamb from him. Cold Blustering NW wind with some heavy dashes of snow. Freezing hard.

25. I went up to help Mr. Phillips to thresh forenoon but they broke down at noon so I came home & chored arround generally. Cold N.W. wind. Does not thaw where the sun does not shine.

26. Emily, John & Mabeth went with me to meeting & Aunt Bessie came down to dinner with us. Mr. Holmes announced that he had a very earnest and unanimous call to the Pastorate at Aylmer, a large & influential Church with over 300 members. He has not decided yet. Mama went with me to meeting at night. Fine & sunny. Warmer.

27. I began to thresh some peas, but got word about 10 AM that they were going to thresh at the Store so I went up with the team. Went down to Mr. Coles's at night to bring Father & Mother home as they were attending a meeting there. T.B.S. came home from his trip to Texas. Fine autumn weather.

28. A heavy shower of rain fell about 6 AM. I went up to the corner and we threshed all day. Some showers of rain, colder.

29. I butchered a sheep, and finished threshing what peas were on the barn floor, AM. Afternoon I helped Father to clean up his wheat & put it in boxes to be safe from vermin and then we got the Mill down & cleaned up the peas that I had threshed & 5 bags of wheat. Mama went with me to prayer meeting at night. Some showers of rain. Blustering S.W. & W wind.

30. It rained a good bit through the night but I went to town & sold the 2 hind qrs. of Mutton at 6 cts. per lb., 44 lbs., the 2 hind qrs. $2.64, skin $1.00. I left 1 fore qr., 16 lb., at home for our own use & 1 weighing 19 1/2 for Fostor at 5 cts. I sold the 5 bags of wheat 10 bus., 35 lbs. at $1.07, $11.32. I brought home Fathers grist and have sold 3 qrs. of beef to be delivered next Sat. week at 5 cts. & 4 cts. per lb. Cold, N.W. wind with dashes of rain & snow. Paid the note for the Sewing machine $28.35.

31. Six inches of snow on the ground this morning. I got the cattle & sheep all into their winter quarters, weaned the pigs. Father got 2 at $1.25 each leaving me 3 to keep over winter. I found the ram that I got from Mr. Bremner along with the ewes, so I shall have to look out for some early lambs & put him up with 2 old ewes that I intend to fatten. I went to help Louis Papineau to raise a house on the 9 Con., but we did not get it finished. Very stormy, NW wind with snow squalls.

1879: November

1. I straightened up a little round the yard, & got out the bobsleighs & put on the rack & took a small load of straw to Mrs. Hindles, AM. I went to help to finish L Papineau's house, P.M. The snow is nearly a foot deep. Not quite so stormy as yesterday.

2. We went to meeting in the sleigh, Mama in the morning & Emily at night. Aunt Annie came down with us at noon. Wintry.

3. I helped McDonalds with their threshing. Got through about 3.30 PM. Went up to the Store at night. Cold with a little snow.

4. I helped Father to butcher a calf, AM. I ground up the cutting bone knives etc. D. Wood came down and bought my bobsleighs for $18.00, $10.00 at New Years, and the rest "as soon as he can." Cold & wintry.

5. Chored arround, AM. Threshed 2 floors of peas, PM.

6. Cleaned up the peas that I threshed yesterday, & then went to the thanksgiving meeting at 11 AM. Mr. Crawford came down & I went up with him to see T.B.S. to have some Texas talk. A Ronald & Grace came down to spend the afternoon. Some softer.

7. T.B.S. & Father came down & helped me to butcher the bigest heifer that I got from H. Tracy for "Flora." She is nice beef but small. The other heifer is smaller yet I think I will fatten her for Christmass. I chored afternoon & got in 3 wheelbarrows full of carrotts. The snow has melted away very fast today. Cloudy but soft, snow going fast.

8. It thawed fast all night. I went to town with the heavy waggon taking 2 hind qrs., 109. 103., of beef & the hide, 55 lbs. at 6 1/2 cts. per lb. I sold the 2 qrs. at $5.00 each & the hide made me $3.60 cts. I left $13.00 at the Store, as I came by. I wish I could pay what I owe there. (Jehovah nisi). Lord make me rest contented in thy will. J. Hindle came down & pulled up the rest of the carrots. Warm & sunny, snow nearly all gone.

9. I went up to meeting on horseback. Mr. Holmes is at Aylmer. J. Kent Jr. & George Ronald went to Phelpston. Mrs. Taylor came down for the afternoon, & I took her home at night when I went up to get Gip that J. Kent had to go to Phelpston. We had no meeting at night, as there were two others without ours. Dull & cloudy, came on a heavy shower at 4 PM.

10. I got in 2 load of carrots that J Hindle & the boys pulled on Saturday, & threw them on the barn floor, & then turned the horses out & went up to help T.B.S. with his roots. Dull & cloudy, but warm.

11. Helping T.B.S. with his roots. Some showers of rain. Cloudy.

12. Helping T.B.S. with roots. The weather is still cloudy, with some rains. A very heavy shower came on about 4.30 P.M. but we got all the roots up but a few red carrots, but were "clean wet through."

13. I topped the carrots that I hauled in on Monday & cleaned out the pigpen etc. I went up to the Store at night with mama. Mr Holmes is to leave us next Tuesday. I got the horses front shoes set. Dull & cloudy. Some rain at night.

14. I went up to T.B.S.'s & brought down 2 waggons box's full of Marigolds, about 60 bus. at 10 cts. per bus. I cut wood, let off water, etc., P.M. It rained heavily from 10 A.M. till 3 PM with heavy thunder & sharp lightening. It is dry tonight, & still warm. I settled with S. Tracy, & squared up with T.B.S. leaving a ballance of 80 cts. coming to me, & I traded off his old reaper last summer for $12.00 & he was to have the worth of it in the use of my new one at 25 cts. per acre. He cut with it 13 acres ($3.25 ct.). Warm & close. Heavy thundershower from 10 AM till 3 PM.

15. I threshed 2 floors of peas with the horses, and John & Andrew helped me to clean them up. They do not yeild well. Wind shifted round to the north. Colder.

16. Mama went with me to meeting with John Mabeth & Andrew. Emily went up at night. Aunt Bessie came down to spend the afternoon. The Church was full tonight. It is Mr Holmes last sermon to us, as he has accepted the call from Aylmer. Colder with some squalls of rain & hail.

17. I got out potatoes carrots & parsnips to do us awhile & covered up the pits afresh. I took Pruney heifer to Ploughrights bull afternoon & then Mama & I went up to a farewell meeting in the Church. It was a very pleasant social gathering though mixed with sadness at parting. May the Lord indeed go with them. Freezing tonight with some specks of snow.

18. I worked in the garden forenoon moving some apple trees, etc. Mama & Ducky went with me up to the store to wish Mrs. Holmes goodbye & about twenty five went down with Mr. Holmes & family to see them off on the train at the bottom of Tomlingsons hill. We got home about 6.30 PM. The roads are rough & hard frozen. Cold north wind freezing hard with some specks of snow.

19. I skidded out some logs that were cut last spring for the sawing Machine, have half a notion to get a man to help me to saw them with a crosscut. There is a little snow on the ground and it is pretty hard frozen which is a good thing for the wheat. A little softer today but cold.

20. A very cold N.W. wind with snow. I chored around most of the day, stopping [up] cracks in the stables etc. Wrote to S.A. Dyke. Quite a bit of snow fell today.

21. H. Tracy came & we sawed wood with the crosscut saw. I believe it will be cheaper than the machine. We cut some of the logs that S. Tracy & Moore chopped down last May.Cold & snowy.

22. Threshed [ ], cut wood, etc. Not quite so cold, some snow.

23. Mama John Andrew & Fannie went with me to meeting. There was to be none at night so we all spent the rest of the day at home. Very stormy. Heavy snow, AM.

24. I went up to the bush & split & hauled 2 load of wood down that we sawed on Friday. Louis Papineau came down about 3.30 PM & I weighed him out half a ton of hay at $7.00. He gave me $3.00, owes me 65 cts. yet. Fine but rather cloudy, not very cold.

25. H. Tracy came & we sawed wood all day. We went up to the Church meeting at night. Late home. Cold, with some heavy snow squalls.

26. I split & got down a lot of wood. Mild thaw in the sun.

27. Made a doubletree splittwood, etc. Soft with some rain.

28. T.B.S. came down & helped me to butcher 2 pigs. They weight about 180 lbs. They were born about the first week in April. I got down another load of marigolds, which squares up with him & I. I put the sheep out for a bite of grass. The snow is about all gone. Some heavy rains fell today. It is very close. Came on cold about 9 PM. with some blustering wind & snow.

29. I threshed peas & cut up the two pigs that we killed yesterday & salted them. I got the horse feed bin filled with oats. Cold north wind with snow all day through.

30. Went up to meeting with sleigh. Took some horsefeed along, and fed the horses at noon and got dinner at Store. T. Stokes went with me to Phelpston on horseback as the sleighing is very poor. (May the Good Lord awake Phelpston.) We got home about dark. A good number gathered at the Chapel but I came right home & wrote to Mr Spurgeon. Rather pleasant, but cold NE wind.

1879: December

1. I got 3 load of wood down forenoon & a small load left yet, but did not go for it as the snow is about gone. I chored around, PM. I think Daisy heifer went to McDonalds this week. Fine, rather inclined to be warm.

2. I threshed a few oats today & straightened round the sheds etc. Mild & cloudy, AM. Drizzling rain, PM. Heavy rain at night.

3. I went up to the bush expecting to see H Tracy there to help to saw wood, but he did not come so I cut some cordwood, underbrushed a little etc. A light snow fell all day from SE. Not very cold.

4. I helped TBS. to butcher a pig & then threshed a few more oats, AM. Went over to Fostors to help S. Tracy to raise a log house. He has bought a peice of land beside the track. Some milder, not snowing.

5. I cleaned up the oats and took 4 bags out to the mill to get ground for the cows. Mama & Fannie went with me to the corner. I got the stuff back from the mill & came across the bush, and went up to the Store to practice some peices for the intended Tea meeting on the 30th. Snow is going fast. A raw SE wind.

6. Had a restless night with the Ducky. Do not feel well today. Threshed 2 floors of peas with the horses and cleaned them up. Soft with some heavy rains.

7. Mama John M.E. & Andrew went to meeting with me this AM. S. Webber came down in the afternoon. We went up with the waggon again at night. Roads very soft & mushy. Fine & pleasant, not cold.

8. H. Tracy cmae and we sawed wood all day. Fine, freezing a little.

9. I split wood and chored around, AM. Threshed a few oats, PM. Some colder, a little snow fell.

10. Mr. Bremner came down and I had a chat with him, AM. I threshed some oats, PM., & went to practise some peices at the store tonight before prayer meeting. Drizzling rains, quite warm.

11. H. Tracy came & we sawed wood all day. Colder. Some snow squalls.

12. I went up to the bush, but H. Tracy did not come. I cut some cordwood, piled some brush, etc., A.M. I threshed some peas, P.M. Heavy snow, A.M.. Not so stormy, PM. Mild.

13. I went up to [TBS's]. Got his cutter & went out to Stayner to see Lake & Co. about some money. They sent me a circular some time ago advertising money to loan at low intrest, but the conversation I had with them is not satisfactory. Rather cold, not enough snow for sleighing.

14. We went to meeting with the sleigh. Mama staid at home with Ducky & Fannie. Mr. Blatherwick walked all the way from Angus, & gave us a good address from the words Lovest thou me. Cloudy, not very cold.

15. Helped Father to butcher a pig, A.M. He helped me to butcher 2 sheep, PM. More snow last night, not cold today.

16. I went to town with the 8 qrs. of Mutton. Sold 4 hind qr. at 5 1/2 cts., $4.12. 2 fore qrs. at 4 1/2, $1.50. Traded the other 2 qrs. off at the same rate. Very dull sale. John & Andrew went with me. Rather cold today with gleams of sunshine. (Quite a snowstorm at night).

17. I helped T.B.S. to butcher his fat cow, A.M. I got down 3 load of wood, PM. Cold & stormy.

18. I threshed peas & cleaned them up. A little more snow. Cold & wintry.

19. I made a rack to draw hay with for the block sleigh. It is the only machine I have now since I sold the bobsleighs to D. Wood. T.B.S. helped me to put on a load of hay for Barrie tomorrow. Cold, & stormy.

20. I went to town with the hay, sold it at $6.00 per ton. There was a good bit on the market. I am thankful that I got it sold as well as I did. The sleighing is pretty good now. Rather cold. Some light snow.

21. We went to meeting. Mama & M.E. & John & I. Janis Pitt came down & I went up with the sleigh again at night. Wesley Orchard has been very sick with Typhus fever for some time, & we made special prayer for him. Snapping Cold. 24 below zero.

22. Very much milder with a sort of light rain. T.B.S. came down & helped me to butcher the red heifer that I got from H. Tracy for Flora. We got done at noon & then I helped him to butcher 2 pigs. Colder again tonight.

23. Mama & I went to town. I sold the beef at 5 1/2 cts. per lb. The 2 hind qrs.weighed 106 & 102, $5.60 ct. & $5.83 ct. The hide 57 lbs. at 8 1/2, $4.75 cts. 2 sheepskins $1.50 ct. each, $3.00. We got home a little after dark. I went to Mr. Sneaths on the way home & paid my taxes, $18.80. Fine pleasant winter weather.

24. I helped T.B.S. to butcher 3 pigs & then I got down a load of wood & split some. Went up to meeting at night. Fine, & a slight thaw, with a light rain ocasionally.

25. We all went to Grandpa Standens to Dinner, & up to Grandma Ronalds to tea. Rather snappish.

26. Went to Bennets with the sow but had to bring her to the mills to a little hog there. I left her & came home & threshed some peas & then went for her again at night. I do not think she is in pig. I went up to the store at night to practice, & H. Coles lent me $50.00. He is going to give me another $50.00 soon, when I will give him a note at 10 per cent int. (Lord do thou help me to pay my debts.) Very cold & snappish, some snow squalls.

27. T.B.S. came down & helped me to put on a load of hay. I had it sold to Shortreed, but when I got to Barrie another man wanted it so I let him have it at the same price, $7.00. It weighed 2160, $7.56. I intend taking Shortreed a load on Tuesday. Got home about dark. Had a long talk with James Winslow on Church matters. Also with Griffin. Fine wintry weather.

28. We all went up to meeting & Mama staid up at the Store till night. Fine, not very cold.

29. I got T.B.S. to help me to put on a load of hay & I took it to town for Shortreed. It weighed 2245 at $7.00 per ton, $7.85. I was late home. I sent $1.70 off to Dougal for the witness for J. Kent & myself. Fine & rather soft.

30. I got Grandpa to help me to move the oats that were on the top of the hay over the Driving floor as I could not get at it. I managed to pack them over the stable. I split wood etc. till 3 PM & then went up to the Tea meeting. We had a good time. (The Lord be praised). Fine but rather cold.

31. I went up to the school house to elect a trustee for the next 3 years. S. Jacobs was proposed, but John Johnston went in. We all went up to the Tea meeting at night & we had a pleasant meeting. The Christmas tree was a success. Cold & Stormy till 3 PM. Fine after.

[Note: At this point in the diary there are 2 1/2 pages of financial notations for 1879 and 1880]

1880: January

1. Thur. 1st Jany 1880. I got down some wood from the bush & the horses shoes sharpened on their front feet. The "young folk" came down in the evening. Fine & sunny.

2. Fri. 2nd. Helped Grandpa to butcher, AM. Threshed some peas, & went down with Mama, John, M.E. & Andrew to see Aunt Loo who has a little daughter. We did not stay there long but went on to Eliza's to celebrate Sam's birthday. We got home about 9 PM. Rather cold & blustering.

3. Sat. 3rd. T.B.S. helped me on with a load of hay & I took it to town. Sold it at $7.50 per ton, $8.35. I gave T. Johnson $20.00 for intrest on the $200.00 I borrowed from him last year, & $20.00 intrest for "Building Committee." Sold a load of clovery hay to go to town on Mon. or Tue. at $7.00. Fine, AM.. Heavy sleet, P.M.

4. Sun. 4th. Mama, Duckey, & Fannie staid at home. Catherine Papineau who is our only help now went to meeting, A.M. Mama went up with me tonight. The meeting was in the Presbyterian Chapel, the first of the yearly series of the week of prayer. Mr. Millard preached on Gods sovereignty & majesty and the fullness of Christs Salvation. Soft today, rain last night, freezing tonight. (eleven years married today).

Diary for the year 1880

5. Jany 5th 1880. T.B.S. came down & helped me to put on a load of hay, & I went to Barrie with it as it looks like soft weather & I had promised to take it on Mon. or Tues. Mr. Strong got it at $7.00 per ton, not quite 1800 lbs, $6.17. Came home by the Corner & gave my vote & then got home & did up the chores & went back to the meeting, the 2nd of the series of prayer meetings to be held through the week. Fine but not very warm.

6. Tue. 6. Cleaned out pigpens, henpens, etc., A.M. Threshed a floor of peas, P.M. Soft, some smart showers.

7. Wed. 7. Got the horses hind feet shod & got a load of wood, A.M. Went to help H. Tracy thresh, P.M. Stayed up to meeting at night. Rev'd Mr. Morgan officiated in the Presbyterian Chapel. Fine but rather soft.

8. Thur. 8. Got down all the wood that is sawed at the bush & piled it in the shed. Mama went with me to meeting tonight. Fine, rather soft.

9. Fri. 9. T.B.S. & Grandpa came down & helped me to butcher the old sow & 2 other pigs. Got done about 2.30 PM. & then threshed some oats. (Fine & soft).

10. Sat. 10. Went to town with the old sow. Had to take waggon. Sold at $6.00 per [ ], 390 in weight ($23.40 cts.). Paid $10.00 for Church. Fine & rather cold. 37 years old today.

11. Sun. 11. Went up to meeting on horseback & to Phelpston afternoon. Saw a sick woman. May the Lord comfort & keep her. I was late back & went to the Presbyterian meeting. Soft, slushy, muddy, rainy.

12. Mon. 12. Threshed oats, A.M. Cut up & salted pork, PM. Went with Mama & Aunt Bessie to see Aunt Loo & her little daughter at night. Colder today, freezing.

13. Tue. 13. H. Tracy came & we sawed wood all day.

14. Wed. 14. [H. Tracy came & we sawed wood all day]. Mama was very unwell all day, & at night I went for Mrs. Pattendon. Instead of going to the Union prayer meeting, after I got back I went up to the Store & got S. Coles to go for a Doctor. A little boy was born about 12 P.M. but it had been dead for some time. Mama is doing nicely. I feel somewhat sad for it is sin that brings death but I feel glad when I think of the time "When Death itself shall die," & "pains & groans & greifs & fears." Not very cold but freezing.

15. Thur. 15. I did some chores & then took Grandma R. home & Aunt Eliza went along as far as the corner. She was providentially down seeing Mother & gave us good help. Afternoon I buried the wee thing below a Cherry tree in the Orchard on the north side of the Cheery tree furtherest south in the row, that the Crabtree is on. Afterward I got a load of dry wood from the bush, and went to Church meeting at night. May the good Lord grant that the last two days experience may purify and make me more like Him. Fine & sunny.

16. Fri. 16. Angus McDougall has been threshing peas for the last 2 days & I helped him to clean them up this AM. There were 26 2/3 bus. & I give him 8 cts. per bushel. He took 2 bus. at 60 cts. & I gave him 95 cts. in cash. I think there is about 20 bus. more to thresh. I want to charge them for seed. I took Mrs. Pattendon home afternoon & called to see Wesley Orchard who has been very sick with Typhoid fever. The roads [are] getting soft & muddy. I have used the waggon the last days. Aunt Bessie came down tonight. Soft & Cloudy.

17. Sat. 17. I mended some things about the harness & cuttingbox & made a spout to pump water into the trough in the barnyard. Soft, cloudy, rainy. Mr. & Mrs. Millard came down to see Mama.

18. Sun. 18. We all went to meeting leaving Mama with Catharine, Ducky & Andrew. We had a nice prayer meeting again at night. May the Good Lord bless our meeting together. Still soft & muddy.

19. Mon. 19. Went over to McDonalds with the little Cherry heifer and did some chores, AM. H. Tracy came & we sawed, PM. Soft & balmy today, frost tonight.

20. Tues. 20. H. Tracy came & we sawed all day. I squared up with him at night. I don't think I will saw anymore now. I gave him 75 cts. per day. He was here 7 1/2, $5.63. Snowy.

21. Wed. 21. Split wood & chored, A.M. Chopped some cordwood, P.M. Aunt Bessie has been staying here since last Friday. She went up with me to meeting at night & Aunt Annie came down. Mama is doing nicely. Clear & sunny. Cold.

22. Thur. 22. Threshed Oats today. Snow, A.M. Soft, P.M.

23. Fri. 23. Split wood and did some other chores, A.M. Got some wood from the bush & put on a load of hay, P.M. Repeated snow squalls. Colder.

24. Sat. 24. Went to town with the hay. Sold readily at 7.50 per ton, 2240 lb., $8.40. I paid T.E.J. $10.00 for intrest on the $100.00 that I owe him. Got prizes book for the S.S. Fine wintry weather, not much snow.

25. Sun. 25. Went up to meeting as usual. Catharine staid with Mama & Ducky. I got the buggy at the Corner & took J. Kent & Wife, & S. Webbes with me to Phelpston. Had a nice time (thank God). Promised to go again in 2 weeks. May the good Lord work there and meet with us at that time moving the hearts of the people to come. Got home to our own meeting at night & had a refreshing season. Praise God from whom all blessing flow. Soft & slushy but fine.

26. Mon. 26. Drew wood from the bush. The bit of snow will soon be gone. Fine & sunny.

27. Tues. 27. Went up to the bush to split wood that H. Tracy helped me to saw, but the maul gave out so I shall have to fix it up. I made a good maul & split some more wood, PM, & then went up to the corner to arrange the Childrens prizes for the S.S. Soft & balmy.

28. Wed. 28. Cold & blustering this morning. I salted the pork over again & put some upstairs to dry. I split wood afternoon in the bush, and went up to the Union prayer meeting in the Presbyterian Church at night. I do not like them. The Lord help Minesing.

29. Thurs. 29. I split wood and did some more chores & took Mama up to see Aunt Loo who is at Grandma S. with a sore breast. Cold S.E. wind but warm Sun.

30. Fri. 30. I split the last of the wood that H. Tracy helped me to saw up at the bush & took Mrs. Jacobs down as far as Coles's & brought Miss Tracy back to wait on Aunt Loo as Grandma S. is not well. I rigged up the rack on the waggon and got on a load of hay ready for tomorow. Cold last night, soft today.

31. Sat. 31. I went to town with the hay but had a tough sale, $6 1/2 .00 per ton, some over 1600 lbs, $5.45 cts. The roads are solid but rough. Got home about 4.30 PM. Cold thin, N.W. wind.

1880: February

1. Sun. 1st. Cold bleak N.W. wind with snow. I took the Children up to school with the sleigh. There was not many out for it was very stormy. Mr. Kent asked the use of the Chapel for E.D. Campbel to preach afternoon, so after dinner I went up. Was taken with severe pain in the bowels so I got home as soon as I could & got to bed. Not quite so stormy tonight.

2. Mon 2d. I did not do much today for I do not feel very vigorous. Mr. & Mrs. Dixon came down in the evening. Cold & wintry.

3. Tues. 3. T.B.S. came down early & helped me on with a load of hay. I took the waggon for the snow is blown off the roads. I sold the Hay at $6.75 per ton. I had about 2400 lbs, $8.13 cts. I got the loan of $70.00 from Mr. Jackson & gave him a receipt of it & $100.00 that I have had for several years from him. I expect to get some money from Mr. Bremner at 7 1/2 per cent & then I will pay Mr. J. back. I put the $70.00 that I got today to Mr. Bremner's credit in the Bank of Toronto, as he has a note against me which is due now. Cold E. [&] N.E. wind with steady snow.

4. Wed. 4th. I threshed some oats & did some chores & took Mama & Ducky up to the Store to stay awhile and took Mrs. Coles home who has been doctoring Louisa's breast. I ["brought Miss Tracy down to help" crossed out] got home as soon as I could & then went up to the W.M. S.S. Tea meeting. A man by the name of Alexander came from Andersons Mills & bought the hay in the little leanto for $35.50 cts., 5 tons & 250 lbs., but I know that there is good measure. I have promised to take it soon. Some fine.

5. Thur. 5th. T.B.S. came down & helped me to load the hay & I went with it to the Mill. The sleighing is rather scant. Fine & sunny.

6. Fri. 6th. Took another load to the Mill, AM. Chores, PM, & put a load on for Barrie tomorrow. Wintry.

7. Sat. 7th. I got away to Barrie as soon as I could. It is cold & snowy. I sold at $6.50 ct., 2190 lb., $7.11 ct. Very rough & gusty.

8. Sun. 8. We all went to meeting. Mama & Ducky are at the Store. I sent the boys home with the horses & I went to Phelpston. Uncle George R. took me with J. Armstrong & his wife. Staid to meeting at night. Fine & sunny.

9. Mon. 9. T.B.S. helped me to load the hay & I went out to the Mills with another load. I had an upset on the hill which hindred me a good bit. Mr. Phillips & Johnny P. helped me. I got another load on for tomorow. Very stormy last night, fine today.

10. Tues. 10. I went to the mill with another load of hay. Upset by Mr. Woods but I got it pulled up again with the horses. Threshed a few oats after I got home & wrote to R. Murray about seed peas & to F.A. Reville about the S.S. papers. Rimey frost. Soft.

11. Wed. 11. Went out with another load of hay, AM. Split wood, PM. Mama & Ducky came home. Frost last night. Soft today.

12. Thur. 12. Went out with the last of the hay, about 1/2 ton. It was soft all night & the snow is nearly all gone and sleighing done. I cleaned up what wheat I had left, about 20 bushels. I am getting some from Grandma R as well to mix with it. Colder tonight.

13. Fri. 13. Threshed oats. Mild rather. Cold at night. Cloudy.

14. Sat. 14. Got the horses shoes sharpened & cleaned up the oats that I threshed yesterday. Split wood etc. Colder, but sunny.

15. Sun. 15. We all went up to Meeting but Catharine & Ducky. Snowy.

16. Mon. 16. Went to Mill with the wheat that I cleaned up on Thursday. I called at the Store & got 9 bus. I could not get the grist back. Fine & sunny.

17. Tue. 17th. Cut some wood up in the bush. Split some at home etc. Soft.

18. Wed. 18. Very Stormy & cold. Threshed the peas & cleaned them up, all there is, about 35 bus.

19. Thur. 19. Still stormy. Chored.

20. Fri. 20. Went to mill with 4 bags of oats. Got them chopped & brought the grist back that I took on Monday. 8 bags of flour & 1 bus. Cracked wheat & 1 barrel of flour for S. Tracy. Fine.

21. Sat. 21. Snowy. Got down 4 load of wood & split some. Entertained an old blind man, a stiff Baptist. He is going out to [Lunnidale] with T.B.S. tomorow. Cold.

22. Sun. 22. All went to meeting but Catharine & Ducky. Mr. Gilmour was there & we had a good time. He went out to Phelpston & is to hold meetings there through the week. Mama went down to see Mrs. McKinley who is sick. Soft.

23. Mon. 23. Threshed oats & went up to have a chat with Mr. Gilmour at the store. He went up to Phelpston on the Cars. Spent the evening at A. Ronalds talking to Mrs. Doey & Grace. Cold & blowy.

24. Tues. 24. T.B.S. came down & helped me put on a load of hay. I took it to Barrie & sold at $6.00 per ton, 2195 lbs., $6.58 cts. The roads are very rough. I do not think we shall have any more sleighing this winter. Chilly but soft.

25. Wed. 25. Split wood forenoon. Helped McDonald to get out some timber from a peice of land that floods. The ice is getting pretty soft. Went up to prayer meeting in our Church at night. I hear that Mr. Gilmour is getting on pretty well at Phelpston. To God be all the glory. (20 Psalm). Soft, some rain.

26. Thur. 26. I had a nasty time with a lazy "tramp." He came to breakfast (the Good Lord help him). Cut some cordwood in the bush, AM. Have to go to see T. Foster with McKinley & Stokes. He is denying the Bible. May the [T-] Jehovah go with us & speak for us & to Him. McKinley & Stokes came about 2 PM. & we went over & interviewed Mr. Fostor. He says if it is necesary to beleive all the Bible to be a member of the Church we may take his name off as soon as we like. May the Good Lord help him. Warm & sunny.

27. Feby 1880, Fri. 27. Cut wood in the bush most of the day. [Warm & sunny].

28. Sat. 28. [Cut wood in the bush most of the day]. John piled it. [Warm & sunny].

29. Sun. 29. Went to meeting with the waggon. Herman brought Mama down with Grandma R's team & I got her buggy & drove Mr. Gilmour to Phelpston. The roads are very rough, just soft enough to cut through. Snowy, AM. Freezing, PM.

1880: March

1. March, Mon. 1st. Gave Grandma R $50.00 on Store bill. Split wood etc. AM. Went with Mr. Gilmour to try & go to Fostors but he got his feet wet & so we had to give it up. When he got back to the house he was taken with a severe billious attack & could not go to the meeting that was announced for night. I went up but it was a sore disappointment to us all. Mr. G. was sick all night. Sunny.

2. Tue. 2nd. Mr. G is better this morning. I went up to the corner with him. He has to be at Barrie by 10 AM. I called as I came back to see how Mrs. Hindle was getting on. Drew down 2 load of wood from the bush. Not well, PM. Laid up some fence that was blown down. Mr. Bennett & Papineau came down & I gave them $7.00 for Horse insurance, leaving "$1.00 on the book" for a purpose." Will do without supper tonight & see if my stomach will be better. A little snow, AM. Sunny, PM.

3. Wed. 3d. Threshed oats. Went to prayer meeting at night. Soft, some rain.

4. Thur. 4th. [Threshed oats]. Aunt Louisa seems better tonight. Soft & cloudy.

5. Fri. 5th. [Threshed oats], AM. Went to Antern Mills to get the money for the hay that I sold to Alexander last month (4th Feby). I did not get the money but he promised to give it to John McLeod for me next week. Soft, AM. Cold, PM.

6. Sat. 6. Threshed oats. Had a sick stomach afternoon, so took a rest & fast. Aunt Fanny came up to nurse Aunt Louisa. We are glad to see her. Cold & bleak.

7. Sun. 7. Went to meeting in the waggon. S. Webber drove Mama & Children home & I got one of Grandma Rs horses to go to Phelpston (God bless the people there & help me to speak to them). Promised to go again in 2 weeks. Soft, AM. Cold & bleak, PM.

8. Mon. 8. Threshed oats. Took old Jenny up to Grandpa's barnyard & got young Jenny down as she sucks a cow of Grandma's, but I had to bring old Jenny down again for she is heavy in calf & the other cows hook her badly. Clear & sunny, but cold.

9. Tue. 9. Threshed oats. Cold & snowy.

10. Wed. 10. Threshed oats & cleaned them up. Cold & wintry.

11. Thur. 11. Went to town with hay on the waggon. T.B.S. helped me to load. The roads are fearfully rough. When I got past R. Dixons, the whole thing upset, & I had to get him to help me on with it again. I got in about 12.30 PM. Sold it $6.50 per ton, 1940 lbs., $6.20. It was dark by the time I got home. Some warmer, snowy.

12. Fri. 12. Drew down a few loads of Cordwood from the bush, AM. Split wood & put on a load of hay for tomorow. Fine. Some warmer.

13. Sat. 13. Went to town with the hay. Dr. Morton got it at $7.00, 2005 lbs. My bill to him was $8.00 so I owe him $1.00 yet. Fine.

14. Sun. 14. We all went to meeting but Ducky & Andrew who staid at home with Catherine Papineau. Mama & I went up to Granpa's to spend the afternoon with Aunt Fanniw who is going home tomorow. Father went to meeting at night & we hd a nice time all day. Snowy, blustery, cold.

15. Mon. 15. Alice Baller's birthday. I took Aunt Fannie down to the Station. Mama went up to the corner to see a young woman about coming to help her for the summer as Catharine is going away. I threshed oats, P.M., & put on a load of hay. T.B.S. helped. Fine, sunny, but cold.

16. Tue. 16. Went to town with the hay. Gave it to H. Johnson for the Machines I got off him last summer. He was to give me $10.00 per ton but I let him off at $8.00. This load with the one I took in for him last fall makes 2 ton lacking 200. He was to have had $18.00 worth of hay so I woe him $2.80 cts. yet. Brought home a bbl. [bushel barrel] salt, $1.10 ct. Heavy snow all day.

17. Wed. 17. I hitched to the sleigh as there is a good bit of snow & went out to Andersons Mill to see Alexander, the man I took the hay to. I was to have had the money for it on the 5th but have not got it yet. He promised to have it for me next week. I staid at J. Johnstons as I came back & got dinner & called at Mr. Millard and moved some wood over to the Church shed. Got home about 5 P.M. (not very well). Sunny, freezing in shade.

18. Thur. 18. Packed away the pork in the bin in the barn among oats (3 hams, 3 shoulders, 11 side peices) & drew down wood from the bush afterward. Sunny but soft.

19. Fri. 19. Finished drawing all the wood that is cut, AM. Threshed oats, P.M. Soft.

20. Sat. 20. Went over to Louis Papineaus with 16 bus. of oats, at 33 cts. per bus. ($5.28 ct.). Threshed oats, PM. Soft, A.M. Stormy with snow. N.W. gale. Colder, PM.

21. Sun. 21. Mama, Ducky & Fannie staid at home. Mabeth, John & Andrew walked up to meeting & down again. I went on horseback. Got dinner at Store & went on to Phelpston afternoon. I do not intend going again till 4 weeks from today. Fine & sunny.

22. Mon. 22. Threshed oats. Heavy snow last night, all gone by noon. Windy, PM.

23. Tue. 23. [Threshed oats]. Came on cold wind (N.W.), P.M., with snow after 5 PM.

24. Wed. 24. Threshed oats. Aunt Bessie walked down A.M. Mama & I went up to the Prayer meeting early to bid Georges wife goodbye. He has a situation in Toronto. We are sorry to lose him but hope it will be for the best. Very cold with N.W. wind.

25. Thur. 25. Beauty heifer calved (steer calf). She is very wild. Aunt Bessie drove my horses up to the corner as they want them to go to Barrie. I threshed a few oats, and then went to see J. McLeod. He is suffering with a gathering in his ear, & the baby is very sick. I came home by the store & brought my horses down. Sunny.

26. Fri. 26. Threshed oats. Fine but cold.

27. Sat. 27. [Threshed oats] & cleaned them up. Chilly. Snow at night.

28. Sun. 28. We all went to meeting in the sleigh. Threr was a heavy snow last night but it was nearly all gone by noon. John McLeod's little one died last night. Mama went down with Grandma R to see them afternoon. Aunt Bessie came down & I went up to meeting at night with the waggon. Cold wind, warm sun.

29. Mon. 29. Threshed a few oats, AM. Went to the funeral of J. McLeods little one, PM. [Mon. 29] Mr. Millard preached, "Is it well with the child." Cold wind, warm sun.

30. Tues. 30. Threshed oats, A.M. Cleaned them up & then run the peas through. I have a good mind to sow them instead of changing. Not quite so cold.

31. Wed. 31. T.B.S. came down and helped me to get down a load of hay, A.M. I drew some wood for Mrs. Hindle, P.M. Went up to prayer meeting with the waggon expectng to get Lizzie Steele, the girl Mama has engaged to help her through the summer but she cannot come yet as her sister has taken a severe sickness. Mild, threatens rain.

1880: April

1. Thur. April 1st. Got over the harness to the back kitchen & cleaned & oiled it thoroughly, but have the single harnes to do yet. Soft & cloudy.

2. Fri. 2. Finished up the harness by noon. Measured out the oats. I think I can sell about ten bushels. I want to go to town soon and get a plough as my old one is just done and I have a lot of ploughing to do this spring. Murky, came on heavy rains at night.

3. Sat. 3. Hunted up some lumber & made a gate to hang against the road as the old one is getting shaky.

4. Sun. 4th. We all went to meeting. Heavy rain last night & again afternoon. Close & warm.

5. Mon. 5. Hung the new gate against the road. Church meeting at night. Cold NW wind. Some snow.

6. Tue. 6. Made another gate as I think I shall want it against the barn. Cold. N.W. wind.

7. Wed. 7. Helped T.B.S. to saw blocks for roller & fresh blaze his line.[Cold. N.W. wind].

8. Thur. 8. Went to town. Took 4 bags of oats, 10 bus., 30 lbs. at 34 cts., $3.70. I got a plough from Butterfeild on trial, & called for Emily Wadds who is coming here to help us for awhile. Got home about sundown. Fine & sunny but cold N.W. wind.

9. Fri. 9. Was up a good bit of the night with Brindle & found she had calved this morning all right, a bull calf. Did some fixing to Doors etc. Some warmer.

10. Sat. 10. Put a sod point on the new plough. Looked over the feilds. I think the wheat is all right. May the good Lord grant us a good increase & give us grateful hearts to receive His blessings & wisdom to use them. Split wood etc. Warm, AM. Heavy snow, PM.

11. Sun. 11th. We all went to meeting with the sleigh but Emily & Ducky. Aunt Annie & Jannet Campbell came down afternoon with us, & I went up to prayer meeting at night again with the sleigh. It is soft but about a foot of snow. Freezing tonight.

12. Mon. 12. T.B.S. came down to get some hay so I helped him up with two light loads. I called it a ton at $6.00. Mama & Fannie went with me to Mr. Bremners. He has been sick. I gave him $1.50 cts. which was the ballance I owed him and he gave me the note. It was dark by the time I got back and the snow nearly all gone. Mr. Roses little one died last night. Soft & sunny.

13. Tue. 13. Did up some chores & made a high milking stool, AM. At noon I turned Beauty out as it was fine & sunny. When I went out afternoon I found her panting with her head swelled & eyelids almost half closed & water running from them quite fast. I got her into the stable as soon as I could & gave her a warm drink of chopped oats and water & she gradually got easier. I think she had run about a good bit & then drunk a lot of cold water. I am thankful that it did not terminate fatally. I fixed up the little gate off the lane. John came home from school early bringing word that Mr. Roses little one had died of Diptheria and that the other 2 had got it & that there [April 1880 Tue. 13 continued] will be no more school till next Monday. Sunny & soft.

14. April Wed. 14, 1880. Got a lot of rotten rubbish out of the front part of the woodshed & put it in the bed where I intend planting Rhubarb. Let off water around the garden & orchard. Hope it will soon be dry enough to plough. Warmer. Sunny.

15. Thur. 15th. Sunny but strong N.W. wind. Planted 8 roots of Rhubarb, putting about six good wheelbarrows full of manure under & arround it. Mama went with me up to spend the afternoon at Mr. Millards. Had intended spending the time with Mr. & Mrs. Dixon but heard that he had began ploughing & Aunt Bessie had just had an invitation to spend the PM there, so we went along. Heard that Mr. Roses little ones were worse. The good Lord help them.

16. Fri. 16. Cleaned out the henhouse & little sows pen. Expect her to have pigs soon. Cleaned out the "W.C." & fired a heap of chunks in No.3 N. where I intend ploughing first. Came on sleet & rain at noon. Wrote to Fred & Lizzie. Clear tonight.

17. Sat. 17. Snowstorm, A.M. from the N.W. "Chored about," PM. Cold & slushy.

18. Sun. 18. Mama with Fanny & Ducky staid at home & Emily, John, M.E. & Andrew went up to school afoot. I went upon horseback. Got dinner at Store & then went on to Phelpston. We had a pleasant chat together but no regular meeting. I promised to go over again in 4 weeks. Got home about sundown. Not very well. (Spring like.

19. Mon. 19. Went out to No.3 N. to try the new plough & see if I could not begin spring work but the ground is too wet owing to a thunder shower last night. So I let off water in some of the feilds & worked in the garden. Strong S.W. gale. Warm.

20. Tues. 20. Went up to Store to get some things & to try & sell some beef. I want to kill the heifer that I got from T.B.S. I have been feeding her about 7 weeks. B. Tracy wants to come & see her tomorow. Father helped me to get out 2 pine stumps in No.3 N. Dr. McCarthy came down to see Fannies arm. She hurt it on Sunday & we were a little afraid that some bone may be broken but he say not. Fine, colder, N.W. wind.

21. Wed. 21st. Went out to try the ploughing again but it is too wet. B.Tracy came down but he would only give $18.00 so I concluded to kill her myself & take to town tomorow. T.B.S. came down & helped me to Butcher her. Fine, rather warm.

22. Thur. 22. Mama & Andrew went to town with me with the beef. I used 1 fore qr. at home & A. Ronald took 1 hind qr. so I sold the other side in Barrie at 6 cts. per lb., $10.56 cts., hide 54 lbs. at 6 cts., $3.24 cts. Paid T.B.S. $5.07 & 15 1/2 lb. beef at 6 cts. & 6 ton hay at $6.00, $12.00 in all. Got home about 5:30 P.M. Cloudy, AM. Clear with Cold N.W. wind, PM.

23. Fri. 23. Tried the ploughing again but it will not do, so I drew 5 load of manure from the pigpens & put on the garden where I intend planting strawberries among the plum trees. Cloudy, but pleasant.

24. Sat. 24. Moore came this morning so I started him ploughing the garden in front of the house. I dug in the manure among the plum & currant trees. Moore harrowed in the west half of the big feild which I ploughed last fall, but it is rather wet tho. As it must be done before it is ploughed it is the best thing he can go at. Fine with strong S.E. wind.

25. Sun 25. We all went to meeting but Emily, Fannie & Ducky. G. Tracy came down afternoon. I walked up to meeting at night. It rained lightly most of the day.The sow had ten pigs last night but they all died. She is a poor mother. Warmer.

26. Mon. 26. Moore went on harrowing. I burried the pigs - began digging the dung in among the plum trees. Moore harrowed the garden after he had finished the big feild. Afternoon began ploughing again in No. 3. N. but it came on to rain so we cleaned up the peas again.

27. Tues. 27. Helped Moore to get out some stumps in No. 3. S. & started him ploughing the sod there, about 2 acres. It is the dryest peice I have. I went up to the corner afternoon & got 3 trees that I ordered 6th June/79, 2 Std Pears & Tetofsky apple. Sent off to Montreal for the Messengers, & sent some papers to Mrs. Cain, New Lowel. Looked at Grandma's wheat & the place to put the Stable, etc. Cool N.W. wind. Jenny calved heifer calf by Morren's bull.

28. Wed. 28. Planted the trees. Began a second row on the south side of the peice in front of the house. Worked at a pine stump on No. 3 N. Moore ploughed. Warm.

29. Thur. 29. Worked at the pine stump. Got it turned out by noon. Moore ploughed. Came on rain at noon so we butchered Brindles calf (it is three weeks old tomorow) & cleaned out the sheep pen. Cleared off with cold north wind at night.

30. Fri. 30. Cut up the calf. It weighed 93 lbs. Took hind qr. up to Mother, 26 lbs., & the other with two peices of fore qr. up to G. Tracy, J. Rent, Mr. Millard & Grandma R. Andrew took the skin to Barrie for me. Got $1.00 for it. Got home at noon & went up to old Mr. Tomlinson's funeral. He died on Tuesday. I waited up till Andrew R. came home & then got some cheap trees that he could not sell. Moore came forenoon & split wood as the land is rather wet. He went to the funeral, P.M. Very cold. N.W. wind, some snow.

1880: May

1. Sat. May 1st. Moore ploughed. I finished up the big pine stump & got out a hemlock which is the last there is in the feild (No. 3. N.). Afternoon I planted the trees I got yesterday & some strawbery plants. Cold raw wind, & cloudy. Warmer tonight with a few drops of rain.

2. Sun. 2nd. We all went to meeting but Emily & Duckey. Old W. Wright was there & spoke from the 23rd Psalm. He came down to dinner with me and spoke at the prayer meeting at night. I am sorry for him, & would like to help him if I could. Warm and summerlike.

3. Mon. 3rd. Moore ploughed awhile in No.3. N. but had to quit for a heavy thunder shower fell on Sat. night which has made the land very wet. I pruned the trees in the orchard & Moore went over the meadows & picked off sticks & stones. Very warm.

4. Tue. 4th. Moore went out to plough again, & I pruned some more trees. They should have been done last year. Still very warm.

5. Wed. 5th. Moore finished ploughing No.3 N. & got down Mr. Orchards iron harrows. I finished pruning the trees, taglocked some of the sheep etc. Very warm. Light thunderstorm at night.

6. Thur. 6th. Moore harrowed & sowed peas on No.3 N. (8 acres, 20 bus.) & did some digging. Cold. N.W. wind.

7. Fri. 7th. Moore went on harrowing & I dug some in the garden. Came on rain at 11:30 A.M. & rained heavily till 5 P.M. We put some oats through the mill for seed. The ground is wetter than it has been for a month. Close & muggy tonight.

8. Sat. 8th. Heman came down to get help to lay the foundation of the stable at the Store so Moore & I went up. We got through about 5:30 P.M. Very warm & close. Sudden changes from heat to cold & a good bit of thunder this spring.

9. Sun. 9th. We all went to meeting this A.M. Aunt Annie came down afternoon & Mama went up to meeting again at night. Mr. Wright officiated both morning & evening. I liked what he said very much. Warm & summery.

10. Mon. 10. Put in the 2 acres of sod in No.3 S. with oats. It is very wet but there does not seem to be anything to be done on any of the other feilds for the land seems thoroughly drenched, something like it was two years ago. If crops are as good as then I shall be thankful. Some heavy showers. Mr. Moore went up to the store, PM., to help at the raising of the stable.

11. Tue. 11. Moore did not come till noon as his wife is sick. I covered what peas I could with the hoe in No.3 N. & did some digging in the garden. Moore ploughed in big feild, west half No.6 N. (8 acres). It is very soft. Fine with cool N.W. wind.

12. Wed. 12. Moore ploughed. I worked in the garden. Sowed white carrotts. Cold N. wind.

13. Thur. 13. [Moore ploughed. I worked in the garden. Sowed white carrots. Cold N. wind].

14. Fri. 14. Herman Coles came down with Store team. He ploughed till noon which nearly finished the feild & then hitched to T.B.S.'s harrows. I sowed oats. Warmer, not so windy.

15. Sat. 15. Moore rolled the peas in No.3. N. & some of the oats in No.6. N. I worked in the garden planting beets etc. Warmer.

16. Sun. 16. Walked up to meeting. Mama, Fanny & Ducky staid at home. I got a horse at the Store & went to Phelpston afternoon. Saw a sick woman. May the good Lord help & comfort her. Warm but breezy.

17. Mon. 17. Moore finished rolling, & I helped to get out some snags in No.3. S. He ploughed, PM, & I went around with the wheelbarrow picking up. Warm. Cloudy.

18. Tue. 18. Smart thundershower this A.M. Faired about 6 AM. Moore was at home planting carrots & digging his garden. Grandpa helped me to taglock the sheep. Afterward I ploughed in No.3. S. Warm & smothery with an occasional puff of wind.

19. Wed. 19. Moore ploughed, A.M. Came on a heavy thundershower at noon. Lasted about 1/2 an hour. We took the old gate up to the feild against the bush where I intend pasturing the horses this summer, & began to dig post holes but came on another heavy shower.

20. Thur. 20. Moore picked up stick in No.2. S. ["I helped Grandpa to rig up the shed on north side of Shop & dug a little in the garden" crossed out]. I chored, A.M. & went with Mama to see J. Armstrong & wife, P.M. Warm with some showers.

21. Fri. 21. Moore picked up in No.2. S. & I helped Grandpa to rig up the shed on North side of the workshop & dug some in the garden. Came on heavy rain about 4 PM. Helped Miss Tracy with her cows, & went up at night to see A. Armstrong who is sick.

22. Sat. 22. Moore hunting ducks, AM. & finished afternoon & cleaned out pigpen etc. I dug among the trees on south side of garden. Mr. Orchard came down & brought "Ducky" heifer (from old Jenny by Dixons bull). She is not quite a year old yet. He gives me $15.00 before the 1st of Oct. for her. Colder, ground very wet.

23. Sun. 23. All went to meeting (salvation & reward). Grandma R. came down, PM. I went up at night but Gip took Colic so I came home & gave her 2 tablespoons of Turpentine & one of Ginger. She soon got better. Thanks to Him whose tender mercies are over all His works. Fine but looks like rain.

24. Mon. 24. Moore away [Pic--]. I hoed the strawberries A.M. We all went [Pic--], P.M. Got home 5 PM. I went up to Presbyterian Chapel at night to hear Mr. Millard lecture on "Jamaica." Very good. Fine, few drops rain, very warm, drying fast.

25. Tue. 25th. Moore not back yet. I ploughed in No.3. S. till 10 A.M. when Herman Coles came and we got Uncle T.B.S. to help us wash the sheep. Ploughed, P.M. Land wet. Very hot.

26. Wed. 26th. Moore finished ploughing the 6 acres in No.3. S. & I sowed it with oats. Moor began harrowing, P.M., but quit for awhile till a breeze sprung up. I worked in the garden, P.M. Hot smothery weather. A little cooler tonight.

27. Thur. 27th. Moore finished No.3. S. I sheared sheep. Very warm. Cooler tonight.

28. Fri. 28th. Moore put in the 2 gate posts for the 5 acre pasture feild, & hung the gate A.M. I finished the sheep, AM & we got out 12 load of manure for potatoes on the peice in front of the house. Cold & breezy.

29. Sat. 29th. Moore rolled No.3. S. & I spread manure, A.M. Ploughed the garden & planted some potatoes, P.M. (Gip to Whats Wanted). Cool & pleasant.

30. Sun. 30. Frequent thunder showers. All went to meeting, but Emily who has had bad time with her face. Francy & "Anniefur" stayed with her. Heard that Mr. Crawford had met with a accident & went down to see him afternoon. Came home again and up to meeting at night.

31. Mon. 31st. Went up to see Mrs. Hindle about her potatoe patch. Will try & get it ploughed for her. Finished planting potatoes, A.M. Set pickets for a straight rail fence on the north side of barnyard & No.2. S. Moore got a calf from Mrs. Hindle & the loan of an auger to bore post holes from Moren's. Warm today, heavy shower tonight.

1880: June

1. Tue. June 1st. Moore is working at the fence. I went to Barrie with Gip & light waggon taking 6 fleeces of wool, 39 lbs. for myself & 3 for Father, 19 1/2, sold at 32 cts. per lb. Gave Butterfeild a note for the plough, $18.00, 1st Oct. Got wire for fencing, left 2 bags of peas to be ground at the mill. Got home about 5 PM. Cool.

2. Wed. June 2nd. Frost last night. Dont think it did much harm. Moore is working at the fence & I at the gates around the barn. Dixon & J. Johnston ploughed for Mrs. Hindle. Rain & wind about 6 PM. Cool.

3. Thur. 3rd. Worked at fence, A.M. Went up to Mrs. Hindles, P.M. Took a load of rails & some oats. Moore finished ploughing what Dixon & J.Johnston left & then harrowed the peice. I sowed about 1 /2 bus. oats & fixed up the fence a little. Got home about 4 PM & began to wire the fence. Warm & fine.

4. Fri. 4th. Moore got a horse from T.B.S. & after we had put the top rails on the fence we got out the stumps where I intend planting potatoes, about 2 acres of No.2. S. It has been sod for some time. We got pretty well cleared up by noon & Moore went on ploughing it & I took T.B.S. horse and went to Mr. Bremners [sale]. Got home about 5.30 P.M. & then went up to the YMCA meeting at night. Light rain, AM. Fine, PM.

5. Sat. 5. Moore went on ploughing. I got the loan of a horse from Grandma R & went over to Antern Mills to see Alexander about the balance of the money for the hay I took him last Feby. Could not see him. Hope to get the money on Monday. I cut some potatoes & planted some, P.M. Fine, AM. Rainy, PM. Moore planted some potatoes for himself after tea.

6. Sun. June 6th. 1880. We all went to meeting but Mother & Ducky. Mr. & Mrs. J. Kent came down to spend the afternoon. Emily went home yesterday to stay for a few days. Some showers.

7. Moore is planting his own potatoes. He is getting half an acre of land from me. I planted what I could of mine. Very cool & cloudy.

8. Tue. 8th. Planting potatoes. There is a good piece to plant yet. I planted 2 in a hill on all the first land but about a dozen rows. Then I planted medium sized singly and a good peice down the next land the same, then nine rows of the blossom ends only, then a good peice all butt ends. After that I got good sized potatoes and cut them pretty small & in a hill. Fine & cool.

9. Wed. 9th. Finished planting potatoes about 3 P.M. Sowed a strip of turnips in the garden & hoed among the carrots. Fine & pleasant.

10. Thur. 10th. Moore & I threw down the fence between No.1 & No.2 S. I started him boring the holes & putting in posts for a straight fence, & then made up the fence from the N.W. corner of barn to the line fence & hung a gate there to get out of No.2 S. into the barn. Fine, rather hot.

11. Fri. 11th. Moore is at the posts. I rigged up the fence from sheep pen round the south side of the barn yard & put in a set of bars to be handy to get into No.2 S. Very hot. Several thunder showers.

12. Sat. 12. Moore brought up his cow to pasture. Came on very heavy rain till about 9 A.M. We cleaned out the stables etc. & then went at the fence again. Some cooler.

13. Sun. 13. Heavy thunder about 6 P.M. but no rain. Came on NW breeze & very pleasant. All went to meeting but Emily & Ducky. Mama went to see Mrs. Dixon afternoon & I went to Phelpston & back to our prayer meeting at night. Looks like fine weather. Cold tonight.

14. Mon. 14. Moore finished putting in posts for fence between No.1 & No.2 S & began between No.2 & No.3 S. Fine & pleasant.

15. Tue. 15. Jenny young to Lumleys. Working at fence & took young Jenny, Fanny, & Beauty down to Lumleys. Hoed a little among the strawberries. Some heavy thundershowers. Warm.

16. Wed. 16. Moore at the fence between No.2 & 3. I at that between No.1 & 2. Butchered the calf that I got from Mrs. Hindle. Went up to meeting at night. Decided to have a Strawberry Festival for the children on 1st July. Warm & pleasant.

17. Thur. 17. Doll foaled horse colt. Grandma & Mama & Fanny went to town with me. We took the wool to be carded. Sold the 2 hind qrs. veal & the skin $1.00, 90 cts. & 90 cts. Used the fore qrs. at home. I saw Mr. Griffin & he promised to come out & give us a lecture, Sermons in Candle, on 1st July. We got home about 7.30 P.M. Moore worked at fence, A.M. Raising, P.M. Light frost last night. Warm today & dry.

18. Fri. 18. Moore putting in posts between No.2 & No.3 S. I wired between No.1 & 2. Put on the rider, transplanted some celery. Dolls colt is doing fine. Fine, rather warm.

19. Sat. 19. Moore & his brother John came & we laid up the fence between No.2 & 3 S., all but the riders. Moore went away, PM. I raked up some hay for father & wired some of the fence. Warm & dry.

20. Sun. 20. We all went to meeting but Mama & Annie F. Mr. Stokes came down to dinner. Mama went up to meeting at night. Fine. Warm.

21. Mon. 21. We drew in the hay for Father, A.M. Wired the fence between No.2 & 3 S. & ridered it. Got some of the spare rails hauled off and piled in land. Hot & dry.

22. Tue. 22. Spent the whole day drawing off the debris of the old fence. Took some to Moores, Fathers & T.B.S. & have more than I know what to do with myself. The fence looks well but took longer to build than I thought it would. Hot & dry.

23. Wed. 23. Began drawing out dung to No.2 S. I am fallowing 6 acres on the South end. 2 acres on the North end is in potatoes. Hot & dry.

24. Thur. 24. Moore away to Jones's Bee. I went to Barrie to see after strawberries for the 1st July festival. M.E. went with me.Very hot, dry & dusty.

25. Fri. 25. Moore not well. Sent his brother John. We drew out some dung, but could not work steadily as several heavy thundershowers fell. Butchered a lamb for father and one for myself. T.B.S. & Mother are going to town tomorow. Showery & close.

26. Sat. 26. Neither Moore nor his brother came today so I hoed in the garden. Fine.

27. Sun. 27. All went to meeting but Emily & Annie, F. (Ducky). N. Livingston came down & went up with us to meeting at night. Steady rain most of the afternoon. Warm.

28. Mon. 28. Moore came this morning and we went at the manure hauling. We managed to get the yard pretty well emptied but there is a good bit of scraping up to do yet. Warm with several heavy thunderstorms.

29. Tue. 29. Moore got T.B.S.'s horse and began ploughing the fallow. The thistles & grass have grown very high. I spread dung & hoed in the garden. Warm, threatens rain.

30. Wed. 30. Moore ploughing. I spread dung & hoed in the garden. Some rain squalls.

1880: July

1. Thur. 1st July. Moore came & helped me hitch up to draw water for the Picnic we are to hold in Mr. Palmers bush for our SS children. He hoed awhile & then went away for a holiday. I got home about 11.30 AM. Mr. Griffins & his Nephew came out to [ ]. Mr. G. is to give a lecture in the Chapel tonight. We all went up to the Strawbery feast afternoon. Emily & the youngster came down about 6 PM. We milked & gave the children strict orders to be good & go to bed soon & then we went to the Lecture taking Annie F with us. Got home about 10.30 PM having spent a "lively day." Cool & pleasant.

2. Fri. 2nd. Moore did not come so I spread dung & ploughed. Fine & cool. Mr. Lowe came out & bought 5 lambs, 1 ram & 1 calf. I have to take them in to Barrie on Monday.

3. Sat. 3rd. Moore did not come but sent a note at noon. I answered it pretty sharply & he came to where I was ploughing & promised to come early on Mon. I spread the manure & finished ploughing the fallows. Fine. Some warmer.

4. Sun. 4th. We all went to meeting. Aunt Bessie came down & we all, Mama, Bessie & I, went up to see Mrs. Dixon (who is very sick) and came back to Prayer meeting. Fine & pleasant.

5. Mon. 5. Moore did not come but father helped me to load up the things I sold on Friday. I got home as soon as I could & Mr. Orchard came down and paid me for the heifer & wants to [ ] another but did not decide which to take. Shortreed came & bought Grandma Rs steer but wants [Mon 5 continued] me to keep him awhile, which I agreed to do for $1.00 per month, value of steer now $26.50. I went up to Church meeting at night but do not feel satisfied with the attitude of some of the Members. May the good Lord take our case in His own wide hand & guide us by His Counsel. (Moore came awhile. Heman & Binney helped to hoe). Heavy shower about 6 A.M. Fine after.

6. Tue. 6th. Moore came in good time this morning. I went at the hoeing. I got a horse from T.B.S. to put beside Gip & went down to Mr. Bremner's with the Mower to cut 10 acres of grass for him It is midlling clean, a good bit better than last year's. Fine, rather hot.

7. Wed. 7. I finished Mr. B's grass about 2.30 PM & got home about teatime. I put some Poison on the potatoes. Moore was at his own potatoes, A.M. Helped father, P.M. Fine & warm.

8. Thur. 8. Moore at his own potatoes again. I finishd putting Poison on the potatoes in the garden & then went down to McKinley's & cut 6 acres of grass for him. Fine. Hot.

9. Fri. 9. Threatened rain last night but passed off. I started Moore off to the store to help them haul in. I hoed in the garden, etc. Fine, very hot.

10. Sat. 10. Moore is at the store. I went to J. Johnstons & cut some grass for him. Fine, hot.

11. Sun. 11. Emily & Annie, F. staid at home. The rest of us went to meeting. Grandpa drove Gip down and put her out, & I got a horse from Grandma R. & went to Phelpston. The sick woman is getting better. (Lord Help). Very hot.

12. Mon. 12. Moore went to the store & I went too & cut 8 acres of grass. Moore & Binney came down & mowed thistles in the feild against the bush. Some heavy showers. Warm & close.

13. Tue. 13. Binney came down & hoed potatoes. I cut the grass in No.2. N., 8 acres. May the Good Lord send us fine weather. Warm & cloudy.

14. Wed. 14. Moore hoed potatoes till 10 AM & then went up with Gip to Store to help them. He came down again & got Doll & we both went up & helped haul in. I came down after tea to rake up some in No.2 N. but it is not dry enough so I took the rake back when I went to prayer meeting. I mowed most of the fencecorners in No.2 N., forenoon. It looks like rain. Warm & close.

15. Thur. 15. Moore hoed awhile & I finished the fencorners [sic] & then we went to work all the hay in No.2 N. Heman & Binney came down with team about 11 AM. and about 2 P.M. we began drawing in. I raked with Gip till after tea & then T.B.S. helped me to get in two loads of hay. The big half of the feild is in & a heavy thunderstorm is on. Hot & close.

16. Fri. 16. Moore & I hoed potatoes till 4 P.M. & then shook out the hay that was in [win=rows]. It is not wet clean through. Wesley Orchard came down & bought young Jenny for $27.00 to be paid within a month. Warm, cool, & chilly tonight.

17. Sat. 17. Old Jenny. Moore hoed awhile & then gave the hay a toss over (took old Jenny down to Lumleys). Binney & Heman came down & we got the hay all in from No.2 N. I cut the 5 acres in No.1. N. Fine & cool.

18. Sun. 18. We all went to meeting as usual. Fine & cool. Threatens rain.

19. Mon. 19. I began cutting the 4 acres in No.1 S. T.B.S. cut fencecorners in No.1 N. (Hath the rain a father). Job. [July 1880 Mon. 19 continued] Came on rain about 10 A.M. Moore came over bringing James McDonald to work for him this week. Moore has been acting queerly lately. I think he wants me to offer him bigger wages, but I will not do that. We hoed some potatoes, ground scythes, etc. Heavy rains most of day. NW wind, cold.

20. Tue. 20. J. McD. harrowed the fallow. I mowed fencecorners etc. & cut the rest of the grass in No.1 S. Light showers fell.

21. Wed. 21. I took the machine up to the swale to cut some grass there but I lost a bolt after I had about half cut so I quit about 9 A.M. & we all went to work spreading & turning in No.1 N. Got done about noon & drew in afternoon. Son John run the rake with Doll. T.B.S. is helping with Prince. The hay is pretty badly spoiled. Lord make me rest quiet in thy will. Slight drizzle. Cloudy with some sunshine.

22. Thur. 22. Finished drawing in from No.1 N. & we got Heman & Binney from the corner & drew in 7 load from N.1 S. It looks like more rain. Changable. Cool & cloudy & sunny.

23. Fri. 23. The hay is too green to get in. I turned some of it. Found the bolt for the mower & rigged her up again. Came on heavy rain about 10 A.M. Unloaded a load that we put in the old barn last night & sent the team up for T.B.S. to draw rails. J. McD mowed fencecorners round big feild. I chored awhile & when the weather came on fine, shook the hay all over, & after 4 P.M. T.B.S. helped us & we got in 2 loads. Fine tonight.

24. Sat. 24. Beauty. J. McD. got G Hindle to help him to take Beauty down to Lumleys. I got out the Reaper & oiled & fixed her up & then cut part of Fathers wheat. Afternoon we got in all the hay that I had cut. Some of it is poor but some not much the worse of weather. Fine, hot.

25. Sun. 25. Went to meeting as usual. Grandma R. came down. Fine but threatens rain.

26. Mon. 26. Moore came this morning & J. McD too. I started them mowing round big feild & I began cutting a peice that was left in the swale. I can only cut one way which makes it a tedious job. Came on rain about 9 A.M. so we unloaded a load of hay that was in my barn. Cleared up afterward & we went at the mowing again. Fine about 2 P.M. & then began the 3 acres of wheat in No.1 N. T.B.S. cut the road round & then went to cut the road round fathers Orchard. I finished No.1 N. & fathers orchard too. The weather looks settled. Fine & cool. Thank the Lord.

27. Tue. 27. Daisy. Moore went to Lumleys with Daisy heifer. J. McDld went up to help T.B.S. & Moore too when he came back. Got through there about 3 P.M. & then they mowed round No.3 S. which is in oats. Fine, cool, pleasant.

28. Wed. 28. Binney came down & we got cutting the wheat in No.5 N., 7 acres. Finished at 5 P.M. I raked up the hay on the north end of it, 1 1/4 acre & the men gathered the fencecorners. Fine & cool.

29. Thur. 29. Binney came down again. All bound awhile at the wheat in No.5 N. & then Moore & Binney drew in 2 load of hay. We all went at the wheat afternoon, bound & shocked it all and got in all the hay that is out. (Lord make me thankful). Fine & dry.

30. Fri. 30. Spotty to Lumleys. We cut the 5 acres of Treadwell wheat in No.1 S. Got through about 3 P.M. J. McD & J. Papineau helped to bind & shock afternoon. Moore & I went at the drawing in as soon as I finished cutting. We got the 3 acres from No.1 N. & 3 load of Fathers in. Fine harvest weather.

31. Sat. 31. Binney came down & T.B.S. and we began drawing in with 2 teams. Finished all before dark. The wheat I cut yesterday is quite dry. I am glad to have it in so well. Warmer.

1880: August

1. Sun. 1st August 1880. Mr. Moore a blind man of the R.B. Denomination dropped in last night so he occupied the time at meeting today. Fine but rather hot.

2. Mon. 2. Shortreed got steer. Went up to help T.B.S draw in. Came on rain about 9 A.M. Cleared off at noon. Moore harrowed the fallow, P.M. & I cut the fencorners [sic] round the pens in No.3 N. Cool & cloudy, PM.

3. Tue. 3rd. Moore harrowed, A.M. I mowed round fencecorners & stumps in No.1 S. Afternoon we went up & helped T.B.S. draw in. Fine & cool.

4. Wed. 4th. I went up to Store. Took Moore to help them. I got hands & teams for threshing tomorow. Came home & raked up the wheat stubble in No.1 S. Afternoon Uncle T.B.S. helped me to get in the rakings. I helped him to get in his barley & brought down a load to thresh here tomorow. Machine came down tonight. Fine & pleasant.

5. Thur. 5th. Began threshing in good time. Got done about 3 P.M., 166 bus. wheat, 28 Barley. T.B.S., Moore & I cleaned up 3 bags of wheat for T.B.S., 8 bags for ourselves, 24 bags of barley. Fine & pleasant.

6. Fri. 6th. Moore went to help at Store. I went to mill with grists. Got home with it all 7 P.M. 18 bus. wheat for myself, 6 bus., 40 lbs. T.B.S., 445 lbs. Barley, chopped for horses. Fine & pleasant.

7. Sat. 7th. Moore helping at store. I helped T.B.S. to get in his barley till 6.30 P.M. [Fine & pleasant]. Warmer.

8. Sun. 8th. We went to meeting as usual. Mr. Moore the blind man preached morning & evening. I went over to see S. Tracy afternoon. He had an accident on the rail track, but is better. Very warm.

9. Mon. 9. Moore at Store. I cut Grandpa's barley, and helped to bind it, A.M. Helped T.B.S. with his rakings, and he helped with the last of my fencecorner hay. Afterwards we got in Grandpa's barley as it was quite dry. Warm, dry, & breezy.

10. Tue. 10th. I helped Grandpa to unload his barley & cleaned up the old barn floor. Got two rivets put in the waggon wheel & then went over to Antern Mill to see Alexander who got hay from me last Feb., but had not paid me all. I found not much chance to get money so agreed to take 2,000 ft. lumber for $11.50 which was owing. Brought 1000 ft. home. Moore at store till noon, took sick then. Dry & dusty.

11. Wed. 11. T.B.S. brought Prince & put beside Gip & we both went to help Phillips to thresh. Hot & close & thundery.

12. Thur. 12. Grandpa helped me to deepen my barnyard well. It is 20 ft. deep now but not much sign of water. Grandpas barnyard pump does not work well but he has lots of water. Dry & clear.

13. Fri. 13. I took my pump up to Grandpa's barnyard & rigged it so as to work well, & then began pulling peas in No.3 N. Fine & dry, but cloudy.

14. Sat. 14. Moore has not been working for me since Tue. noon. He says he is sick. I went up to help T.B.S. to get in his barley & Binney came down afternoon & pulled some peas. Dry & cool & breezy.

15. Sun. 15. Went to meeting as usual. W.W. Bremner was there. His eyes are affected. May the Good Lord help him. He leaves again tomorow for another trip. Fine & pleasant.

16. Mon. 16. Binney & Foster pulling peas. I cleared a track round No.6 N. (big feild), oats, & began cutting with the machines. Left about 3 acres to cut yet. Fine harvest weather.

17. Tue. 17. Moore came & worked till noon & then went home saying he was too sick to work. Binney & Foster & I pulled peas till noon & then drew in. Fine harvest weather.

18. Wed. 18. T.B.S. came down & helped Binnee & I to draw in peas. Got in all that were pulled. Moore & G. Hindle took Brindle to Lumleys. [Fine harvest weather].

19. Thur. 19. Binnie & I pulled peas, A.M. leaving a few yet to pull. T.B.S. came down & we drew them all in. I finished pulling while they were loading. I am thankful we are done. Binnie & I helped T.B.S. after [Thur. 19 Aug. 1880 continued] tea for his help getting in three loads (18 in all I think). Fine harvest weather. Fostor at Barrie.

20. Fri. 20. Fostor & Binnie binding oats in No.6 N. I finished cutting by noon & helped bind afternoon. Fine.

21. Sat. 21. T.B.S. helped us bind till noon leaving nearly all done. He put his horses on the machine then & cut 2 acres of oats for me in No.3 S. & then helped draw in from No.6 N. We did not shock them but began drawing in right after dinner. They are quite dry & a very bulky crop. I shall have to make a big stack of half of them. Fine.

22. Sun. 22. A Mr. McJannet, brother to John McJannet who worked for me last summer, came to see me last night as he is staying over Sunday. He occupied the time very profitably. We went to meeting as usual. Mama staid at store till night. Grandpa took the team. Fine.

23. Mon. 23. Binnie & Fostor both here but no word of Moore. We bagan drawing in the oats & finished about 5 P.M. T.B.S. helping afternoon. We got in Grandpas peas (6 load). Fine.

24. Tue. 24. Covered the stack of oats with lumber. Made a fence to keep things off it & cut lodged spots that the machine left in No.6 N. No men helping today. Had a long talk with Mr. McJannet. Fine. Very warm. A few drops of rain at noon.

25. Wed. 25. No men helping me today. I bound the oats T.B.S. cut last Sat. in No.3 S. and Grandpa & John helped me to draw them in. I put one load on T.B.S. waggon & run it into Grandpas barn, & brought the other down to my own. Fine but cloudy.

26. Thur. 26. T.B.S. helped me to unload the two loads of oats & then I went out to Knapp's Mill & got 500 ft. of lumber to cover the oats stack. I got the loan of a gang plough that J. McLeod has, to try on my fallow. It has only been ploughed & harrowed once. Moore has put me about a good bit. I do not expect he will put in any more time here. Fine but cloudy.

27. Fri. 27. I put John on Dolly & sent him down to J. McLeods to get another point for his gang which I unfortunately broke in unloading yesterday. Began cutting the rest of the oats in No.3 S. but came on a heavy thundershower about 3 P.M. lasting about an hour. So I hitched to the gang & worked with it till night. Binney helped T.B.S. till the rain came on. Afterward he threshed some oats in the old barn.Very hot & close.

28. Sat. 28. I sent Binney with team to help Papineau to thresh. John & I picked up sticks off the fallow & turned over the oats that were cut yesterday. Close & cloudy. Cooler tonight.

29. Sun. 29th. Went to meeting as usual. My turn at night (Amelek. Jehovah [nissi]). Pleasant harvest weather.

30. Mon. 30. Fostor came & Binnie too. They mowed the lodged spots of oats in No.6 N. & bound oats, P.M., in No.3 S. I finished cutting the oats that I was stopped at last Fri. & went on ganging in No.2 S. The plough works well. Fresh, S.E. wind all day. Fine harvest weather.

31. Tue. 31. Binnie binding oats in No.3 S. Father helped shock. Got all finished by 6 P.M. I got done ganging by 6.30. Fed the horses & then took the gang plough home to J. McLeod's. Late home. Fresh S.E. wind all day.

1880: September

1. Wed. 1st. Sept. Looks like rain. Started drawing oats from No.3 S. Cleared off. Began raking the lodged stuff in No.6 N. Threatened rain at noon. Got in another load of oats. Rained a smart shower, but the sun came out again in a brisk S.E. wind. Soon dried the oats off again. Finished raking No.6 N. & got in the rest of No.3 S. Close & warm.

2. Thur. 2nd. Unloaded the oats we got in last night & got in the rakings from No.6 N. 22 load off that 8 acres of oats. A very heavy crop. I had only 8 load off 8 acres, No.3 S. Got all the harvest finished by noon. (Thank the Lord). Binnie began turning pine stumps in the fallow, No.2 S. & I began ploughing pealand for wheat, No.3 N. It is very hard & dry. Came on heavy rain about 4 P.M. so we cleaned up the two barn floors & got quite a bit of grain for horsefeed. Cleared up about 6 P.M. Close tonight.

3. Fri. 3rd. Binnie worked awhile at the stumps but it came on a heavy rain so I gave him $4.00 & he went home. I have to give him 50 cts. yet. The weather cleared up about 10.30 AM. so I went on ploughing again. Close & cloudy.

4. Sat. 4th. Began ploughing again but came on a hevy rain. Cleared up at noon and I fixed up some bars & gate fastenings till 3 P.M. & then ploughed till night. Cooler.

5. Sun. 5th. Went to meetings as usual. Fine but hot.

6. Mon. 6th. Ploughing. Frost at night. Cool & breezy.

7. Tue. 7th. [Ploughing]. Sent the boys over to get W. Tracy. He came at noon & I sent him to cut Mrs. Hindles oats. Frost at night. Cool & breezy.

8. Wed. 8th. Finished ploughing No.3 N. & sowed 5 acres of it, W. Tracy harrowing. Settled with Moore. Cool & breezy.

9. Thur. 9th. Finished sowing & [grip'd] No.3 N. G. Tracy came at noon & we worked at some snags & stumps in No.3 S. Son John harrowed a while on the fallow. Fine & cool.

10. Fri. 10. John harrowed. W. Tracy dug potatoes. G.T. & I worked at the stumps till noon. Afternoon we got the stumps together & then dug potatoes. Fine wrm & sunny.

11. Sat. 11. I went up & sowed Grandpa's fall wheat. G.T. & W.T. digging potatoes. I helped them after I got the wheat done. G. Tracy took 20 bus. of potatoes at 20 cts. & I took them home for him at night. I have a good few to dig yet. Fine, rather hot.

12. Sun. 12. Went to meeting as usual. Mama went down to see Mrs. Crawford afternoon. Close & cloudy. [ ] showers at night.

13. Mon. 13. Flora. W.T. & I took Flora heifer to McDonalds & then drew up Grandpas potatoes that he grew down here & got off 2 load of tops. I picked up sticks, etc., A.M. Dug potatoes afternoon. Fine.

14. Tue. 14. W. Tracy & Grandpa finished the potatoes I ploughed. [Fine].

15. Wed. 15. W. Tracy ploughed. I trimmed some stumps. Hoed strawbery bed & got up some potatoes in the garden. Fine.

16. Thur. 16. W. Tracy ploughing. I chored & dug potatoes in the garden. Fine.

17. Fri. 17. W.T. ploughed till noon & I dug potatoes afternoon. I finished ploughing & sowed a little (thunder shower tonight). Very warm.

18. Sat. 18. Finished sowing & harrowing No.2 S. Close & cloudy.

19. Sun. 19. Went to meeting as usual. Some rain about 6 P.M. Fine.

20. Mon. 20. W. Tracy went to help T.B.S. I got down Grandpa's stove & one for ourselves from the corner & set them up. Cleaned up 7 bags of wheat. Showery.

21. Tue. 21. W. Tracy & I drawing out dung with 2 waggons from Grandpas barnyard. Put in on No.1 N. Cool with some showers.

22. Wed. 22. W. Tracy's time was in at noon, 1/2 month, so he went home. I drew out some more dung till night & then greased the waggon & loaded it for town. Heavy showers.

23. Thur. 23. Went to town. Left 3 bags of wheat at mill for grist & 1 for Miss Tracy. Took 13 to town, sold at 95 cts. ($29.99), bought pump for barnyard, [pine] for old barn roof, [Thur. 23, Sept. 1880 continued] barrell salt, etc. Got home with grist about dark. Fine.

24. Fri. 24. Father came down & helped me to rig up the pump in my barnyard & then I went up to the old barn & began fixing a gothic on the south side of the roof to let the strawcarriers through. Fine but threatens rain.

25. Sat. 25. I got the gothic finished & straightened up around the yard. I expect to thresh next week if all is well. Some thunder showers.

26. Sun. 26. Went to meeting as usual. (Out of the Easter came forth meat). Fine.

27. Mon. 27. Threshing machine at T.B.S.'s. Middling. Fine. Threatens rain. Cool.

28. Tue. 28. Finished threshing for T.B.S. & began down at the old barn. The machine does not work well. Drizzling rain, A.M. Cold. Fine, PM.

29. Wed. 29. Threshed all day but did not finish. Cold & windy. A letter from Mr. Thom, says he can come for a few weeks. (Lord help).

30. Thur. 30. Finished threshing by 10 A.M. Took me the rest of the day straightening 475 bus. oats, 50 bus. wheat. Grandpa about 50 bus. wheat & 30 of barley. Showery.

1880: October

1. Fri. 1st Oct. Cleaned up some stuff on the old barn floor & took the Mill up for T.B.S. Sowed grasseed, PM. The boys sifted it for me. Close & calm & cloudy.

2. Sat. 2nd. Finished sowing grasseed & rolled No.3 N & north half of No.2 S. I think I will not roll any more this fall. Some wind at times but on the whole hot & close, thundery.

3. Sun. 3rd. Went to meeting as usual, A.M., and went to Presbyterian aniversary services afternoon & evening. Continual showers all day.

4. Mon. 4th. Still raining. Did up chores & then sat down to write to Mr. Holmes. Chored around, P.M. & went up to Presbyterian Tea Meeting at night. Cleared up at noon. Cool.

5. Tue. 5. Leveled some knolls in the barnyard & straightened up round the house. Opened out the potatoe hill, P.M., & found them wet through so I spread them out & then got them together again & covered them up snug. Fine & warm all day. Came on a heavy thundershower about 6 P.M. I went up to Church meeting but there were very few there. Agreed to invite Mr. Thom.

6. Wed. 6. Mama, John & I went off to Barrie, getting Gandma R at the Corner. I took in 4 bags of potatoes to Sulivan which finishes payment for the pump. We went to the County Show where I bought a South Douro Ram Lamb for $8.00. We were rather late home. Cold rain squalls with heavy wind.

7. Thur. 7. Went to Store to thresh. Late home. Wrote to Mr. Thom. A few showers, A.M. Fine, P.M.

8. Fri. 8. Took a bag of flour to Miss Tracy's for T. Stokes. Called as I came back at Morren & made them an offer for 18 sheep. Chored a little for them. Cleaned up 10 bags of Wheat for Grandpa & 9 of oats for myself. I have four bags of the shearings of the barn floor to take to be chopped. Fine, clear & sunny.

9. Sat. 9th. Went to town with the wheat & oats leaving 4 bags at the mill to be chopped. Sold wheat at 94 cts., 21 bus., 40 lbs., $20.35 ct., oats 26 ct. per bus. $6.25 ct. Got home rather late, bring the chop with me. Mr. Morren had brought the sheep down, 19 of them. I took the two ram lambs away from them as soon as I could. I hope they have not done any mischief. Warm & sunny. I have to give $3.50 ct. all round for the sheep with the exception of one [which] is $2.00.

10. Sun. 10. Oct. 1880. We went to meeting as usual except Mama who staid at home with Grandma S who is sick. Warm & summery.

11. Mon. 11. Finished digging potatoes. Fired some heaps & cleaned up 18 bags of wheat. Church meeting. Very hot.

12. Tue. 12. Went to town with wheat, sold at 96 cts. 40 bus. $38.40 ct. Shower last night, very cold. No wind today.

Note: October 13th & 14th reversed.

14. Thur. 14. Chored, & picked up sticks on No. 3 S., A.M. Ploughed awhile with Morren's gang plough, P.M. Came on rain about 5 oclock, went to temperance meeting at night. Sunny, AM.

13. Wed. 13. Went up to Morrens & got gang plough to plough No.3 S. Found a good many sticks so I quit at noon. Father helped me to taglock & separate the sheep. Mr. Roe came down & agreed to I give him 5 sheep on shares for 3 years. They belong to son John. He does not get them away till winter & he gives me 10 back in 3 years. I picked up some sticks on No. 3 S. Sunny but cool wind.

15. Fri. 15. Gang ploughed in No.3 S. G. Shortreed came & bought Fannie heifer at $26.00 to be taken away in 2 weeks. I ploughed all I intend to do in No.3 S. this fall & took the gang plough home. Sunny & pleasant.

16. Sat. 16. Went down to help H. Fuller to thresh. Papineau was there with his engine. It does very well. I think it will be a success. Rainy, AM. Cold wind, PM.

17. Sun. 17. Went to meeting as usual, except Mama. Fine but cool & windy.

18. Mon. 18. Split wood etc., AM. Intend driving down to Woodbridge tomorow (DV). Butchered a ram lamb that I got from Morren's. Cold N.W. wind. Some snow squalls.

19. Tue. 19. Started for Woodbridge, Aunt Bessie, Mary Tracy, Andrew & Maybeth & I. We have Grandma R's buggy & harness & they have our light rig instead. We arrived all safe about dark. Very cold W wind all day.

20. Wed. 20. We all went to Woodgbridge Fair. Aunt Bessie & Miss Tracy went to Toronto afternoon. W. Jeffery and all of his family are quite well. Not quite so cold.

21. Thur. 21. Took a look at Wms things & went to see John Jeffery, AM. Went to see Willie Wallis, Joseph Walliss, W. Wallis Esqr. & Mr. Hartmans folks, PM. Found all well. Fine, warm, sunny.

22. Fri. 22. Went to Toronto on the T.G. & B. R.R. Went to see G. Ronald, found them all well. His [wee] wife & bairn look fine. Called at Shaftesbury Hall & [saw] Mr. Thom. He starts for Minesing tomorow (May the Good Lord go with him). Went to see Mr. Hay, on Cor. Church & Alexander St. Staid to tea, & then went to evening session at Jarvis St. meeting house. It was rather dry. Slept at Georges at night. Cold & raw wind. Came on to snow afternoon.

23. Sat. 23. Still snowing. Very disagreeable traveling. Went to see Annie Walliss & R. Darley & then attended the 9 oclock prayer meeting at Jarvis St. & staid the morning session. Went to Georges to dinner, & then went to see Mr. Murray & had a chat with R. Darley & got down to Union Station at 5 PM. & arrived at Woodbridge about 7.30. Snow & rain.

24. Sun. 24. Clear & cold this morning. I hitched up the horses & took the children down to the Pine Grove Church & S.S. Spent the afternoon with Mr. Watts at Jefferys. Went to the meeting again at night. Cold but fine.

25. Mon. 25. Went with Wm. to get some sheep & helped him drive them home, A.M. Took a walk with him over to the Pinery to see old Bess Mare & then Andrew & I went down to Willie Wallis's to get a Plymouth Rock rooster & then I went over [Mon. 25, Oct. 1880 continued] to tea with John Rearman. Fine today, looks like rain.

26. Tue. 26. Rained nearly all night. Cleared a little about 9 A.M. so we hitched up & started for Minesing, but it rained pretty steadily till 4 P.M. when we were about half way home, but we arrived safely about 12 (midnight). Thank the Lord.

27. Wed. 27. Chored & straightened up a little, AM. Cleaned up 16 bags of wheat & went to the funeral of Joseph Phillips. Went up to prayer meeting. Mr. Thom was there. Fine & sunny, but cold wind.

28. Thur. 28. Went to town with the wheat. Sold at 97 ct. per bus. $34.75 ct. Paid the note I gave Butterfield for the plough last April. Got Cheque cashed for Fannie heifer. Got stove pipes for stove for the front room. Late home. Very hard frost last night. Fine, but very cold wind.

29. Fri. 29. Went down to Mr. Bremners, AM. but he was not at home so I left my money for him at store. Got up most of the Beets & some turnips. Fine.

30. Sat. 30. Cherrie heifer calfed last Thursday, so I got her down so as to raise the calf. Rigged up some mangers etc., AM. Went to childrens meeting afternoon. Mr. Thom made it very interesting. May the good Lord bless him in the work. Fine. Rain at night.

31. Sun. 31st. Went to meeting as usual. Mr. Thom was there. Had a good time. J. Rent & wife came down to dinner. Had a good gospel address at night. Fine.

1880: November

1. Mon. Nov. 1st. Boys staid at home to help me with the carrots. We got all up but 1 load is to be topped yet. John Kerfoot brought 2 sheep to Ram. Some sleety squalls. Some sunshine.

2. Tue. 2nd. Butchered a lamb. Pulled the turnips, A.M. Topped the carrots that were on the waggon into a heap in the garden. Topped one load of turnips & got the other into the driving floor. Went down to T. Livingstons to meeting. Took Mama down with me to see Aunt Eliza. She has a little daughter. Fine.

3. Wed. 3. Thanksgiving day. Met under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A. Had a consultation after about holding Evangelistic meeting. Union does not seem to be unanimous. May the good Lord help us in Minesing. Staid to dinner at J. Kents with Mr. Thom. Good meeting at night. (Thank God). Fine & sunny.

4. Thur. 4. Topped the last of the turnips. Got down 11 bags of oats from fathers barn. Cleaned them up to 8 to go to mill to be chopped. Fine. Came on steady rain at 5 P.M.

5. Fri. 5. Cleaned up 3 bags of wheat & then took them & the 8 bags of oats to mill but could not get them back. Had a settlement with Father. Owe him $16.00 yet. Fine but threatens rain.

6. Sat. 6. Helped T.B.S. to butcher a pig & then he helped me with one. It weighed 150 lbs. I got it from McDonalds in May. Afternoon I rigged up some mangers for the calves in the west end of the building that I put up for the hens. Heavy rain all day.

7. Sun. 7th. The rain turned to snow through the night with very strong cold N.W. wind. We went to meeting. Mama & Annie F. staying at home. Calmer tonight.

8. Mon. 8th. Went to mill & got the grists & 4 bags for T.B.S. Went up to the Committee meeting at night & got homourably discharged. Some snow squalls.

9. Tue. 9th. Chored, AM. & got Gips shoes set. Took Mother down to see Eliza afternoon. She has a sore breast. The Good Lord help & heal her. Very fine & sunnery.

10. Wed. 10. Took Grandpa's Cow Sylvie & our Bindle down to Lumleys, AM. Talked with Mr. Thom, PM. Came on rain about 4 P.M. so did not go to Prayer meeting at night.

11. Thur. 11. Threshed peas, etc. Cold & windy.

12. Fri. 12. Rigged up mangers for 2 more calves. I have six altogether. Fine.

13. Sat. 13. Got up some beets etc. from the garden & covered up the pit. Went to the childrens meeting, PM. Cold & windy.

14. Sun. 14. We all went to meeting but Emily & Annie F. Bessie came down afternoon. Mr. Thom began Evangelistic services tonightt in Presbyterian Chapel. Cold & wintry.

15. Mon. 15. Taglocked the sheep & put the ram to them. Did some more chores & went to the afternoon meeting in the P. Chapel. It was good. Fine but wintry.

16. Tue. 16. Helped Albert Phillips to move his house from Forstens to the sandy ridge by the burying ground. Late home. Cold with some snow squalls.

17. Wed. 17. Fixed the stoves in the house etc. Meeting P.M. Fine, but wintry. Snow last night.

18. Thur. 18. Fixing up pigpen & door to sheep pen. Went to meeting with sleigh. Fine. [Snow last night].

19. Fri. 19. W. Webber came down & threshed peas, A.M. I drew out some dung to the pits & went to meeting, P.M. Fine. Wintry freezing. Snowing tonight.

20. Sat. 20. Pitted up celery. Put dung on Rhubarb etc. Childrens meeting, PM. Fine. [Snowing tonight].

21. Sun. 21. Went to meeting as usual. Fine.

22. Mon. 22. Very cold.

23. Tue. 23. Helped T.B.S. to butcher a pig & did some chores, AM. Meeting, P.M. Wintry.

24. Wed. 24. Butchered Daisy heifer, AM. [Meeting, P.M. Wintry].

25. Thur. 25. Cut up the heifer. She weighed 412 lbs. Did some chores. [Meeting, P.M. Wintry]. Some snow.

26. Fri. 26. Rigged up the stove in the Sitting room, A.M. [Meeting, P.M.] Wintry.

27. Sat. 27. Threshed peas. Fixing at Calves pen. Childrens meeting, PM.

28. Sun. 28. We all went to meeting but Emily & Annie F. Aunt Annie came down. Good meeting at night but the people are hard to move. Pleasant, looks like a thaw.

29. Mon. 29. Helped Grandpa to butcher his pig, A.M. Went up afternoon to see Mrs. Cain & Dr. Odlum on religious matters. Mrs. Cain was away. (Doctor Nil). Cold & wintry & snow.

30. Tue. 30. Helped T.B.S. butcher, AM. Fixed a place for a heifer to stand that I am fattening for Mrs. Hindle. I am to give her $13.00 for her. Not quite so cold.

1880: December

1. Wed. 1 Dec. 1880. Heavy fall of snow. Threshed peas & cleaned them up. Fine tonight.

2. Thur. 2nd. Chored, AM. Got down oats from the old barn. (Colt sick). Milder.

3. Fri. 3rd. Grandpa helped me clean up 7 bags of oats & 3 of wheat & I took them to the mill. Got the oats back & staid to afternoon meeting. Fine.

4. Sat. 4th. Chored. Got Dollys shoes fixed. Childrens meeting, P.M. Fine. Soft.

5. Sun. 5. Mama staid at home with Annie F. and the rest of us went to meeting as usual. Grandma R. came down afternoon. I wrote to G. Campbell. Soft & slush & sunny. Freezing tonight.

6. Mon. 6. W. Webber came down & we chopped wood as I could not get a saw. I went to see Phillip Bell.

7. Tue. 7. Drew out some more dung to cover the potatoe pit, A.M. Went to mill for grist afternoon. Snow, A.M. Cold & wintry.

8. Wed. 8. Threshed peas, A.M. Cut wood, P.M. Cold & wintry, A.M. Heavy snowstorm, PM.

9. Thur. 9 Dec. 1880. Threshed peas with Dolly & Pansy & cleaned them up. J. Kerfoot got his sheep away. Snowy, cold & wintry.

10. Fri. 10. W. Webber came bringing his saw & we cut wood all day. Very cold. Clear.

11. Sat. 11. Got out celery & potatoes & cut wood, A.M. Childrens meeting, PM. Fine & sunny.

12. Sun. 12. T.B.S. birthday. We all went to meeting. [additional words crossed out]. [H]. McLeod came down with us afternoon & Mama went back with us to meeting at night. Fine & pleasant.

13. Mon. 13. W. Webber came down & we sawed all day. [Fine & pleasant].

14. Tue. 14. Went to help T.B.S. with sawing machine. Soft wet heavy snow falling.

15. Wed. 15. W. Webber came & we sawed all day. Wintry.

16. Thur. 16. [W. Webber came & we sawed all day. Wintry].

17. Fri. 17. [W. Webber came & we sawed all day]. Went to Hunters settlement at night. Cold.

18. Sat. 18. Threshed peas, A.M. Childrens meeting, P.M. Mr. Thom came down. Wintry.

19. Sun. 19. Went to meeting as usual. Mama & Annie F. staid at home. Aunt Bessie came down & Mama went up with us to meeting at night. (Christ fed 5000). Wintry.

20. Mon. 20. Cut wood & got down oats & cleaned up a load for tomorow. Church meeting at night. Cold.

21. Tue. 21. Went to town with the 24 bags of oats. 57 bus. at 30 cts. $17.10. Fine but cold.

22. Wed. 22. Got down a load of wood & 2 load of oats from old barn. Cleaned up the oats afternoon. Sold B. Tracy a fat sheep for $4.50 ct. (returned 75 ct. on account of dissease). Fine winter weather.

23. Thur. 23. Went up to Fathers & got the shoes put on the horses hind ft. & then went to town with the oats, 61 bus. 26 lb. sold at 30 ct. $13.50 ct. Bought chairs & couch for $4.00, Mama's Santa Claus. Fine winter weather. Sold 25 tons of hay to Richardson to be delivered at Barrie at $7.50 in January.

24. Fri. 24. Went to mill with 8 bags of oats. Got them chopped & back again by noon. Helped T.B.S. with a load of hay & chored, P.M. He gets the hay at $6.50 if it does not rise before he hays it. Cloudy but mild & pleasant.

25. Sat. 25. Christmas day. We all went to Grandpa's to dinner & came home to tea after which John, Mabeth, Andrew, & Emily went off with the horses for a sleigh ride.This is the begginning, who will see the end!!! Fine winter weather.

26. Sun. 26. Mama was unwell all night. I brought Grandma & Miss Tracy down through the night; about 9 A.M. I took the children to S.S. & got Mr. Thom to take charge of the S.S.& service & brought down Dr. Odlum. About 11.30 A.M. a little girl was born (God grant she may be His). I went up to meeting at night. Mama is doing nicely. Aunt Bessie came down afternoon, & Aunt Annie came down at night to stay with us awhile. Fine winter weather.

27. Mon. 27. Threshed peas & did some chores. Some snow squalls.

28. Tue. 28. Went to W. Johnstons & paid taxes ($22.98). Went on to store & posted letter to [ ], one to J. Gilmour, one to Witness office & a card to C. Blacket Robinson about SS papers. Cleaned up peas afternoon & did some more chores. Cold & squally.

29. Wed. 29. Went up to School meeting. Elected S. Jacobs for trustee. Split some wood against the bush that W. Webber helped me to saw. Took Mrs. Hindle 2.25 bus. peas & 2 of oats. Cold & very wintry.

30. Thur. 30. Threshed 2 floors of peas with horses. Got down 3 load of wood. Very cold & stormy.

31. Fri. 31. Chored & cleaned up peas, A.M. Split wood, P.M. Cold & wintry.

1881: January

1. Sat. 1st January 1881. Fixed up sheeppen etc., A.M. Took the children down to see Aunt Eliza & Aunt Louisa, P.M. Fine, some milder.

2. Sun. 2. Went to meeting as usual. Aunt Annie & Emily staid with Mama. Fine.

3. Mon. 3. B. Tracy came down & helped me to butcher the heifer I got from Mrs. Hindle & 4 pigs. They are nice meat. We went up at noon & gave our vote for Councillmen. Wintry, some snow.

4. Tue. 4. Twelve years married today. I went to town with the skin & one pig, leaving one pig with Mrs. Taylor. Sold the hide for $3.75 & the pig at $6.20 per [ ], $18.60. Mrs. Taylor went down & got Cherrie heifer. I came home across the flatts. Fine but wintry.

5. Wed. 5. Went to Wilsons with the young sow ([ ] go). Salt up the pork. It is large & fatt. Fine, rather warmer.

6. Thur. 6. Went with the sow again. All right now. Salted pork & cut up the beef & packed it in snow. Wintry.

7. Fri. 7. Split some wood at the bush & brought a load down. Went up to A. Malcolm's & got some pins put in the sleigh. John Phillips came down & helped me to put on a load of hay. Cold, some heavy fall of snow.

8. Sat. 8. Went to Barrie with the hay. Sold at $7.50, $5.55 ct., small load. I have to take another load in on Monday at the same price. Fine.

9. Sun. 9. We all went to meeting as usual except Emily & Annie F. who staid with Mama. I went over to S. Tracy's afternoon to a S.S. he is starting. Went up at night to the W.M. Chapel. W. Millard preached the last of the week of prayer. Cold last night. Soft snow today.

10. Mon. 10. 38 years old today. Went to town with a big load of hay. Rack broke & I had to borrow a rig from Palmers & load it on to it. Got to town about 3.30 P.M. 2750 lbs at $7.50, $10.30 ct. Late home. Fine winter weather.

11. Tue. 11. Took another load of hay. Sold at $7.00. Went up to SS Tea meeting in W.M. Chapel. Late home. Gave Grandma R $27.00 on acct. Wintry.

12. Wed. 12. Threshed peas, AM. Got down some oats, P.M. Cold

13. Thur. 13. Went to Town with another load of hay. Sold at $7.00, 2600 lbs, $9.10. Soft. Put Jenny Beauty & Spotty up to Fathers [ ] as they are about dry & there is plenty of straw up there. Seperated the lambs from the ewes as they were rather crowded & put them in the west end of the henhouse were the calves were & I put them in the other stables.

14. Fri. 14. Went to town with another load of hay, 2125 at 7.50, $7.96. This load went to the Press men. What I took in before should have gone there to fill the contract of the 25 tons that I sold in Decr. but there is rather too much clover in it to work profitably. Extremely cold.

15. Sat. 15. Went to town with hay, 2375 lbs at 7.50 per ton $8.90 ct. [Extremely cold].

16. Sun. 16. Went to meeting as usual. Mama is not fit to leave yet so Emily staid with Annie F. Not quite as cold.

17. Mon. 17. Cleaned up 11 bags of oats & 6 of wheat & took them to mill. I expect to get them back on Wednesday. Church meeting at night. Wintry.

18. Tue. 18. Went to town with hay to [ ]. 2050 at $7.50, $7.68. Went to a SS social at S. Tracys at night. Fine, sunny but cold.

19. Wed. 19. Went to town with hay. Sold to pressmen at 7.50, $8.15 ct, 2175 lbs. Went to prayer meeting at night (weary). Fine winter.

20. Thur. 20. Went with hay to pressmen. 2125 at 7.50, $7.96 (S.R. Bigs). [Fine winter].

21. Fri. 21. Threshed peas & chored. Heavy snows.

22. Sat. 22. Went to town with hay. 2525 lb. Sold at 7.50 to a man beyond [Allander]. He gave me an extra 25 ct., $9.75, for taking it over for him which was poor pay. The roads very heavy. Late home. More snow. Chilly.

23. Sun. 23. Went to meeting as usual. Mama staid home alone. I went over to S. Tracys to the SS there. Fine but wintry.

24. Mon. 24. Emily bad with her face so I staid home. Cut wood etc. Chatted with Mr. Bremner. S.S. teachers meeting tonight. Very cold last night, snowy today.

25. Tue. 25. Went to town with hay. Sold the load (Simpson) for $8.40. Fine winter weather.

26. Wed. 26. [Went to town with hay]. Sold to pressmen, 2400, $9.00. Fine, A.M. heavy snow, P.M.

27. Thur. 27. [Went to town with hay]. Henian Coles went too. 2200 lbs. H. Coles 1900 lb. [pressmen] 2500. Cold, heavy sleighing, steady snow.

28. Fri. 28. Took a load of hay up to T.B.S., about 2200, A.M. Took some straw & hay up to Mrs. Hindles & cut some wood, P.M. Cold & wintry.

29. Sat. 29. Threshed peas, A.M. Went up to chapel to arrange the prizes for the children & give them out, P.M. Some snow, Cold & wintry.

30. Sun. 30. Went to meeting as usual. Mr. Thom preached in the Presbyterian Chapel [at] night so we had a union Meeting. Cold & snowy.

31. Mon. 31. Got out 12 bushels of potatoes, 6 for T.B.S. Got down some wood from the bush. Cold & wintry.

1881: February

1. Tue. 1st February. Went to town with a load of hay. Sold to Simpson at $7.00. 2075 lbs. $7.26. It was mostly clover. Extremely cold. Clear.

2. Wed. 2nd. Cut out two logs from the old barn to make it handier to load on a load ready for Barrie but did not go. Split wood, P.M. Extremely cold. Clear.

3. Thur. 3. Went to town with Hay. Sold to a dairy man at $7.50, 2275 lbs., $8.53. Have promised to take a load to Cook tomorow. Extremely cold. Stinging.

4. Fri. 4.th. Went to town with hay. Did not see Cook's man so went to Brewery with it. 22.75 lbs. at $9.00, $7.96. Cold, more moderate.

5. Sat. 5. Chored around the barnyard & cut wood, A.M. Went to children's meeting, P.M. Sunny but cold N.W. wind.

6. Sun. 6. Went to meeting as usual. Read Bible standard, P.M. Good meeting at night. Mr. Thom there. Sunny but cool.

7. Mon. Feb. 7th 1881. Went to town with hay 2650 lbs. Went to pressmen. Went to a meeting at Fostors in evening. Pleasant.

8. Tue. 8. Looked like a rainy day so put on a load of hay & left it in barn for tomorow. Rigged up pumps, A.M. Threshed peas, P.M. Soft but not much rain.

9. Wed. 9. Too soft to go to Barrie. Got out some turnips & celery. Settled with Angus McD. for the threshing up to date. S. Tracy paid for Flour. Cut some wood. Settled with Lumley. Soft & rainy.

10. Thur. 10. Went on the road to cut timber for the crosway across the flatts. Had to quit at noon as it is too wet to work. I hope it will freeze soon. Soft but not rain.

11. Fri. 11. A little frost last night. Went to town with the hay, 2500 lb. Went to pressmen. Saw Mr. Smith (stickky). Fine, thaws some.

12. Sat. 12. Rained & snowed most of the day. Did some chores & threshed a floor of peas. Teachers meeting at night. Colder.

13. Sun. 13. Came on very cold & stormy. We all went to meeting but Mama & Annie & baby. Some calmer tonight.

14. Mon. 14. Did some chores & then went to Mr. Bremners taking Mama & baby to the corner. I got $250.00 from him at 8 per ct. intrest. I intend paying T. Johnson tomorow. Fine but cold wind. I staid as I came back to a funeral of a little child from Little Lake.

15. Tue. 15. Went to town with hay 2200 lb., $8.25. Went to press with it & paid T. Johnson $222.50, $22.50 being for intrest.

16. Wed. 16. Went with another load of hay. It is not first rate so I will not take any moe. I squared up with him which made me rather late home. I gave Father $52.00 on the rent & $8.00 which he had before makes $60.00. Cold & squally.

17. Thur. 17. Split wood in the bush, A.M. & drew it down, P.M. Went to Mr. Thomas Social, P.M., & had a pleasant time. May the good Lord bless Him where he goes & bring him to us again. Sunny but cold.

18. Fri. 18. Went down to Station with Mr. Thom, A.M. Split wood, P.M. Fine winter weather.

19. Sat. 19. Threshed two floors of peas & cleaned them up. Suny but cold.

20. Sun. 20. We all went to meeting but Emily & Annie F. (Suffer little children). Fine winter weather.

21. Mon. 21. Threshed 2 floors of peas & cleaned them up.

22. Tue. 22. Went to town with the peas. Sold at 60 ct., 35 bus. ($21.00). Bought 19 bus., 15 lb. of Crown peas at 63 ct. per bus., $12.13 ct. & got them home with me. Grandma S. went with me & Andrew to sell his rabbits. Got home about 5 P.M. & went at night to a meeting at Fostors. (Beer La hoi roi). Fine & pleasant.

23. Wed. 23. Late up, did some chores & split wood. Made up some accounts & spent awhile with Mr. & Mrs. Dixon & freinds at Grandpas. Prayer meeting at night. Very cold & stormy.

24. Thur. 24. Split some wood & did some chores & then took Mama & baby to see old Mr. Livingston & T. Livingston. Got home about 5 P.M. Meeting at Sybil's. Paid Dr. Odlum $6.50, Robinson $1.00, H. Coles intrest $10.00. Sunny but cold.

25. Fri. 25. Johns birthday, eleven years old. God grant he may have another before this year is out. I took Mary Jeffery down to the station but found she would have to wait at Allandale till 6.30 so she came back with me again. I will take her down at night.[Fri. 25 February 1881 continued] Father helped me to clean up the wheat I have left, 7 bags I think, then will be enough to put me through till after harvest. Went down to the station with Mary & saw her off (9[ ] Psalm). Sunny but cold in the shade.

26. Sat. 26. Grandma Ronald & Aunt Annie came down so Mama & I went with them to [Ivy]. We found Jane & children well but Robert was gone to Barrie. We started for home about 5 P.M. leaving Aunt Annie & bringing old Mrs. Fletcher up with us to see her son James. Got home soon after 7. I went to Teachers meeting after which made me very late, & weary. Bleak S.E. wind, some gleams of sun.

27. Sun. 27. We all went to meeting but Mama & the youngest. Soft with rain.

28. Mon. 28. Got down the oats from the old barn. I think T.B.S. will want them all. I am suffering from a very severe cold. Soft with raw wind. Very cold with high N.W. wind & drift.

1881: March

1. Tue. 1st March 1881. Had a very bad night with my cold, not able to do much today.

2. Wed. 2nd. Some better today. Went up to store & gave Grandma R $50.00 on note of Wm. & squared up the store accts. Mr. & Mrs. Bremner came down & I gave him a note for $400.00 to be paid on 25 Febr. 1882 with 8 per ct int. (Lord help me to owe no man). Went up to corner at night expecting a Magic Lantern Exhibition by Mr. Blatherwick of Angus but he did not come. Calmer & pleasant.

3. Thur. 3. Went to town with T.B.S.'s cutter. Took 6 chickhens, sold at 20 ct. each, $1.20. Got home about 4 P.M. Found Beauty dead in the gangway (Gen. XL, 23 ver.). Got her out & took off skin (John XII-5.) The carcase is not fit to use. Went over to S. Tracy's to a meeting at night. Lord do thou work & none shall hinder thee. Cold high SE wind. Snow at night.

4. Fri. 4. Not very vigourous this morning. Intend cleaning oats up today. Father came down about 10.30 AM & we cleaned up 51 bus., 22 lb. & baged them afterward. I took them up to T.B.S.& did some other chores. Cut Beauty up & gave her to Morrens. Very heavy wet snow from S.E.

5. Sat. 5. Saw one of the sheep standing alone & not looking healthy so I went up to the bush & got some evergreen brush for them to nibble at. Went on to the store to see if they wanted any help for the pressing machine. Was not wanted so came down bringing some by packing boxes that they did not want. Fixed up some bins & packed away the pork in the barn, 16 side peices, 4 shoulders, 4 hams. I hope we shall have plenty to put us through till fall. Soft with some snow.

6. Sun. 6. All went to meeting but Eliza & Annie. Mama staid up & the boys fetched her down at 4 P.M. Fine, sunny, soft, frost at nights.

7. Mon. 7. Got Gips shoes fixed. Cut some off the strawstack at Grandpas yard. Threshed some peas, cut wood. Went down to see P. Fuller (Lord keep). Fine & sunny, frost at night.

8. Tue. 8. Threshed peas. Went to McDermots at night. [Fine & sunny, frost at night].

9. Wed. 9. [Threshed peas]. Colder.

10. Thur. 10. Took 2 small loads of hay for T. Stokes, $11.90, A.M. Cleaned up the peas & 12 bags of oats, PM. Went to a meeting at old Mr. Livingstons at night. Cold bleak N wind.

11. Fri. 11. Went to mill. Took 4 bags, 7, & a peice of wheat for Father, 7 bags, 12, & a peice for myself, & 12 bags of oats. Got the oats back. Expect to get the wheat on Tuesday. Sent a card to Green Bros. at Waterford. Teachers meeting at night. Very cold N.W. wind.

12. Sat. 12. Did some chores & threshed some peas, A.M. Took Mama, baby & Fannie to see Mr. Dixon. [Sat. 12 March 1881 continued], P.M. I went on down to see J. Tomlinson who has had his foot badly frozen (more light Lord). Dark when we got home. Cold S.E. wind all day. Heavy snow at night. Paid Papineau for Horse service $8.00. Prince colt has been sick but seems better.

13. Sun. 13. We all went to meeting but Mama & the two youngest. Mama went up at night leaving the baby with Eliza Tracy for the first time. Heavy soft snow most of the day.

14. Mon. 14. Threshed some peas but do not feel very well. Soft & sunny.

15. Tue. 15. [Threshed some peas]. Cooler.

16. Wed. 16. Threshed peas till 5 P.M. & then cleaned them all up. Went to prayer meeting at night. Soft & cloudy.

17. Thur. 17. Went to town with 14 bags of peas & Beautys hide. Sold the peas at 60 ct., 34 bus., 5 lb. ($20.45), hide $4.00. Hen feed for Mrs. Fostor $1.00. Sent a telegram to Green Bros. & Co. about my letter which was not acknowledged. They sent word back that a letter was on the road. I got it at night. They cannot find my note which I sent the money for (Imanuel knows). Sleighing near done. Soft but chilly. Got Fathers grist & mine home which made me very late. S. Webber came to help me thresh peas.

18. Fri. 18. Went to Mr. Bremners sale. Took Mama down to Mr. Roe's & all the youngsters but Maybeth who is at school. Got some henfeed home for Father. Went over to McDermots at night to a meeting. I think it will be the last for the water is out on the flats. Warm & springlike.

19. Sat. 19. S. Webber came & we threshed peas all day. Cleaned them up at night, 14 bags & 2 left from Thursday. Soft snow & rain.

20. Sun. 20. We all went to a meeting but Eliza T. & Annie F. (Psalm XIII). Soft, some rain & snow.

21. Mon. 21. S. Webber came & we sawed wood at the bush. Soft, snow falling.

22. Tue. 22. [S. Webber came & we sawed wood at the bush]. Sunny with cold N. wind.

23. Wed. 23. We sawed wood till about 2 P.M. when I noticed the house on fire. Before we got there it was too far on to stop so we did the best we could to get the things out. Everything upstairs in the front of the house was burned but we got all out from the old kitchen & downstairs & a good many doors & windows. Mama & the youngest went up to the store. Eliza, F. & the rest of us went to Grandma's & Uncle T.B.S.'s (Lord what woulds thou have me to do). Sunny with N wind. I think the fire started with a spark from the kitchen flue on the front of the house. We saved the little milkhouse & part of the shed by pulling it down.

24. Thur. 24. I went up to the store & talked with Mama & concluded to build again. Uncle T.B.S. has timber handy in his swamp & the neighbours are eager to help. Sunny with cold N wind.

25. Fri. 25. A lot of hands are getting out timber in T.B.S.'s bush. I cleared away ashes & fire for the foundation. There is a good deal of fire & rubbish. Sunny with cold N wind.

26. Sat. 26. The men finished all the timber by 4.30 P.M. I worked clearing away rubbish picking out nails etc. J. Kent is coming with two hands on Monday. He will work at the house for two weeks. Sunny with cold N wind.

27. Sun. 27. We walked up to meeting today. [Sunny with cold N wind].

28. Mon. 28. Angus McDonald & Angus McDougall came & we worked at the foundation. T.B.S. helped too.

29. Tue. 29. T.B.S. went to town with lumber. A. McDonald came & Herman Coles. We finished the foundation & raised the sides of the house & got out 4 sleepers for the back kitchen. I went down to the Marley Creek mill to see after rafters but they were not cut. W. Webber, Albert Orchard & Downey have been drawing lumber & it is nearly all on the ground. Fine but cold.

30. Wed. 20 March 1881. N. Livingston came & helped today. I went to Knapps mill for the rafters but did not get them till afternoon. The weather is very cold but sunny.

31. Thur. 31. I went down to Marly Creek mill for some lumber that Mr. Roe gave me. Did not get it but when I came home I found that Herman Coles had drawn it the day before. I worked around the house afternoon. Sunny today. Some snow fell last night.

1881: April

1. Fri. 1 April 1881. T.B.S. & I both went to town & brought out the flooring. It is very dear but is likely to be dearer. Got home in good time. Very cold N.W. wind, sunny.

2. Sat. 2. Still very cold. I peeled rafters for the shed & got out two eavetroughs from T.B.S.'s swamp. I hope it will be finer on Monday. Cold.

3. Sun. 3. We walked to meeting. I staid dinner at store. Cold & sunny.

4. Mon. 4. T.B.S. came down & got some hay. I tried to shingle but found it too cold so I took shingles of the sheeting that was saved from the fire, took out nails etc. & went up to Church meeting at night. Lord bless thine own work. Sunny, very cold wind.

5. Tue. 5. Went down to Marly Creek mills & got a load of lumber, 800 ft. & drew some 18 ft. logs for sawing to board up the shed. Cold & dry, AM., feirce snow storm, PM.

6. Wed. 6. Went down to Marley Creek mill & got the 18 ft lumber, 483 ft. The mill was burned down through the night. I am real sorry for Robinson. I split some wood that we sawed in the bush, PM. Some milder today.

7. Thur. 7. Split wood today. Heard that Mr. Lumley was dead. Census taken. [Some milder today].

8. Fri. 8. Drew the wood that I split except about 2 load which I can get to with the waggon. I left some of it in the feild by Fathers house as the snow is nearly all gone. I intend going to town tomorow. J. Rent & his two men are getting on well with the house. It is all shingled & the window & door frames mostly in. They have bagan the shed. Warm in sun, but cold wind.

9. Sat. 9. Went to town with 10 bags of peas, 24 bus., 20 lbs. at 64 ct., $15.55 ct. Got window sashes for the house that are wanting $4.75 ct. Aunt Bessie went with me. Bought a bedstead $2.75 ct. Sunny but very cold N wind.

10. Sun. 10. We walked to meeting. Mama & the children are staying at store. The 2 boys are with me (walk by faith), AM. (House not made with hands, PM). Sunny cold N wind.

11. Mon. 11. Did some work at the house, AM. Began to frame the rafters for the shed, PM. Took J. Kent & his men away tonight. I gave him $26.00. It is very cheap work. I took his tools to J. McEwean's & called to see Mrs. Lumley. Mr. L. died last Thur. Sunny with cold N wind.

12. Tue. 12. Finished framing rafters, A.M. Got Angus McDonald to help me raise them, P.M. & began to put up a peice of verandah from the cook house to the S.W. corner of the house. It is only 12 ft. long but will be very useful. Sunny, cold N wind, hard frosts at night.

13. Wed. 13. Alfred Armstrong came & A. McDonald & we worked at the verandah & sheeting the shed. We are using up all the old boards which make it slow work. Sunny with cold N wind.

14. Thur. 14. Angus McDonald came & helped me to finish sheeting & begin shingling. Sunny with cold N wind.

15. Fri. 15. Uncle T.B.S. came to help me today at the shingling & G. Tracy, P.M. [Sunny with cold N wind].

16. Sat. 16. T.B.S. came again & we nearly finished the shingling. Sunny, wind some warmer.

17. Sun. 17. I rode up to meeting on horseback & went to see Mrs. Lumley, PM. (Lord help). Sunny, some warmer.

18. Mon. 18. Finished shingling the shed, AM. Went up to corner, PM, & agreed to take the [farm] for the present season from Grandma R. with the use of the horses & implements. I am [Mon. Apl. 18th 1881 continued] to settle about the rent after a while. I agreed with Herman Coles for 6 mos. at 16.50 per month or $100.00. May the good Lord make this to be a right move for me. Sunny.

19. Tue. 19. Bagan boarding in the woodshed. Worked around the house most of the day. Sunny days, frosty nights.

20. Wed. 20. Worked at the woodshed, AM. Went up to store to help to butcher a steer, P.M. [Sunny days, frosty nights].

21. Thur. 21. [Worked at the woodshed] today. There is a lot of work to do yet. [Sunny days, frosty nights].

22. Fri. 22. Herman came down with team & we began taking the things we had saved from the fire up to the cottage George Ronald built at the corner. It is small but I am glad to get into it for the summer though it will be very awkward for me to have to move up & down nearly every day. Sunny days, frost nights.

23. Sat. 23. Herman began ploughing in No.2 west but it is too wet. I got things settled in the house & took down Grandma R's stock to Evergreen home & brought up 4 of my cows here. [Sunny days, frosty nights].

24. Sun. 24. Went to meeting as usual. It is handy for some things to be up here but I have to be down there twice a day to do the feeding. Very warm today.

25. Mon. 25. I slept at the corner last night. It is pleasant to have a house of ones own again. I got down home as soon as I could & then worked around the woodshed. Herman is trying to plough [yarn] but it is too wet to do well. Warm, threatens rain.

26. Tue. 26. Herman came down with team to plow but came on a heavy rain about 7 A.M. so he threshed peas & I tinkered at the shed. Brought up roots at night. Fine, P.M.

27. Wed. 27. Adam Hayes came & helped Herman to pile up some stumps etc. on a peice against the bush. I went down home & chored. Fine with cool N.W.

28. Thur. 28. I did up chores, fed things down at Evergreen Home, & then came up to the corner & helped Herman to clear up the strip. It is sod & we want to plough it for peas. Fine.

29. Fri. 29. Herman began ploughing & when I had done the chores down home I came up & picked up & laid the worm of the fence against the bush. I expect Angus McDugall tomorow. Fine.

30. Sat. 30. A. McDougal came & finished laying the fence & picked up, AM. I went down home & did the chores. Planted strawberries that I ordered last year, Sharpless & Forest Rose. Got the hens into a box & brought them up with the waggon. Weighed out 7 bus. 50 lb. of peas belonging to Grandma R. & sowed and harrowed in most of them. Then I went down home where A. McDougall has been threshing peas this afternoon & we cleaned them all up. I slept at Fathers at night. Sow had 11 pigs, 9 living. Fine with cool N.W. wind.

1881: May

1. Sun. 1st May 1881. Fed the things & then came up to meeting. Went down again at night. Mr. Thom has been with us today & gave a sketch of his work at Tara. Fine.

2. Mon. 2. Herman finished sowing & harrowing the peice against the bush & then went to No.2 west. I went down home & began ploughing No.[6] N. (big feild). I brought up a load of wood at night. I have very short days. Fine, very cool.

3. Tue. 3. Ploughing. [Fine]. Warmer.

4. Wed. 4. Angus McDougal came & split wood in the bush, A.M. I let him plough, P.M., while I got out potatoes. A good many are rotten & frozen. Fine.

5. Thur. 5 Herman got his brother James to harrow while he sowed No. 2 West, 8 acres, 2 ploughed. Fine.

6. Fri. 6. I took Andrew down with me. I finished ploughing N.6. N. & cleaned up & bagged the peas to sow it, A.M. Andrew harrowed while I sowed, P.M. Fine, very warm.

7. Sat. 7. Finished the feild, sowed barley on the North end. Plowed a peice in the front garden for strawberries & early potatoes, planted a pailful. Very hot.

8. Sun. 8. Slept at Fathers last night, fed the horses & then turned them out. I put the cattle out yesterday (things are growing fast). I came up to meeting as usual. Left horses out at night. Very hot today.

9. Mon. 9. Herman finished the seeding up here. I went down & began ploughing No.1 N. It has been seeded down over 5 years. I quit about 3 P.M. & planted strawberries as it looked like rain. Mama came down. Emily Wadds helped her to carry the baby. Aunt Bessie came down with old Charlie & buggy & brought his up. Very hot. Some thunder showers.

10. Tue. 10. Planted the rest of the peice in strawberries, A.M. Herman cmae down, P.M., & we both ploughed. Herman working for store, A.M. Hot, thundery (close) breezy, some rain.

11. Wed. 11. We both ploughed. Expect to be done tomorow. Still close & thundery.

12. Thur. 12. I sowed the oats in No.1 N. & after Herman finished the ploughing, 4 P.M. He helped me to finish the harrowing. Very hot & close, A.M. Somewhat breezy, P.M.

13. Fri. 13. Herman rolled the peas & oats on Hiel Farm & then bagged up potatoes etc. ready for town for Grandma R. tomorow. I crossharrowed No.1 N. in E.H. & planted some carrots, beets & parsnips in garden. Cut off ewe lambs tails. Cool & breezy.

14. Sat. 14. Fixed up cookhouse on Hiel Farm & the pump in the cistern at Parsonage. Went down to Lumleys Raising, P.M. Herman went to town for Grandma R. Saw T. Livingston & P. Fuller about Baptism. Fine today, thundershower tonight.

15. Sun. 15. Meeting as usual. Went over to Fostors to S.S., P.M. Fine spring weather.

16. Mon. 16. We went down to E.H. Herman rolled No.6 & No.1 N. I brought up some lumber & began to make a place for the pigs to run this summer. Went to [Livingston's] at night to meeting. Some rain last night. Fine & cool.

17. Tue. 17. Got up early & did some (Church work, disobeyed Mama). Finished the pigs run & pen. Got rails & made a place for the calf pasture. Worked a little in the garden. Fine. Rather cool.

18. Wed. 18. Herman & I went down to E.H. & hauled manure on to the garden & began ploughing it all round. The house is "scenes of confusion." Some rain last night. Drizzling, A.M. Fine, P.M.

19. Thur. 19. Took the two boys down with us & finished ploughing the garden. Planted some potatoes, carrots, etc. Began to straighten up round the house. Fine.

20. Fri. 20. Went down to the Home. Found the sheep that was sick last winter dead. T.B.S. & old Mr. McDonald helped us to wash the rest in the creek. Herman is straightening up round the house. I came up home to dinner, so as to take Aunt Bessie down to the station. She is going to the old country with Jane Bremner. (Ex xxxiii-14-15-). Oh spread Thy covering wings around. Fine.

21. Sat. 21. Herman & I cleared up in the cellar getting out the potatoes etc. Got some manure onto the garden. Ploughed & dug some. Heavy fog, but fine after.

22. Sun. 22. Went down to the creek early & T. Livingston, Phillip Fuller & Cecilia Bremner were baptized. Mr. Thom goes to New Lowel tonight. Fine.

23. Mon. 23. A. Primrose came & sheared 19 sheep. Herman is working at the fence on N.3. S. making it straight. I sheared some sheep & got out some stumps. Fine. A. Hayes began the pine stumps.

24. May 24th 1881 Tuesday. Went down to E.H. & finished shearing the sheep. Came up at noon & went to the Picnic (YMCA). Went home about 4 P.M. & took Mama to see Mrs. Dixon & then went to see Mark Knapp (may the good Lord bless & guide). Fine, warm.

25. Wed. 25. Herman & I worked at the Fence on North end of N.3 S. (E.H.). Brought up the wool at night intending to go to town tomorow. Fine & pleasant.

26. Thur. 26. Went to town. Mama went along. Sold the wool at 20 ct. per lb., 71 lbs., $14.35. Left 52 lb. to be carded. Got some things for Grandma R. & some Tomatoes & celery for ourselves. Hot & rains.

27. Fri. 27. I finished the fence all but riders & Herman ploughed for potatoes. Warm, some light rains.

28. Sat. 28. The boys went with us to plant potatoes but it came on rain so we cut the seed, all ready. Finished the fence & cleared away the debris. Showery.

29. Sun. 29. Meeting as usual. Mama went out to see a sick man with me. Fine, rather hot.

30. Mon. 30. The boys went down with me to plant potatoes. Herman is working taking off stones from the fallow where Adam Hayes is getting out the stumps. Mr. Jacobs castrated the colt. Fine.

31. Tue. 31. Herman & I went down to E.H. & finished planting the potatoes. Clearned up some screenings. Peas & oats to go to mill to chop. Fine.

1881: June

1. Wed. 1st June. Herman is splitting wood. I went down to E.H. & planted out the celery. Came up at noon & began to rig up the lane gate on the side line. Fine.

2. Thur. 2nd. Finished the gate, A.M., and drew up a petition to get the 10 Con. opened. Went down to Campbel's raising, P.M. Took Mama, baby & A.F. down to Aunt Elizas to see Franky who has his arm broken. He seems to be getting on all right. Herman helped Adam, A.M. Threshed oats at E.H., P.M. Fine.

3. Fri. 3. Herman helping Adam. I began making a milkhouse. Came on rain about 3 P.M. as I went down to "E.H." to put the colt in & see how Gip was. I found Uncle T.B.S. grouting the house. He & Father had put the colt in, also Gip. She gave birth to a filly about 10 AM. Doing well. Thank God.

4. Sat. 4. Herman helped me to finish the milkhouse & rig up two garden gates, A.M. He helped Adam, P.M,. & I did up some more chores & went to the Band of Hope. Fine.

5. Sun. 5. Meetings as usual. Mr. Griffin & family came out to see J. Kent & preached morning & night. I took Mr. Thom down to Gilchrists & from there on his way to Stayner. Went with Mama & Grandma to see Mr. & Mrs. Dixon. They are both sick. Very cold, bleak wind, N.W.

6. Mon. 6. Very hard frost last night. Herman helped Adam. I pruned trees round the house & in Grandma R's garden. Cold wind.

7. Tue. 7. Herman & I went down to (E.H.). Hoed strawberries etc., A.M. Began fixing the bridge in the lane, P.M. Warm & dry.

8. Wed. 8. Finished the bridge & began grading the lane & banking up the strayed fence. Fine.

9. Thur. 9. Herman took one of Grandma Rs heifers to Lumleys. I harrowed the fallow where I gangploughed last fall. Finished up the grading & then began hauling out dung from my barnyard to the fallow (No.3. S.). Fine.

10. Fri. 10. Angus McDougal is loading manure & Herman drawing out. I did some chores & then grubbed the snaggs in the fallow. Fine, rather hot.

11. Sat. 11. Angus McDugal helped Adam Hayes, A.M. Went home, P.M. Herman & I finished the manual hauling about 2 P.M. & then ploughed a headland in the fallow & began throwing out to form a ditch against the fence. Fine, rather hot.

12. Sun. 12. Meeting as usual. Herman took Mr. Thom down to the River & back. I went part of the way to Fostors to the S.S. but had to come back as the swamp is on fire (tired). Hot but breezy.

13. Mon. 13. I cut some grass for Father with the machine, A.M. Herman finished throwing out for the ditch & Angus McDugal spread dung on the Fallow. I chored, P.M. A. McDugal helped Adam Hayes. Herman ploughed (No.3 S.). Thundershower from 5.30 P.M. Hot.

14. Tue. 14. Uncle T.B.S. had to go to town on the Jury so I drove him in with his own team & took some straw for Mrs. Wadds, & brought out a load of goods for Grandma R. Herman ploughing at E.H. A. McD. at home. Cool, drying N.W. wind.

15. Wed. 15. Herman ploughing at (E.H.). I hoed carrots. Settled up with Adam Hayes for the stumping. I owe him $21.50. Very cool N.W. wind.

16. Thur. 16. Herman ploughing No.3 S. I hoed till noon & then got T.B.S. horse & raked up Grandpa's hay & then got Herman to help in with it. A little rain fell but we got through. Cloudy all day, rain at night.

17. Fri. 17. Got T.B.S.' horse shod as he is on the jury & they expect to go for him tomorow. Fixed fences, pruned some trees, & made a gate for big feild in place of one that W. Webbs's colt broke. Herman finished the fallow, N.3. S. (drizzling

18. Sat. 18. Sent Netty over to Youngs to be shod. She is to run awhile longer [ ]foot. Herman & I trimmed the pine stump that Adam Hayes got up. I went to the B of Hope meeting at night. Fine, cool.

19. Sun. 19. Mr. Thom not well. T.B.S. went down to Gillchrist with him & helped him at night. I went over to Fostors afternoon. Fine, cool N.W. wind.

20. Mon. 20. I took Mr. Thom down to Station. Trimmed stumps. [Fine, cool NW wind].

21. Tue. 21. Finished trimming the stumps by noon & then made up 3 piles. W. Webber is coming tomorow. Jones is to dig the well at E.H. next week. Very cold wind.

22. Wed. 22. W. Webber came & helped Herman here, & I went down to E.H. & hoed potatoes & carrotts in garden. Fine.

23. Thur. 23. W. Webber helping Herman to draw dung at Hiel Farm. I went down to E.H. & hoed. The council came to see the road & I am going to begin statute labour on Monday. I warned out the hands tonight. Flora calved. Fine but cold.

24. Fri. 24. Worked at the stump holes on the fallow No.1 West. W. Webber helped Herman at the dung. I went down to (E.H.) & hoed till 5 P.M. & then came home with Eliza who was down at Grandpa's. Henry Wood came. I engaged him for 2 months & a week. He works a week for 50 ct. per day & 2 mos. for $50.00 (too much). Fine but cold N. wind.

25. Sat. 25. Herman & Henry punched up the heaps of stumps on the fallow No.1 W. They were fired last night & then moved a fence to let the cows to some fresh pasture. Ploughed a little. Finished drawing dung. I went down to E.H. with the children who picked the strawberries. Came up at noon. I worked awhile at the fallow. Went to B of H meeting at night. Cloudy, some drops rain. Doll to Whats Wanted.

26. Sun. 26. Meetings as usual. (Gentleness), A.M. (Kinds, P.M.). Warm.

27. Mon. 27. Henry off to Flos with a fat cow for Grandma. R. Herman drawing stuff from Station. Ploughing a little. I went down to work on the road. Came on heavy rain at noon. Got home & wrote to F.H. Revell, $2.00, D.C. Cook, $2.00, C. Blackett Robinson, $1.50. Warm tonight.

28. Tue. 28. Herman ploughing fallow, N.1 W. Henry & I on the road. Cooler, some showers.

29. Wed. 29. [Herman ploughing fallow, N.1 W. Henry & I on the road]. Fine weather.

30. Thur. 30. Herman went with us down to E.H. & harrowed the fallow & then went on the road again. Henry helped me down to Lumleys with 2 heifers, Grandma R's big white one & Plum. I went over to Examiniation, P.M. Fine & cool.

1881: July

1. Fri. July 1st 1881. Herman drawing water for the Picnic to be held in Mr. Palmers bush. Henry mowing round the house. I went down to E.H. with the boys & picked the berries, A.M. Afternoon Herman to Barrie. Henry to Picnic. I went & did the best I could for all. Mama is without a girl. I do not know what we shall do (Jehovah Jereh). Beautiful weather.

2. Sat. 2. Henry on the road in the flatts. I worked in the garden at E.H. till noon & then came up & took Doll to Whats Wanted, & chored around the house till after tea and then book Doll down & left her at E.H. to pasture. Herman harrowing the fallow, No.1. W. Fine summer weather.

3. Sun. 3. Meetings as usual. [Fine summer weather].

4. Mon. 4. Herman putting in the roadwork for Grandma R. Freds wife & little one came & her mother. Henry & I hoeing potatoes at E.H. Hot.

5. Tue. 5. Jenny. [Herman putting in the roadwork for Grandma R.]. Henry hoeing. I went down to Lumleys with old Jenny. Herman came down to help hoe about 3 P.M. so we finished. Hot.

6. Wed. 6. Went down to E.H. & cut the 5 acre feild against the bush. Herman & Henry did most of it with scythes as it is very rough. I began cutting No.2. N. Hot.

7. Thur. 7. Went down to E.H. & began cutting again but came on heavy rain so we chored.

8. Fri. 8. [Pruney]. Went down to E.H. Cut till noon at No.2 N. & began drawing in P.M. Mama went with us & came up again at night. Hot weather.

9. Sat. 9. Drawing in hay. Finished nearly all that was cut. Very hot.

10. Sun. 10. Meetings as usual. Went to Fostors, P.M. Took some papers. Thunder shower, P.M.

11. Mon. 11. Went down to E.H. Finished cutting No.2. N. & began No.5 N. Herman & Henry mowing fencecorners. Hot.

12. Tue. 12. Herman & Henry hoed in the garden at E.H. till noon. I finished cutting & we began drawing in, P.M. Very hot & close.

13. Wed. 13. Henry Wood has gone to T. Stokes's for two months. I let him off for I think I can do without him. I gave him $10.70 for his time here. Herman & I went down to E.H. & drew in hay. T.B.S. helped us, P.M. Son John run the rake. High N.W. wind.

14. Thur. 14. Herman & John down to help T.B.S. I cut the hay on No.1. W. Fine, not so windy.

15. Fri. 15. Went down to E.H. & finished up the haying, fencecorners & all. Got home about 2 P.M. Bringing up 2 barrells of water. We got in 3 loads that I cut yesterday. Hot.

16. Sat. 16. Thundery all around. Got in one load before breakfast when the rain came on but did not last long so we ground scythes etc. till noon & then got in the rest of No.1 W. except the rakings. Got in 2 load for Andrew R. & then hauled some water from J. Johnstons. Windy.

17. Sun. 17. Meetings as ususal, forenoon (Water). P.M. (Refuge). Fine but very windy.

18. Mon. 18. A. [Primrose] came and he & Herman began cutting the peice across the road. I cut the No.1. E., 8 acres. Very high wind.

19. Tue. 19. Herman & I drew in the rakings off No.1. W. & then got in what I cut yesterday, No.1. E. gathering what was cut accross the road & drew in one load of it. Came on heavy thunder showers at night. Fine today.

20. Wed. 20. Herman & I finished cutting across the road & some fencecorners, A.M. Herman cut the fencecorners round the wheat & oats, P.M. & I went down to E.H. & took the Mower & brought up the Reaper. Fixed the old barn roof & put a handle in fork, etc. Fine but warm.

21. Thur. 21. Cut roads round the wheat, A.M. Drew in hay, P.M. T.B.S. helping. [Fine but warm].

22. Fri. 22. Did some chores & then began cutting wheat. W. Collins & his man came to help. [Fine but warm].

23. Sat. 23. S. Webber came to help us today. We finished the one feild of wheat & began the other. Fine.

24. Sun. 24 July 1881. Meeting as usual. Mr. Meadows, A.M. Fine but close.

25. Mon. 25. S. & W. Webber, A. Lindsay & T.B.S. came & we went for the wheat [ ]. Finished cutting by 2.30 P.M. I got some fencecorner hay together & the men went at the shocking. A light shower came on about 3 P.M. After tea Herman & I hauled water from J. Johnston. Fine.

26. Tue. 26. W. Webber, A Lindsay, Herman & I went down to the Home. T.B.S. was there. We cut bound & shocked 8 acres No.2. S. Good crop. Cool.

27. Wed. 27. Went down to Lumleys with Spotty. Herman harrowing fallows No.1. W. We made up a stump heap. Picked up etc., A.M. Afternoon we went down to E.H. T.B.S. was there & we cut part of No.3 N. It is very patchy but some excellent wheat. Showery, A.M. Cool, P.M.

28. Th. 28. A. Lindsay came & W. Webber. We went down to E.H. & finished cutting No.3 N. by noon & W.Webber & A. Lindsay went to help T.B.S. Herman & I came home & cleaned out the west mow in the barn & fixed the floor. After tea we finished chunking up some stumps on the fallow. Got in 2 load of fencecorners hay. Fine.

29. Fri. 29. Herman picking up stones on the fallow, N.1. W. John & I went down to E.H. & howed in the garden till noon when we came home & Herman & I drew in 6 loads of wheat from N.3 W. At night I went down to Lindsays to get him to help haul in tomorow. Fine, hot.

30. Sat. 30. Finished No.3 W. & began No.2 E. It is heavier than the other. Fine.

31. Sun. 30. Meeting as usual. Short thunder shower about 2 P.M. Fine.

1881: August

1. Mon. 1st August 1881. Looks like a drizzling day so I rigged up old Charly & Doll & took Mama, Aunt Jane & Annie to Barrie. Got Ruths likeness taken with Mama to take to the old country. Met Uncle George & we got home soon after 5 P.M. Afterward I went over to Fostors & B[ ] to see if I could get help for harvest work. Not successful. Temperance meeting at night.

2. Tue. 2. Herman & I went to help W. Webber to bind wheat. Very hot & sultry.

3. Wed. 3. S. Webber came & helped us to haul in wheat & T.B.S. came in the afternoon. We got in all but the rakings. Fine but hot.

4. Th. 4. Went down to E.H. & drew in No.2 S. T.B.S. helped. Church meeting at night. Fine but hot.

5. Fri. 5. Went down & helped T.B.S. to get in his wheat & barley. Fine but hot.

6. Sat. 6. Heavy thunder last night with a few drops of rain. We drew up 2 barrells of water & then the rain came on heavy continuing most of hte day. We cleaned out the rubish & straw from the barn & did some other chores. Tired but thankful.

7. Sun. 7. Meeting as usual. (Mans image like Gods), A.M. Egypt, P.M. Warm.

8. Mon. 8. Cut Fathers barley & mine, A.M. Cut oats at corner, P.M. J. Hindle came at 1.25. Fine. [Mon. 8 August 1881 continued]. Herman, J.H. & T.B.S. drew in wheat from No.3. N. Fine.

9. Tue. 9. Went down home & did some chores. Herman, J.H. & T.B.S. finished the wheat hauling & then we began cutting the frosted wheat patches & then cut Fathers. Some light showers fell, A.M. Fine, P.M.

10. Wed. 10. Herman & J.H. went to help W. Webber, A.M. Bound oats, P.M. I went down home & shocked some of Fathers wheat & cut a road around the peas in No.6. N. Afterward I took the reaper & cut some. Fine.

11. Thur. 11. We went down to E.H. & drew in the barley & wheat except rakings. T.B.S. helped awhile, P.M. while I cut the rest of the 7 acres of peas. Fine.

12. Fri. 12. Showery. Herman ploughed & I went down to E.H. to get a waggon for Uncle George R. to go to town tomorow. He came down after me to tell me that Ruth was worse, not likely to live, but God gave her back again. May she also receive the eternal life in his good time. Early. We got in some rakings of wheat & the oats up here, afternoon. Fine. P.M.

13. Sat. 13. Hauling in peas. J. Hindle helping. 2 [loads] left. Fine. Fine.

14. Sun. 14. Meeting as usual. J. McLeod & Dixon both away. John III-16, A.M. Red Sea, P.M. Fine.

15. Mon. 15. Went down to E.H. & got in 7 acres peas. They will need raking yet. J. Hindle left. Fine.

16. Tue. 16. Herman is pulling the peas against the bush at [Stornes], 3 acres. I cut the oats at E.H., No.1. N., 8 acres. Fine.

17. Wed. 17. Herman finished the peas. I bound some of the oats on No.1. N. & afternoon, T.B.S. helped me to get in the rakings off 3 feilds. Fine.

18. Thur. 18. Herman & I got in Fathers peas, A.M. Bound oats, No.1. N., P.M. Fine.

19. Fri. 19. Bound oats till noon. T.B.S. helped awhile, afternoon. I finished binding while Herman & T.B.S. drew in. 2 loads out yet. Fine.

20. Sat. 20. T.B.S. came early & we drew in peas all day up at corner. 2 loads out yet. Fine.

21. Sun. 21. Meeting as usual. (Red Sea at night).

22. Mon. 22. T.B.S. came and we finished the peas up here & got in last of oats down at E.H. & for T.B.S. All harvest finished (fine).

23. Tue. 23. Herman ploughing at corner. I ploughed awhile at E.H. No.3. Got Gip shod, etc. Hot, dry, fine.

24. Wed. 24. Went to Knapps mill for lumber for house, A.M. Got wood & water etc. ready for threshing tomorow, P.M. Herman ploughing. Fine.

25. Thur. 25. Threshed all the grain in fathers barn. Steam thresher. Fine.

26. Fri. 26. Herman ploughing pealand. I cleaned up 10 bags of wheat. Father helped. I ploughed awhile. We had to take the cows down to the Home for the water is done here. Hot, dry, dusty.

27. Sat. 27. Herman ploughing. I went to town with wheat, 21 bus., 37, $1.16 ct. per bus., $25.05, 8 bags of grist. Got home about 6 P.M. [Sat. 27 Aug. 1881 continued] Went to Band of Hope. Weary & worried tonight. Gave the job of plastering to Stevenson at $100.00 & 10 [ ] hay.

28.. Sun. 18. Meeting as usual. Hot & dry & dusty.

29. Mon. 29. Went to Barrie to rectify a mistake made on Sat. Got home about noon. Went down to E.H., taking some things for Grandpa & lumber for the house. Ploughed awhile & then got two barrells of water & came home about dark. Hot, dry, dusty.

30. Tue. 30. Ploughing at E.H., No.3. S. Herman ploughing at Store. Hot & dry.

31. Wed. 31. [Ploughing at E.H., No.3. S. Herman ploughing at Store]. Mr. Bremners building burned. Fearful fires all around. Hot, dry & dusty.

1881: September

1. Thur. 1st Sept. 1881. Ploughing at E.H. Herman at Store. I take two barrels of water up every night & empty into the cistern. A light thunder shower about 6 P.M.

2. Fri. 2. Finished ploughing No.3. S. & brought up a load of wood at noon. Helped Herman to pile up pine stumps & haul stone off the fallow & peaground. Hot & dry.

3. Sat. 3. Helped Herman to finish up here, A.M. Went down home, P.M. John harrowed awhile on the fallow. Mr. Bremner has been digging some of my potatoes & I dug some more & took up some water at night. Hot, dry & dusty.

4. Sun. 4. Meeting as usual. (Elijah), A.M. (Millenium), P.M. Hot, dry & dusty.

5. Mon. 5. Took down the heavy harrows & harrowed most of the day. Took up the potatoes at night that we dug on Sat. T.B.S. fired his brush & I looked around a good while keeping a watch on the fire. Mr. Crombie came & held two meetings but there is so much fire around that no one likes to leave home. Kellum's house & barn, Gilchrists barn & the river bridge burned today. S. Jacobs came to get help for tomorow. Hot, dry, & dusty.

6. Tue. 6. Herman went with team to help S. Jacobs to haul in some stuff which is threatened with fire. If they can get it into the barn they think they can watch it. Father helped me clean up 16 bags of wheat for seed & grist & I took it up home at night. I harrowed a little while, P.M. Hot, dry.

7. Wed. 7. My fence got on fire down against the bush last night & again today. A good bit of it is burned. Father helped me to clean up 19 bags of wheat. I want to take it to town tomorow. I went home about 4 P.M. & then went down to see Uncle [ ] & Aunt Eliza. A spark fell into his stable, afternoon but he saw it in time & put it out. High wind, dry.

8. Thur. 8. Went to town with the wheat, sold at $1.15, 42 bus., 30, $48.87 ct. Got word that John arrived safely at Woodbridge. He went on Monday & we were getting anxious. Let the Lord be praised. Fine, cool.

9. Fri. 9. The wind was from the South yesterday & the fire threatened to burn T.B.S. so we went to work & fired all the stuff in my bush against his place, as the wind is from the North today. Spent most of the day tearing down fence, piling up stuff to burn, etc. [Fri. 9th Sept. 1881 continued]. We got done with the firing about 3 P.M. & then Father helped me to clean up the last of the wheat I had down here, after leaving enough for seed. I had 19 bags. Dry.

10. Sat. 10. A light shower last night. Went to town with the wheat. Got 9 bags gristed & sold 10 bags at $1.19 ct. I think it made $28.00. Paid Robinson his bill for lumber & shingles, $[ ], & Adam Hayes the ballance for stumping, 21.50. Got [ ] bags of grist home, left the rest till another day (some peas in it). Herman has been ploughing up here for fall wheat but he went down the E.H. at noon & finished harrowing the fallow & kept watch of the fire. I was late home tonight. Hot & dry.

11. Sun. 11. Meetings as usual. [I was late home tonight. Hot & dry].

12. Mon. 12. Sowed the 4 1/2 acre summer fallow up here, A.M. Went down to [Store] & dug potatoes afterward. Hot & dry.

13. Tue. 13. Digging potatoes. Father is helping me & the Children picking up. Hot & [dry].

14. Wed. 14. I got two men from the corner to help at the potatoes today & we got a good few done. Brought up water tonight. S.E. wind. Dry.

15. Thur. 15. Sowed the 8 acres of pea land up here. Finished digging potatoes [ ] at E.H. but not all picked up yet. S.E. wind, dry.

16. Fri. 16. Finished picking up potatoes by noon. Ottons men came out & put of the Eave troughs on the house. I had to tear down more fence as the fires are feirce & the wind very high, S.E.

17. Sat. 17. Wind fell about 1 A.M. Light rain this morning. Herman went down to E.H. & ploughed No.3. S. after helping to take a load of hay to Andrew R.'s stable. I went down & fired some rubbish but it soon got too damp to burn. Filled 3 barrells with water from Fathers well & came home to dinner. Went over to Antern Mill, P.M. & got 6000 lath. Rainy all day, heavier tonight.

18. Sun. 18. Meeting as usual. (Thine own Freind) A.M. (Idol) P.M. Fine.

19. Mon. 19. Heman with team at Phillips threshing. I ploughed in No.3 S. E.H. Burned some rubbish but it is damp. Fine.

20. Tue. 20. Heman & I both ploughing, after I got the rubbish hauled off that would not burn. Uncle Fred came last night. He is full of Texas. Fine.

21. Wed. 21. Thurlow got lambs 22$. John took Uncle Fred down to the station with old Charlie. Heman & I ploughing at No.3 S. E.H. got done about 2 P.M. & I sowed about 5 acres of it. Took up J. Kents box. Fine, rather warm.

22. Thur. 22. Heman is working at the pealand against the bush at the Corner [Thur. 22 Sept. 1881 continued], about 8 acres. John went down with me & harrowed while I sowed the rest of No.3 S. Got it all finished (8 acres) & the furrows run out. Fine.

23. Fri. 23. Heavy thunder shower last night. Heman is working at the pealand. I drew 3 load of stone for A.R. I went down to E.H. & got the barley cleaned up and took it to the mill to be ground (14 bags, 32 bus.) but could not get it back. Damp.

24. Sat. 24. Helped to clean off brands etc. from the peice against the bush (3 acres) at the Store farm, & then sowed it & harrowed some of it in, A.M. Heman finished it, P.M. & I went down to E.H. & cleaned out the water furrows on No.3. S. Rain last night, [fine] today.

25. Sun. 25. Meeting as usual. Fine.

26. Mon. 26. Drew some stone down to E.H. for a well that I intend digging in the shed. Heman & all ploughing. Fine.

27. Tue. 27. H. Fuller & B. Tracy came & we began the well. Heman drew stone for it. Some showers fell.

28. Wed. 28. Got the well dug 13 ft. deep about 3 P.M. Began stoning it up. Heman drew some sand & stone for A.R. till 3 P.M. & then ploughed. Fine.

29. Thur. 29. Finished the well & fixed in the pump by noon. I have to give them 50 ct. per foot. I floored over the well & straightened up, P.M. Heman ploughing. Fine.

30. Fri. 30. Took the team & went to a logging bee at Mrs. Lumleys. Heman ploughing. Thunder shower at night. Fine.

1881: October

1. Sat. 1st Oct. 1881. Heavy rain last night. Heman helped his father to threshing. I got up a load of wood & did some other chores & then went to mill & got the barley that I took out last week. 16 bag of meal. Fine today.

Diary for 1881 [top of page]

2. October 2nd 1881 - Sunday. Meetings as usual except at night. Anniversary services at the Presbyterian Church. Cloudy.

3. Mon. 3rd. Went to Barrie and brought out 580 brick. The plasterers came tonight. Heman helped his Father threshing. Doll very sick tonight with Colic. Fine.

4. Tue. 4th. Got word yesterday that R. Fletcher's little Josie is dead. Grandma R is down there so Aunt Annie & I went on the cars to Colwel & walked from there to Ivy to the funeral. Annie stayed & Grandma R. came back with me at night. Found that Mr. & Mrs. Wm. Ashdown had arrived at noon. Heman at Orhcards. N.W. wind. Cold.

5. Wed. 5th. Went down to E.H. & did some chores. Saw Mr. Papineau about sand for plastering & got one load hauled. Heman at T.B.S.s threshing. Fine but cold.

6. Thur. 6th. Angus McDonalds machine here threshing. Not quite done tonight. Fine.

7. Fri. 7th. Finished threshing about 10.30 A.M. 520 wheat, 130 oats. (Lord do thou give me wisdom to use it right). Heman went to Burge's to thresh. I went to Antern Mills for lath. Had a tough time. The roads are bad. Had to leave some lath on the road. Annie Wallis came on Wednesday ev'g. Cloudy, A.M. Drizzling, P.M.

8. Sat. 8th. Went down to H. Tracys with both teams & got 40 bus. lime. Drew sand, P.M. Close.

9. Sun. 9th. Meetings as usual. (LV. Isaih, A.M., after the Milenium, P.M.). Went down to see Father & Mother with Annie Wallis, Mama & Mrs. Wm. Ashdown, afternoon. Fine.

10. Mon. 10th. Heman & I drawing sand. I think we have enough. Cool & windy.

[Note: Some parts of the entries for October 11-15 are indecipherable because of a large ink blotch.]

11. Tue. 11th. Heman took the folks down to the station & then ploughed. I went to Barrie with 10 bags of wheat. Got 3 ground & sold 7., 16 bus., 10 lb., $1.20, $19 [ ]. I went for some white lime for finishing but could not get it. Hard frost last night. Cold [ ] wind [today].

12. Wed. 12th. Heman ploughin. I went down to E.H. Fixed the pump. Seperated [ ] to father. Shingled one side of the porch. [ ].

13. Thur. 13. Herman ploughing. I went down to E.H. Finished shingling. [ ] from H. Tracy's.

14. Fri. 14. Mr. Phillips & I worked at the crossway in the flats. Heman ploughing. Cold [ ].

15. Sat. 15. Drew in to the barn some peas that were thrown out to make room for chaff when we threshed. I have been feeding them to the pigs in the straw. Took a load of hay [up to] Andrew's stable for Charlie. Cleaned up a grist & went down to the [ ] for the lath I threw off last Friday week. Rainy last night, [ ].

16. Sun. 16th October 1881. Meetings as usual. Went down to see Mr. J. & G. Crawford, P.M. May the good Lord help & bless them all. Vain is the help of man. Cloudy. Chilly, some rain.

17. Mon. 17. I went to [Veopra] Mills with 8 1/3 bags of a grist of wheat. Could not get it back. We chored around, P.M. Rainy all day.

18. Tue. 18. Took some stone down to the Gulley bridge & rigged it up. Ploughed & scraped on the hill. (Heman ploughing). Chilly, cloudy, & some rain.

19. Wed. 19. Went to the mill for the grist. Did not get home till 3 P.M. (Heman is sick). I chored around. Talked to Mr. Crawford, etc. Fine.

20. Thur. 20. Thanksgiving day. Went to service in the Presbyterian Chapel. Took Grandma & Mama down to E.H. to see the house. It has its first coat of plaster inside. Heman is better & ploughing this afternoon. Fine but chilly.

21. Fri. 21. Worked on the hill putting in the last of statute labour, A.M. Got up marigolds & beets & butchered a sheep, P.M. Telegram from Mr. Holmes. Heman ploughing. Fine.

22. Sat. 22. Went down to E.H. & worked at the roots. Mr. Holmes came down. Heman ploughing. Showery.

23. Sun. 23. Meetings as usual. Mr. Holmes preached. Took him to see J. Crawford, P.M. Showery.

24. Mon. 24. Working at the carrots. Sold 2 heifers to Dixon for $60.00 & 2 of Grandma R's for $50. Drove them up at night & got tea at J. Johnston with Mr. Holmes. Heman finished ploughing at corner. Fine.

25. Tue. 25. We went down to E.H. & worked at the carrots. I took Mr. Holmes down to station at 5 P.M. Called at Mr. Morrens & paid $65.00 that I owed for sheep that I got last fall. $6.78 owing yet. Cloudy. Cold but dry overhead.

26. Wed. 26. Heman helping T.B.S. to draw dung. I finished up the roots & began boarding up the partition between the cookhouse & woodshed. Fine.

27. Thur. 27. Working at partition. Heman helping T.B.S. Fine.

28. Fri. 28. Got up the potatoes in the garden & chored. Squared up with plasterers. Heman helping T.B.S. Fine.

29. Sat. 29. Rainy. Went down to E.H. & cleared up in & round the house. Fine, P.M.

30. Sun. 30. Meetings as usual. "Church meeting unusual." Math [ ], A.M. Magnet, P.M. Fine.

31. Mon. 31st. Went down to E.H. & filled 28 bags with potatoes intending to take them to Station but heard that the car was not come. I intend shipping them with Mr. Kent. Fine. Cut wood afternoon.

1881: November

1. Tue. 1st Nov. Drew the wood that we cut yesterday & split it, A.M. Went down to E.H. & drew some dung from sheep pens & pig pens, P.M. Fine.

2. Wed. 2nd. Finished the dung hauling & took 2 load of potatoes down to the station. 52 bus. 5 lb. [ ]. Fine.

[Note: At this point in the diary there are 4 pages of financial notations dated 1880 to 1883; one of the pages is torn.]