Fonds Level Description

Accession Number: 87-006

William Standen fonds
87-006

Diary: May 1888 - August 1890

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")

1888: May

19. Sat. 19 May 1888. S. Tracy came & we finished laying the drains & covered with peastraw. John rolled at the corner farm. Cold and rather cloudy. I looked at the creek. It is not nice for baptizing.

20. Sun. 20. S.S. & meeting as usual. We postponed the baptisms for two weeks. James Coles & Fred Boyce, Herman Coles & wife came down. I was most of the afternoon watching T.B.S.s mare. I drove up at night to Mr. Trollope's meeting, Methodist. Weather cold but sunny.

21. Mon. 21. John finished rolling & got home about 11 A.M. T.P. & I went up to Hindle & got 50 maples, hard & soft, & one oak & planted on the east side of No.1 S. afternoon. John & T.P. got down 30 posts from No.6 S. & we began putting them in for a wire fence south of No.2 N. I got the post auger from E. Jones's this morning. Fine & some warmer.

22. Tue. 22. We worked at the posts & got them all in & holes made for a wire fence in front of the orchard & wired & boarded about a third of the fence south end of No.2 N. Sent letter to T. Parr & McCarthy. Weather much warmer, south wind.

23. Wed. 23. We finished up the fence & began putting earth onto the drains. T.P. ganged & harrowed potatoe ground No.2 S. John & I got the orchard ploughed & harrowed.

24. Thur. 24 May 1888. T.P. at home. We made a marker and put in carrots & parsnips in orchard. John, Maybeth & Andrew went to a picnic at the river. I build over the fence between garden & barnyard & did other chores. Union prayer meeting at night.

25. Fri. 25. T.P. & John fixing up fences round horse pasture & other spots. I went down to Dobbins to see about getting the use of their house for baptisms. Successful & Lord do thou guide into paths of righteousness. I got back about 9.30 A.M. & did chores & taglocked some sheep & about 11 A.M. we got washing them. T.B.S. along. Afternoon we took a load of wood up to the corner farm & ploughed the orchard by the house. (Nell to Emigrant). John planted some potatoes for Grandma R. I chored around generally. I brought down [Plum] & Sylvia heifers. They are near calving. Weather sultry. Like rain. Southerly winds.

26. Sat. 26. John & T.P. got up a pine stump on the potatoe ground No.2 S. & harrowed it over again. Rammed down fence posts against the road front of orchard & then got down a load of wood. Came on rain so they made potatoe sets ready for planting. I made a gate, fixed hinges, etc. & got it hung & fences fixed to it in horse pasture No.3 N. Very hot & thundery. Some rains about noon.

27. Sun. 27. S.S. & meeting as usual. Afternoon Mama & I & Ruth went down to spend the afternoon with R. [M-] & his wife (Maggie Bell). After tea we went over to see James Coles. He is sick. Mama & Ruth staid at the corner home. I got down to E. Home about 9.30 P.M. Cloudy & some drops of rain. Cooler.

28. Mon. 28. We got the pine stump on the potatoe ground hauled off to a stump on the barley (No.2 S.) & then John ploughed & T.P. went to help Grandpa in the garden. I did chores & sheared 16 sheep & helped S. Jacobs with his pressed hay. He is taking it from McDonalds place to the station. Cool & cloudy. Some heavy rains after 4 P.M.

29. Tue. 29. John took the old sow to Peter Knapps & then we fixed the wire fence north of the concession gate. T.P. finished ploughing & harrowing the potatoe ground. Afternoon we planted all the seed potatoes we had down here, about an acre. Cool & hot betimes.

30. Wed. 30. John took the old sow up to the corner farm & then T.P. & he cut seed potatoes & planted the orchard by the house. I fixed up a trough for the pig in the lane up there & the pump at the cistern by the barn. Took Charlie to be shod. Put some bolts in the gate by the house. We got down to E.H. soon after noon and then John & T.P. dug a strip between apple trees in front & I sheared 7 more sheep, all there is. Cold fresh N. wind.

31. Thur. 31st May 1888. Mama & I went to town with the wool, sold at 17 c. per lb., 44 lbs., $7.38 c. Johns wool, 33 lbs., $5.61 c. We got mosquitoe netting, $1.75, common boots, 86 c., good do, $1.40 c. turnip seed, 25 c., feed, 35 c., trousers, $2.20 c., & $1.25 c., spring for Democrat to be paid. We got home about 7 P.M. & I went up to Union prayer meeting & staid at the corner. T.P. & John put in [Mangolds] & did other chores. Rainy till 9 A.M. Clear till 7 P.M., then another shower. Cool, S. winds.

1888: June

1. Fri. 1st June. John & T.P. came to the corner & began hauling out manure to the orchard east of church. I did chores. Went over to see Alvin Johnson, J. Johnson. Got the double rig fixed at Youngs, new spring put in front. I got home about 3 P.M. & attended to Sylvie heifer. She calved last night. Cameron came to buy lambs. Cool and pleasant.

2. Sat. 2. After doing chores I went up to the corner & pruned apple trees till afternoon when the boys finished ploughing & harrowing the orchard. We got done planting about 3.30 P.M. & I came home leaving John & T.P. to cover them. I chored around generally. Wm. Jeffery & Fanny came about 5 P.M. Very cold N.W. wind.

3. Sun. 3. S.S. & meeting as usual. We drove down to Dobbins about 3 P.M. & found quite a large gathering of people at the Willow Creek bridge. Fred'k Boyce, James Coles, Magret Standen & our Francess were baptized. We got home again about 4.30 P.M. The young folks went to meeting again at night but I did milking & other chores & rested according to the commandment. Lord bless the people. Frost last night. Fine today but cold N.W. wind. Sunny.

"Diary for 1888 from June 4th"

4. Mon. 4th 1888. We made the wire fence in front of the orchard against the concession, A.M. Afternoon we went up to Hindles intending to log up a peice against the bush but found a lot of stuff would burn without so we put the fire in but it got away & burned a lot of rails so we had to leave the fence down for the night. Wm. Jeffery & Aunt Fanny, Grandpa & Grandma went down to Aunt Elizas & other places, so they got Norman & buggy. Rather warm, A.M. Fresh N.W. wind, P.M.

5. Tue. 5. We went up to Hindles taking 2 loads of rails and made up the fence & one log heap, A.M. There is too much fire to lay anymore so the boys went up intending to draw manure but that was not rotten enough so they got the ploughs & began ploughing the fallow. I did chores. Fine & rather windy.

6. Wed. 6. T. Pattendon ploughed with Norm & Tops. & John with Charlie & Netty. I took Nell & buggy & Mama & I went with Wm. Jeffery & Aunt Fanny down to 5th Con. Tecomseth where Willie Jeffery lives. We got there about 5 P.M. & after tea we took a look over the farm, 100 acres which he bought last winter. It is very hilly but not a bad farm all things considered. Threatens thunder shower but cleared off with a few drops. Windy, P.M.

7. Thur. 7. Wm. Jeffery & I helped Willie to plant potatoes & spent the evening at the next neighbours, McGurdy's, brother & two sisters, Father & Mother dead. Lord bless them & keep them. Cool with N.W. wind.

8. Fri. 8. Mama & I left Willies about 7 A.M. and got home about 4 P.M. to the corner. Found the boys had finished Hindles fallow and began the one at the corner, No.2 West. We tried all the mares to the French horse "Emigrant" (nil) and Mama & I went down to Evergreen Home and did the chores. We were thankful to find all safe & well. Hot dry & dusty but frost last night. Westerly winds.

9. Sat. 9. I took the cattle up to Hindles & then went over to Joneses & found the fire we had started last Monday was getting near his fence. I staid most of the day working with spade to keep it in check. (Lord send rain). Hot & dry. S.W. wind. Cloudy at 3 P.M.. Like rain.

10. Sun. 10. S.S. & meeting as usual. I went out to Cong'l Church past Midhurst afternoon & had a meeting in [ ] at night. ("Abide," afternoon). "Ransom" at night. Job 33. I got home soon after nine o'clock. Lord bless Thine own work & encourage thy workers. Shower last night. Fine, A.M. Thunder showers, P.M.

11. Mon. 11. T.P. & John ploughing fallow at corner farm. I did chores & took all the cattle & sheep that are here up to Hindles. Packed up a box for Emily Wadds & took it with some other things up to the corner. Brought down a White Leghorn rooster from G. Ploughwright. Got home about 2 P.M. & wrote up Diary. Rested awhile for I felt very weary. Did up chores which takes a long while. Only Mama, Fanny, Jane & I down here. Lord keep safe at the other home. Cold [ ]. N.W. wind. Sunny.

12. Tue. 12 June 1888. I took all the cattle & sheep up to Hindles. Did chores, then hoed in the orchard. T.P. came down about 2 P.M. and we put up 6 1/2 bags of oats and peas and took them up to be chopped. I went up with him and brought down 3 young cattle as the pasture is good here & rather low up there. John finished the fallow and got home by 4 P.M. and chored the rest of the evening. I wrote to Wm. Collins. Frost last night. Warm today. Westerly winds.

13. Wed. 13. We took a load of rails up to Hindles and logged forenoon. Took another load afternoon but came on rain so we did not get any more logging done but did chores round the house & garden. I spoke to G. Ploughwright & Phillips about the road work. Cool & cloudy. S. winds, rainy afternoon.

14. Thur. 14. T. Pattendon is doing his statute labour today and tomorow. John & I scraped out the ditch from the house to the road & did other chores, A.M. Afternoon we deepened the ditch on the concession south from our orchard to allow the drains we put in this spring to empty. I went up to Union prayer meeting at night. Oh Lord revive Thy work. Fine & rather warm, A.M. Hot, P.M. with heavy thundershowers at 6 P.M.

15. Fri. 15. John & I worked at the ditch on the road. We will likely finish it by hand as it is hard work on the horses. Afternoon we went up to the corner farm to meet the French horse. John harrowed fallow awhile with Nell & Topsy. I took up the old horses & brought down the Chopp from Malcolms. Cool N.W. wind. Hot sun.

16. Sat. 16. T.P. finished harrowing fallow. John & I put in turnips, leveled earth on the road and did other chores. Fine summer weather.

17. Sun. 17. S.S. & meeting as usual. Received Margret and Francy into church membership. Lord do Thou keep them close to Thyself. Annie Wallis came down with us & we drove up at night to M. Griffis meeting in Baptist Church. Fine & rather hot.

18. Mon. 18. T.P.& John snagging at Hindles fallow. I wrote to T. Parr and started Mama off with Norman to take Annie Wallis down to the river and then helped them, T.P. & John, with the snaggs the rest of the day. We got done in pretty good time. Mama got home all right before sundown. Make us grateful Lord. Fine summer weather. N.W. winds.

19. Tue. 19. We went up to Hindles, logging up the peice of slash against the bush. We got all done but some picking up and a few peices of brush to cut down. Cool & pleasant. Hot, P.M.

20. Wed. 20. T.P. harrowing Hindles fallow with the colts. I hauled 3 loads of stone and fixed up the gully bridge, A.M. Afternoon I cut the burge on the road & John hoed in the orchard. Very hot but breezy. Close at night.

21. Thur. 21. I went to town taking Mr. John Ashdown (who came to Minesing last night), Annie Wallis & J. Nasmigh & Maybeth. I saw T. Parr & he promised to meet me without fail on Sat at Kenedys Hotel, Barrie, and give me the money by 12 oclock noon. Lord keep him true to his promise. I had dinner at Aunt Janes & we saw Annie W. off to Toronto at 5 P.M. We got to the corner about 7.30 P.M. & staid to Union prayer meeting & made arrangments for canvasing to prevent licencing the sale of liquors in Minesing. Very hot, close & dusty. Thundery but no rain.

22. Fri. 22 June 1888. John & T.P. throwing up dung in the barnyard at the corner. I took Nell & buggy & got a petition at the corner & went along the sideline down the 11 Con. to townline. Called at James Dixons to dinner & tried Nell to Horse (Nil). Called at J. Rowel's & from there to Bennets. From there over the river to the 14 Con. Came back up the 12 Con. & got to the corner about dark with 28 signatures. I got home thoroughly tired. Very hot & close, A.M. A little cooler, P.M. 92 in shade.

23. Sat. 23. I went to Barrie to meet Parr according to agreement but was disappointed. I got J.J. Brown to sign a note for me at the Bank of Toronto, $35.00 for 3 months. I gave T. Pattendon $24.00 & came home again as soon as I could. "Are all men liars." Very hot but more clouds.

24. Sun. 24. S.S. & meeting as usual. 1st Pet. 4 ch. 10-11- "Stewards." T. Stoke & H. Tracy went down to Budds Mill afternoon. I rested awhile & we drove up to Presbyterian Church at night. Fine & much cooler.

25. Mon. 25. T.P. & John on the road for the corner farm with team hauling gravel. I did chores, cleaned out henhouse & drove up to the corner with Maybeth to get dinner for the boys. Sent P.C. to Parr. I pruned the rest of the trees & did some chores. Came down to J.W. Orchard and settled with him for seed barley stovepipes, etc. Got home about 4.30 P.M. Fine & cool. N.W. wind.

26. Tue. 26. T.P. went to J. Chappel's with Cherry. John run through the potatoes with cultivator & then he & T.P. hoed till noon. I pulled wild mustard out of peas & wheat & leveled the stuff thrown on to the road with scraper. Afternoon we went down to our south line & fixed the fence. John went to Tomlinson raising. After tea we butchered a sheep. Cold, N.W. wind. Cloudy.

27. Wed. 27. John & T.P. finished fixing the south line fence while I went to the corner & delivered the mutton & brought down the two dung forks and then we began hauling out manure onto the horse pasture, No.3 N. Cool S.E. wind. Sunny.

28. Thur. 28. We worked at the manure hauling again but rain came on and we had to quit. I went up to see Joseph Hindle who has hurt his foot and rested till noon when it cleared off and we went at the manure hauling again. Union prayer meeting at night. Rainy, A.M. Cold S.E. wind. Fine, P.M.

29. Fri. 29. We worked at the manure pretty steady all day. I went up to the corner with Netty & Nell to the horse (nil). I went over to A. Morrens and got a table & 6 chairs. Came back by the corner & brought down all the children but Andrew. He has to stay to attend to things. Fine & some warmer.

30. Sat. 30. We finished all we will do at the manure till after harvest by noon having got enough room for a straw stack when we thresh. John & T.P. hoed afternoon & I fixed up the mower ready for action. Cool & pleasant.

1888: July

1. Sun. 1st July 1888. S.S. & meeting as usual. We all came down to E.H. for dinner & drove up to Methodist meeting at night. Fine & pleasant.

2. Mon. 2. We went up to the corner calculating to haul manure all day but T.P. & John wanted to go to Anten to a picnic so I came down home afternoon and did chores. Rather hot.

3. Tue. 3. T.P. is away to Barrie to answer to a legal summons. John took up the mower & began cutting No.3 W. on corner farm. I mowed fence corners after him & did other chores. Andrew is off to Barrie to High School exam. T.P. went along & brought the horse & buggy back again. Great Shepherd keep. Hot summer weather.

4. Wed. 4. John cutting at corner. T.P. hoeing down here & I rigged up the hay rack on waggon. We went up afternoon but found it was not dry enough to haul so cut fence corners. I raked up what John cut yesterday & put some into cock. Went to Mr. Trollope's farewell social at night. Warm but N.W. wind.

5. Thur. July 5 1888. T.P. cutting fence corners. I cut some missed spots. John finished with the machine by 3 P.M. & then raked up. I took down the machine after Union prayer meeting as T.B.S. wants to use it. Fine hay weather.

6. Fri. 6. T.P. & John began hauling in. We put it in the old house. There is a good bit of wheat amongst the clover. We got in 6 loads by night. Thank the Lord. I got all raked up & took the rake down at night. Fine hay weather.

7. Sat. 7. Hauling in clover & wheat from No.3 W., 6 more loads. It is hard to pitch. I raked up the Timothy, 4 acres, & cocked most of it. All home to E.H. at night. Andrew all right [ ]. High N. wind. Dry & dusty.

8. Sun. 8. S.S. & meeting as usual. "Sabath." Rested afternoon. Presbyterian meeting at night. The weather is still inclined to be dry. Cloudy & a few drops of rain.

9. Mon. 9. We got up to the corner as soon as we could & hauled in all the hay. Andrew raked it all over but we did not get in A. Ronalds. I got home 6 P.M. & butchered a calf. Fine & rather warm.

10. Tue. 10. J. Hindle is here today for T.P. & we went up to the corner & got in A. Ronalds hay (I cut up calf & delivered it) & then we came down home & hoed. John is cutting in No.4 S. It looked like rain about 4 P.M. so we went up and helped T.B.S. a little but it passed off with a few drops. Fine. A light shower after 5 P.M.

11. Wed. 11. We hoed in front of house till 11 A.M. & then worked at the hay. We got in what we could but a very high N.W. gale arose and blew fire into a fence at Hindles so the boys went up to save it from spreading & I drove up to the corner to see if the fence was all right up there. Fine, A.M. Very high N.W. gale, P.M.

12. Thur. 12. Adnrew cutting with machine. T.P., John & I hauling in. We got all in that was cut by night and fixed a bunk for the hay rack. Union prayer meeting at night. Not quite so high wind.

13. Fri. 13. We hoed awhile and the boys took a load of rails up to Hindles and fixed up the fence and then we worked at the hay hauling. Grandpa is pretty sick with gout. Willie, Jeffery & Sarah & Alice B. came at noon. Wind not quite so high.

14. Sat. 14. We finished up the hay that was cut by teatime and then we hoed potatoes in No.2 S. & John cut a peice more hay. The weather keeps very dry. Fine & calmer.

15. Sun. 15. S.S. & meeting as usual. "Sabbath." Mr. Griffis asked me to go to Budds Mill for him as Mrs. Griffis was sick. So I went over and spoke of the Sabbath as a type of Christ again. Lord bless Thine own word. I drove up at night to Methodist meeting at night to hear Mr. Kenny. Fine & a good bit warmer.

16. Mon. 16. We got up & started Willie, Jeffery & Sarah & Alice, Emma off to Tecumseth Hall. By about 3.40 A.M. we went to bed again and slept till 7 A.M. John cut some more hay, No.5 S. & T.P., Andrew & I did up the potatoes in No.2 S. & afternoon we hauled in the hay John cut on Saturday evening. W. Cain came & put up the Binder. Fine & still warmer.

17. Tue. 17. We fixed sickles in mower & John went on cutting. Finished by noon. T.P. & I unloaded a load we got in yesterday & got another to the leanto stack west of our barn by dinner time. T.B.S. came and helped us, P.M. from 4 oclock and we worked with two teams. Fine with S. winds, like rain.

18. Wed. 18 July 1888. We got to work hauling in as soon as we could and by noon had nearly all in, but a light shower came on so I went up to the corner and got the new waggon that A. Malcolm made for me & fitted the old rack on it and brought it down leaving the old waggon on the driving floor up there. John & T.P. put a nice load of hay on and we run it on to the barn floor & then we got another load on to T.B.S.s waggon and run it into grandpa's barn. We have pretty much all in now but rakings and fence corners. Warm & cloudy. 10 minutes rain at noon & thunder shower in the night.

19. Thur. 19. I went to town with a load of hay, 2400 lbs., sold at $13.00 ($15.00). I brought home 10 bags of flour for A. Ronald & 1 bag of oatmeal & 2 bags of flour for ourselves, $4.70 c., 2 bags bran, 80 c., 35 lbs. shorts, 40 c. I got light sheets for horses, 2.25, zinc pad & strap, 75 c., shoe mending, 30 c., rivets, 15 c. I got to the corner about 5.30 P.M. where John & T.P. were hoeing potatoes. John took the horses home & I staid up to Union prayer meeting. Fine but rather hot, A.M. Cool N.W. wind, P.M.

20. Fri. 20. We got the rakings all rogether and hauled in 2 loads, 1 into the barracks & 1 down here. We made a stone boat & afternoon the boys gathered the stone off Hindles fallow intending to begin ploughing tomorow, but Wm. Tracy came over begging for help to cut his wheat so I agreed to let T. Pattendon go. I went up afternoon and did some hoeing and began putting Paris Green on the potatoes. Saw Mr. Cavanagh on the road. He says Mary is better. Cool & pleasant.

21. Sat. 21. T.P. helping Wm. Tracy. John ploughing fallow at Hindles. I went up and put Paris Green on the potatoes at the corner and then came down about 4 P.M. & did what I could at these here. Mrs. Bremner came with me to see Grandpa. Pleasant summer weather.

22. Sun. 22. A steady rain came on so Mama, Jane & I went up to meeting with single rig. Not many out. We went to see Bessie after meeting and then had a few words with Wm. Tracy's wife. Lord lead aright. We got home about 5 P.M. & I went up to at night again to arrange about N. Sheepwash & Lizzie Young. Steady rain till about 11 A.M. Fine after.

23. Mon. 23. John away to town with Lizzie Young for N. Sheepwash. They are to be married today. T.P. ploughing at Hindles. I hoed and put Paris Green on potatoes till about 3 P.M. & then drove down to the house that N. Sheepwash is to live in. We took some things from Grandma Rs & Mama & Hannah Hindle went along. We found Mrs. Jacobs there ahead of us and after putting things in order as well as we could we awaited the arrival of the bridal party but they did not come till about 8 P.M. and then had Nat's mother & brother with them, just arrived from England. After tea together we got home but it was very late. Lord bless them all. Fine, A.M. Somewhat cloudy, P.M. & a smart shower about 8 P.M. Clear after.

24. Tue. 24. We were very tired and late up this A.M. John & T.P. ploughed at Hindles. I hoed the mangolds & turnips but I am not very well, so I rested awhile. Fine.

25. Wed. 25. T.P. ploughing at Hindles & got done about 6 P.M. John, Andrew & I went up to the corner with the Binder and by the time we had a road cut round the wheat, Wm. Cain was there, so we went a few rounds with the machine. It works well, but the wheat is hardly ripe enough, so we put it in the barn & hoed the potatoes. Fine.

26. Thur. 26 July 1888. T.P. ploughing fallow at the corner. John & I hoed turnips till about 10 A.M. & then a rain came on & we did some inside chores. We worked at the turnips after dinner but some more showers came on at 5 P.M. I went up to Union prayer meeting at night. A good turnout. Showery & warm.

27. Fri. 27. We finished up the turnips & sowed some more seed in the vacancies & unloaded the load of hay that was got in last Friday. Afternoon we went up to the corner & measured out the feilds so as to have about 9 acres in each of them. The fallow should have more in it but I am afraid we cannot break up the peice to make it the right quantity now as the ground is very hard & dry. We moved some of the fence. T.P. is ploughing the fallow.

28. Sat. 28. We got up to the corner as soon as we could & got the Binder going. We managed to finish our fall wheat up there & cut A. Ronalds for him and got home with the machine about dark. T.P. ploughing. Fine, rather cloudy.

29. Sun. 29. S.S. and meeting as usual. (Ps. VIII. & XIX). ("Gods visit to Man"). H. Tracy went over to Budds Mill with me afternoon. (Ps. VIII- & XIX. & Heb. 2. - Lord bless them & forgive me).

30. Mon. 30. We ground up Cradle scythe & cut road through No.1 S. & began with the machine a little before noon & by night we had over half down and mostly shocked. The young folks are off to a party for N. Sheepwash. Louis O'Brian came down and had a talk. Lord bless. T.P. is ploughing fallow at corner. Fine & rather hot & cloudy.

31. Tue. 31. John finished cutting No.1 S. & shocked most of it. I was not able to do much today. A severe pain in my face & head & my teeth loose & sore. Fine. Hot & dry.

1888: August

1. Wed. 1st August 1888. John cutting wheat and barley at T.B.S.s. I am not so well today but Andrew & I finished up the shocking. Fine.

2. Thur. 2. John cut the barley, No.2 S. and T. Hindle who is working for T.B.S. helped him. I am still unwell and could not go to Union meeting at night. Dry & hot.

3. Fri. 3. I am not much better & had a bad night so I went to town to see if I could get any relief. My face got rapidly better but I got some medicine from the Dr. (Ross) and brought some out for A. Morren. It has been showery. T.P. finished the fallow at the corner last night & was harrowing the fallow at Hindles today. John could not do much on account of rains. Thunder shower at 7 and 10 A.M. & at 6 P.M. Warm & close.

4. Sat. 4. T.P. finished harrowing at Hindles, A.M. & John took Democrat Wheels up to Youngs to be set, also rake wheels & one for T.B.S. They cut & shocked some in No.1 N., P.M. & John went up and got the wheels at night. An old man, a Colportene, came, a Mr. Huntsman, and staid all night. Gave T.P. $5.00. Fine today & cooler.

5. Sun. 5. I did not feel quite well enough to go out today so I rested & read. J. Hindle came down & Heman & his wife. Lord bless them all. Fine.

6. Mon. 6. John & T.P. at the wheat. I took Norman & went to the corner. Gave J. Hindle the peas to pull at $1.37 1/2 c. per acre on their own farm. Looked at the wheat at the corner & found it too damp to bring in. Went round and saw W. Tracy about helping to pull peas on Wed. John finished our wheat & did some at T.B.S. I am not very vigorous but better. Weather rather hot & like rain.

7. Tue. 7 August 1888. John finished T.B.S. wheat and then took the Binder up to the corner. T.P., Andrew & I went up with the waggon and colts. We pulled a few peas, A.M. & Andrew opened out the shocks of wheat & afternoon we got it in & Uncle Andrews wheat and barley too, but it kept us very late. I came down to E.H. with old horses & waggon leaving Andrew to finish raking the wheat stubble.

8. Wed. 8. John & T.P. & Wm. Tracy pulling peas at the corner. I butchered a sheep and began to make a new harvest rack for waggon. There was a heavy shower last night. Afternoon we began hauling in No.1 S. Old Mr. McDonald helped us to unload. Fine & rather warm.

9. Thur. 9. T. Hindle helped us forenoon and we got in all the wheat from No.1 S., 9 loads, & afternoon we got in 4 loads from No.1 N. Went up to Union prayer meeting at night. T.P. & John pulling peas at corner. Old Mr. McDonald helped us in P.M. in place of T. Hindle. Fine & cool N.W. wind.

10. Fri. 10. T.P. & John pulling peas at corner. T. Hindle helping us to draw in down here. We got all the wheat and barley but a few shocks, leaving 2 waggons loaded on barn floor. Fine & cool N. wind.

11. Sat. 11. We got the 2 loads off and the rest of the barley except the rakings, T. Hindle helped to unload, and then Andrew & I went up to the corner & let John have the old team to run the binder. John & T.P. had the roads cut by this time round the spring wheat & the oats against Presbyterian Church. John finished the 2 3/4 acres of oats against the church and T.P., Andrew & I got in 6 loads of peas by night. Fine harvest weather.

12. Sun. 12. S.S. & meeting as usual. (1st [ ]). We drove up to Methodist meeting at night. Lord do Thou guide us all aright and make us patient. (Mr. Kenny on Solomon). Fine but threatening.

13. Mon. 13. A light shower last night. T.P. & John moving fence at corner till about 9 A.M. & then cut roads round oats. We went up & got in all but about 1/2 load of peas & then came down to Hindles and got in 3 loads there. John is cutting oats and spring wheat at the corner. Rain last night but soon dried off.

14. Tue. 14. T. Hindle is threshing for us at Mr. Bremners. S. Tracy & Eddy came over to get his hay & help us harvest so they helped. T.P. to haul in the peas at Hindles & the barley rakings here. Andrew & I got things ready for threshing tomorow and chored generally. John cutting oats and spring wheat at corner & got all but 5 acres done by night & came down with a load of oats from the corner. The colts run off to the side of the hill and upset in a bad place. A mercy no one was killed or hurt. It took us till 10 P.M. to get all right again. The threshing machine is here. Cameron bought 12 lambs at $2.75 each, $5.00 paid on them, to be delivered at Phelpston about 15 Sept. Fine but threatening.

15. Wed. 15. A heavy shower but we got threshing about 7.30 A.M. We did not get quite done by noon but the machine had to go to Phillips's. S. Tracy went there for us & T.P. & T. Hindle went up to the corner to shock up oats and spring wheat. John went on from Phillips after taking the threshing machine up & cut some oats at the corner but another shower stopped them but they got all shocked by night, about 320 bus. wheat, 150 barley, 34 oats. Showery & very close & thundery.

16. Thur. 16. T.P. at Wesley Orchards threshing. John shifting rails against fallow at corner. Andrew & I cleaned up 13 bags of wheat and then went to corner. Andrew came down with Grandma R. and Mrs. Murray & I staid up. John began cutting oats at noon & T.P. & I pulled some peas & shocked up oats after John. A heavy thunder shower about 4.30 P.M. so after tea we cleared off the stone and rubbish where the fence stood against the fallow. Heavy rains all night. Very hot & close with thunder showers.

17. Fri. 17 August 1888. Everything outside seems soaking wet. T.P. & John are getting stone off fallow & pea ground at corner. Andrew & I put through 4 bags of barley & Uncle T.B.S. took it up to the corner to be chopped & 130 lbs. of wheat to Mr. Young. I took Grandma R. & Mrs. Murray up to the corner afternoon and spent till teatime fixing up shocks of wheat & oats. Came down home & rigged up box on new waggon & loaded wheat (12 bags) to be gristed tomorow. T.P. & John pulling peas. Heavy showers all night with bright lightening. Finer today & cooler.

18. Sat. 18. Andrew & I went to town with the wheat & got it exchanged at McMillans (City Mills) (some bran yet to get). We got back home about 5.30 P.M. John & T.P. finished pulling peas at the corner & cutting the oats & came down with the machine. Fine but hot betimes.

19. Sun. 19. S.S. & meeting as usual. 2 ch. Job. I staid up at the corner with Mama & we took dinner with Grandma R. & Mrs. Murray & tea at Mr. Bremners. Presbyterian Church at night.

20. Mon. 20. S. Tracy came over & we left him cutting roads round the oats, No.3 S. & T.P., Andrew & I went up to the corner and got in the last of the peas & some oats. John cut T.B.S. oats. Fine.

21. Tue. 21. John began cutting our oats, No.3 S. T.P., Andrew & I hauled in oats at the corner and at noon we sent for the other team & S. Tracy & T. Hindle & we finished all up there but 5 acres of oats not fit yet. Fine but threatens cold wind, P.M.

22. Wed. 22. T.P. & S.T. pulling peas in No.2 N. I went up to the corner & opened out the oats & set them inside out & came down at noon & shocked oats after John in No.3 S. He has to cut them one way. Fine & cool.

23. Thur. 23. We pulled peas awhile all of us but the weather seemed doubtful so we went up to the corner & finished up all the harvest & got home again by 5 P.M. & pulled peas after. Union prayer meeting at night. Fine but cloudy.

24. Fri. 24. Andrew & I took up the ewes & ewe lambs, 4 cattle & 4 pigs up to the corner to clear off the stubble. T.P., John & I worked at pulling peas No.2 N. till 11:30 A.M. & then got up the horses & one load of peas in. John finished cutting the oats in No.3 S., P.M. & we got in 5 loads of peas & 5 of oats. T.B.S. & T. Hindle helped us after 4 P.M. Fine but threatens rain.

25. Sat. 25. Heavy thunder with lightening last night but no rain so as soon as we could we got hauling in again and got in all the oats but 2 loads. John & T.P. at G. Ploughwrights threshing, P.M. I pulled some peas & put away the Binder. Fine & rather hot.

26. Sun. 26. S.S. & meeting as usual. I went down with N. Sheepwash & staid with them afternoon & had a little talk with Walter Donville (Lord bless). I went to Methodist meeting at night. Fine & some cooler. Sylvia.

27. Mon. 27. T.P., John & I at T.B.S.s threshing, A.M. Afternoon we pulled all the best of the peas leaving 2 peices to cut with the mower. We got in 2 loads of peas at night. Andrew went for Grandma R. & Mrs. Murray & I took them home at night & found all right up there. Fine & cool. Rather high N.W. wind.

28. Tue. 28. Heavy dew. T.P. & John went up to Hindles & drew off the stone from fallow. I mowed spots in oats till about 9 A.M. & then Andrew & I cut the weedy patches in the pea ground. We got through about 5 P.M. John & T.P. hauled in peas & Andrew & I got in the 2 loads of oatsheaves from No.3 S. Fine & cool. [Plum.]

29. Wed. 29 August 1888. Andrew raked No.3 S. & John, T.P. & I unloaded a load of peas & oats & then John went to the corner with some firewood & to plough a peice where the old fence was against the fallow & bring down the 2 ploughs. We got in the oats & barley rakings by noon & afternoon we got in the last of the peas, rigged up ploughs, whippletrees, etc. I got down T.B.S.s horse & some harness so as to run 3 teams. Andrew ploughed barley ground. Fine but rather hot. West wind.

30. Thur. 30. Andrew ploughing barley ground. T.P., John & I went up to Hindles with 2 waggons & teams & got out about all the manure & started ploughing by noon. J. Hindle helped till then. Afternoon I hoed till after tea and then went up to the corner and did chores. It is Frances's birthday and she has large company to tea, Mary Pitt, her brother John, & a lot of others. A good prayer meeting at night in Baptist Chapel. Fine but warm. Hot, P.M.

31. Fri. 31. A sharp thunder shower about 7 A.M. so we cleaned up 6 1/2 bushels of seed wheat for Isaac Downey. Cleared off about 8.30 A.M. so T.P. & John went on ploughing at Hindles & Andrew & I butchered a calf & then Wesley Orchard came down & we cleaned up 14 bags of wheat for him. He is to pay by 1st Nov'r. I have had I think 31 lbs. of binding twine from W.O. Andrew ploughing barley ground No.2 S. Annie came down to tell me that a sheep had been killed apparently by dogs. I hoed in parsnips till teatime & then Andrew went with me to the corner taking 2 qrs. veal, 18 lbs. each, one down to S. Jacobs, & after he helped me in to a place in the barn with the sheep. He went to A. Morrens with the other qr. & then home. I staid up at the corner all night. Fine & cooler.

1888: September

1. Sat. 1st September 1888. I got up early & let out the sheep & then came on down to E.H. Found S. Tracy was over so we went to work cleaning out & fixing up the wells. Andrew finished ploughing & harrowing the barley ground by noon & then all three teams went up to Hindles. I went up to the corner at night & staid. Fine & cool, N.W. winds.

2. Sun. 2. S.S. & meeting as usual. (Job, Preserver of men, VI. VII. VIII.) We all went to E.H. for dinner & I rested afternoon. We drove up at night. I staid to look after the sheep & went to hear Baptist student. Fine & pleasant.

3. Mon. 3. Frost last night. I was wakened by A. Greensides dog chasing hens. I gathered up the burge round the feild at the corner & piled brush which we threw out of Grandma Rs garden last spring, over it to burn. I got to Hindles about 9.30 & spread manure. John & Andrew ploughing. T.P. harrowed with T.B.S.'s Fly & Topsy, A.M. We tried them ploughing pea ground afternoon but found it too hard. We cleaned up 20 bus., 14 lbs. wheat for Mr. Budd. I finished spreading manure & then went up to the corner & picked up roots & fired heaps on the pea ground. I staid up to attend to the sheep. Mr. Budd paid me for 20 bus. wheat at 90 c. Frost last night. Fine & warm today. Southerly winds.

4. Tue. 4. John ploughing at Hindles with T.B.S., Prince & Norman. Andrew with old team. T.P. came up to corner bringing Topsy & Nell & drew stone off pea ground. I sowed timothy seed on the clover we mowed this summer (No.3 West) & then helped him with the stone & got out some snags & stumps leaving the land ready to plough. I came down to E.H. at night. Mr. Budds mill was burned last night & all his lumber. T.B.S., John & T.P. were over all night. Lord help & bless. Fine, A.M. Wind changed from S.W. to N.W. & some smart showers.

5. Wed. 5. John & Andrew finished ploughing at Hindles about 3.30 P.M. & went up to plough pea land at corner. T.P. harrowed in graseed at corner & got Topsy shod & then came down to Hindles & harrowed till night. Geo. Grant came down & we cleaned up 32 bus. of wheat all but 6 lbs, to be 90 c. & up if it rises. I was over to Budds & find him much discouraged. Made him an offer for his bull but hope some one else will get him. Fine & cool N.W. wind.

6. Thur. 6 September 1888. John & Andrew are ploughing at the corner. T.P. & I cleaned up 7 bags of wheat, rigged up the drill & began putting in wheat at Hindles. I put in a pretty steady forenoon picking off stone. I worked away at that & breaking clods till 4 P.M. & then went up to the corner and paid Jas. Johnston $10.00 for 3 bus. Timothy & went down to P. Fuller's & gave $4.00 for calves (bull service last fall). I laid down and rested for I was not well. I came down to E.H. at night. Hard frost. Fine today. S. winds.

7. Fri. 7. T.P. went up to J. Downeys for the roller & from there he took over a new plough point for Andrew. He came down again & harrowed and rolled the pea land at Hindles. I went up intending to sow grasseed but found it too windy. Helped J. Hindle to weigh 11 bus., 41 lbs. peas. He is to give the price they are at Xmas. I got in two rows of corn. It has been hurt with frost. T.P. & I went up to the corner at night with Topsy in buggy. The first time single. John came down with me. Fine & rather high S. winds.

8. Sat. 8. T.P. finished harrowing at Hindles & then drilled in the rest of the wheat & grasseed. I sowed Timothy on the south end of the fallow that was sown with wheat on Thursday. Afternoon I pulled up weeds in the garden and did other chores. I am tired and thankful tonight. A light shower last night. Cleared off rather hot.

9. Sun. 9. S.S. & meeting as usual. I brought a load of young folk down to E.H. for T.B.S. & took dinner myself at Grandpa's & Mama had a houseful at the corner. She came down afternoon & I drove up at night & went to Methodist meeting. Lord guide. Fine. N.W. wind.

10. Mon. 10. John & Andrew ploughing at corner. T.P. rolled the land we sowed grasseed on & then took the roller home to J. Downey's & from there went up to corner & got the new waggon as T.B.S. has our old one today. I pulled weeds in the garden, A.M. Afternoon we cleaned up 10 bags of wheat for seed for the corner farm & bagged up oats & barley to feed the horses with up there. T.P. run out the furrows on Hindles & I helped at the last & started him off to the corner with the seed wheat & drill, about 5.45 P.M. Fine. Dry. N.W. wind.

11. Tue. 11. I went up to the corner to see how they were getting on & stopped at Hindles coming back & did some cleaning out of furrows. I worked at it, P.M. There is a good bit more to do. T.P. is harrowing pea land at corner & John & Andrew ploughing fallow. John came down at night to gang plough the pea land here. High south winds. Very dry.

12. Wed. 12. John raked up the rubbish on the pea ground (No.2 N.) & I fired most of it but there is rather too much wind. I took up a bag of apples to Hindles for Grandpa with Prince in buggy & then started John with gangplough. I had to fix up another [clevise] or [device] bolt etc. Spencer Croley came and wants a team to haul lumber for his house. I went up to Hindles, P.M. & finished cleaning out water furrows. High N.W. wind. Cool, very dry weather.

13. Thur. 13. As soon as I had done the chores I went up to the corner. John gang ploughing at E.H. and chored around there. T.P. has done drilling the Pea ground south of sideline & finished harowing about 3 P.M. & began harrowing the fallow, No.2 W. Andrew is ploughing the fallow. I went to Union prayer meeting at night. Lord bless Thine own word & work. Cold, dry & high N.W. wind.

14. Fri. 14. John got done gang ploughing down here about 10 A.M. & so we went up to the corner to help there for awhile & get T.B.S. Prince shod. Took up 2 more bags of wheat for seed. I went over to school house & with some others spoke of my appreciation of Mr. Finlayson as school teacher. He leaves on Monday. John came down with me again at night & we put on a load of hay for town tomorow. Dry with westerly & S.W. winds. Coolish.

15. Sat. 15 September 1888. I got away in good time to Barrie with the hay. Sold at $15.75 c. per ton (load came to $14.40 c.). I got some mending done to the harness $1.60 c., weighing fees, 40 c. etc. John went up to the corner after doing chores & took Andrews team while he went out to Midhurst to a football game. He brought down both the teams as they got done by about 6.30 P.M. I was home about 5.30 & fired some rubbish & chored generally. I took T.B.S.s horse home. Fine & dry. Rather strong S.E. winds.

16. Sun. 16. I drove up to meeting with buggy as it rained steadily & staid up till about teatime and then drove down to let John & Mabeth out. Mama & I staid in at night & Francy come down. She is not well. Heman & Jessie & Grandma R. to dinner. Rain most of night & morning. Cleared off, P.M.

17. Mon. 17. Andrews birthday, 15. (Lord give new birth). John & T.P. harrowing Pea land, No.2 N. & started ploughing, P.M. Andrew & I went up to corner with Topsy & buggy & cleaned out furrows in the wheat that is sown. There was not enough crosfurrows on the pea ground so we drove Topsy down & got the plough hitched on behind the buggy & run out some more furrows with Topsy. I came down at night leaving Andrew up to attend to sheep etc. Francy is better. Thank the Lord. Rather thundery but keeps fine.

18. Tue. 18. T.P. sprained his anckle last night playing football so Andrew has to run his team. I did chores. Helped Grandpa & T.B.S. to fix the pump in Grandpas barnyard & then took Mama up to the corner. I worked at cleaning out water furrows till 3 P.M. & then took Mama down to the station & started her off to Toronto & then came down to E.H. & got tea. I walked back to the corner & staid at the store at night. Methodist prayer meeting. Rather close & thundery but fine.

19. Wed. 19. I got up early & let out sheep, milked cow & did other chores. Had breakfast with Jany Pitt. Grandma R. & Aunt Grace are both off to Toronto. I finished up the water furrows, gathered apples & did ohter chores till 3.30 P.M. when Annie F. came from school & we brought down all the cattle & sheep but a little red steer we left up. John & Andrew finished ploughing about 5 P.M. so John went on with the drill & Andrew harrowed. Fine but rather hot & thunder at times. Cooler at night.

20. Thur. 20. T.P. came down this morning so we cleaned up all the fall wheat we have. Isaac Downey got 6 bus., 48 lbs. for seed. John finished drilling & T.P. finished harrowing afternoon. Run out the furrows as well. I did chores, etc. Fine.

21. Fri. 21. John began gang ploughing No.1 N. T.P. & I went up to corner taking 3 bags of barley to chopp. We moved a fence & laid it up so as to divide No.3 West from No.3 E. I took up Linda, Daisy & Jenny as they are not milking now. We got home in time to clean out the water furrows in No.2 N. Fine.

22. Sat. 22. I went to to Barrie taking 17 bags of wheat, 39 bus., 30 lbs. at (98 c.) ($38.70 c.). I paid the note I got J.J. Brown to endorse for me 23rd of June last. ($[35.00]). Got a pair of gaiters, $1.25 c. & a small meat saw, 65 c., fees, 35 c. I saw Mr. Budd. He wants me to take his bull at the price he gave for him $95.00 payable April 1889. I brought home S. Jacobs's grist & Lizzie Jones & trunk. T.P. at home. John gang ploughing No.1 N. Fine & dry.

23. Sun. 23. S.S. & meeting as usual. (T.B.S. [ ] III). I staid home, P.M. & let Mabeth out. Fine.

24. Mon. 24. Andrew harrowed with black colt. T.P. & John hauling manure, No.1 N. Afternoon Andrew & I hauled some water for Spencer Croley & bagged up 17 bags of wheat. We hitched up Topsy & drove up to the corner & watered the things there. I drove down to the station at night & got Mama, Grandma R. & Annie Wadds. Late home. Fine & dry. Rather warm.

25. Tue. 25 September 1888. T.P. & John hauling manure at corner with 2 waggons & old team. I drove up with light rig taking barley to chopp for ourselves & H. Bergh. I cleaned out the old log stable. I think I will use it for a sheep pen this winter. Mama persuaded me to go to Barrie in the evening to hear the Hindu Missionaries so I took Topsy & buggy & Maybeth went along. We did not get home till nearly 1 A.M. God bless them all. Mr. Budd brought over the bull. "Lord Sailsbury." Fine but rather cloudy.

26. Wed. 26. I started Andrew up to the corner with a cow to give them milk to use up there & then cut a door into the old sheep pen so as to use it for a cow stable. Afternoon John & T.P. came down & started Andrew & I off to Phelpston with 12 lambs which I sold to Cameron. We got there all right & back about dark. I left Andrew up at the corner. John & T.P. drew out dung for Grandpa, P.M. Fine, A.M. Some light showers, P.M.

27. Thur. 27. John & T.P. drawing dung for Grandpa, A.M., for me, P.M. I cleaned out Grandpas well in the forenoon. Andrew took the girls up to the corner & got Nell shod. I spent the afternoon "choring."

28. Fri. 28. John, T.P. & I helped T.B.S. to thresh, A.M. & T.P. followed the machine up to A. Johnsons & helped there. John & Andrew went up to the corner & drew out some more manure to the peice east of Presbyterian Church. I took up a load of wood & got Norman shod. Butchered a sheep & did other chores. Cold N.W. squalls with some heavy rains.

29. Sat. 29. T.P. at Alvin Johnsons threshing. John & Andrew drawing stone off the patch by Pres. Church. I did chores & then took meat & other provisions up to the corner. Drove over to A. Morrens with a qr. Mutton and then drove down again with Annie F. to help Aunt Bessie. Took a look at the cows & then came down home & put in a [busy] time choring. Raw & cold & cloudy but no rain to speak of.

30. Sun. 30. S.S. & meeting as ususal (Job. XIX & XX). I came down to E.H. & went from there over to Josephine afternoon. They had no service there last Sunday & I promised to go over again next Sunday. After I got home & took tea I drove up to the Presbyterian Church leaving the boys up there for the work tomorow. Snow & frost this A.M. Cleared off but raw & cloudy & some rain.

1888: October

1. Mon. 1st October 1888. A steady rain from S.E. I fed & looked after things as well as I could. The boys are all up at the corner. T. Pattendon was at the machine awhile & John & Andrew spread the manure by Presbyterian Church & came home about 5 P.M. I wrote to W. Collins, Lizzie, Mrs. Baldwin & W. Fisher. Went up to Church business meeting at night. Heavy showers nearly all day.

2. Tue. 2. I went to town with wheat, $37.25 c. T.B.S. brought in chickens which I forgot, $1.10 c. I got Bucksaw, 45 c., glass for door, 10 c., fees, 15, & lunch, 15, & Show entrance, 25. (55 c.). I went on to the Show ground & bought a 2 year old South Down Ram from Wm. Calvary of Orillia for $10.00. He is to be sent to Barrie on Friday, 12 inst. I brought home sash door & planed lumber for S. Croley. The boys spreading dung No.3 N. T. Pattendon ploughing at corner, P.M. Cold, raw, cloudy. Some finer, P.M.

3. Wed. 3. John & Andrew off to Barrie Show with Topsy & buggy. I bagged up 9 bags of barley & 3 of oats of T.B.S., the barley he borrowed. I took it up to A. Malcolms & got it chopped. There is 253 lbs. oats & 1065 lbs. barley, 105 lbs. more than he got from me. I fed horses & did chores up there & then came down home & did up things here. T.P. is at D. Dixons threshing. The boys got home about 8 P.M. all right, thank the Lord. Cold but finer. Some snow squalls. Strawbery to Lord Sailsbury.

4. Thur. 4 October 1888. Andrew had to go up to the corner to plough as John had to thresh at Dixons & Woods. T.P. went to Barrie. I did up chores & spread manure (No.1 N.). Went up to Union prayer meeting at night. Threatened rain but cleared off. Cool.

5. Fri. 5. I started Andrew ploughing No.1 N. I did chores & finished spreading the manure that was out. I expect T.P. is threshing at Woods & John ploughing at corner (No.1 East). I did up chores and fixed up things generally. John came down about 4.30 P.M. and took to the plough & Andrew & I pulled the apples off the tree in the big field. Cool, N.W. wind. Cloudy. Finer, P.M.

6. Sat. 6. We began to get up the potatoes, No.2 S. We have them about half done by night. I dressed for Sunday & walked up to the corner to a committee meeting about T.B.S.s farewell Social. I staid up all night. Maybeth & Annie Wadds are there. Fine & pleasant but cool.

7. Sun. 7. S.S. & meeting as usual. I went over to Josephine (Job). ([Eliha] Ransom. 49 Ps.). I agreed to go over on Tuesday night to commence a Temperance Society. Cloudy with light rain.

8. Mon. 8. Working at the potatoes. We got about all done by night. Andrew & I went up to the corner & put in the cooking stove. He is to stay up and plough. Cold N.W. wind.

9. Tue. 9. T.P., John & I getting out manure. I cleaned out the pigpens & some out of sheep pen. By noon we will leave the rest for the orchard. Afternoon T.P. ploughed with Nell & Topsy, No.1. N. & John went up to the corner and got up the potatoes by the house. I spread manure and did other chores. I went over at night to Josephine & we organized a Temperance Society. May the Good Lord bless & guide. I was late home. Hard frost last night. Cold N. wind today.

10. Wed. 10. T.P. ploughing No.1 N. I rigged up shafts to T.B.S.s light waggon & we began getting up the mangolds, putting some into a pen against the horse stable. Afternoon John took Sylvia heifer up to the corner & brought down the other cattle. I took up a few Mangolds & some carrots & when we were up there we shifted the pump into the big cistern by the barn. Very cold. High N. wind but some milder than yesterday.

11. Thur. 11. T.P. ploughing No.1 N. John & I at the Mangolds. Andrew is ploughing at the corner & with the old team we finished the mangolds about 4 P.M. & then pulled some apples. Went up to Union prayer meeting at night. Hard frost last night. Warmer today. S.E. wind.

12. Fri. 12. T.P. & John went up to the corner to stump and clean up a peice of land there, No.3 E. I went to Barrie with Norman & Nell & got the Ram which I bought from Wm. Calvery at the Barrie Show. He got 1st prize at Orillia. I sent back $10.00 in registered letter to Wm. Calvery, Jun., Breeder of Southdown Sheep Orillia" asking him to send me a P.C. when he got it safe. The other expences were 38 c. I got home about 2 P.M. bringing Axle grease, 10 c., Ink, 25 c., Envelopes, 25 c., Sweatpad for Topsys collar, $1.25 c., fees, 20 c. I took 4 pr. chickens to Brown, $1.20 c. Mr. Garret, Book Agent, came with "The Path of Wealth," $1.90. Gave a conditional order for a Stock Breeders Book, $4.50 c. if I do not tell him not to send it before 15 Feb 1889. After doing chores I drove up to T.B.S.s farewell Social. We had a very good time. Mama did not go as it rained steadily & she expected to stay with Grandma S. We got home about 10.30 P.M. Raw East wind. Came on steady rain about noon, continuing all night.

13. Sat. 13 October 1888. T.P. took a load of wood up to the corner & then ploughed in No.1 N. Andrew & I did chores. Fixed a place for the old Sow & sawed some roots off the pine stump which we got out of the garden last spring so that I think a team can move it away. Fixed pigpen & did other chores. T.P. nearly finished ploughing No.1 N. after coming back from taking up wood. Light rain & cloudy but fair at times. Warmer.

14. Sun. 14. S.S. & meeting as usual. Ps. CXXXIX. "still with Thee." I went over to Josephine but a young student was there so I just listened. Went up to Presbyterian Church at night. Fine but cloudy.

15. Mon. 15. T.P. finished ploughing No.1 N. & tried the sod, No.3 N. but found it too dry to work well so he & Andrew got up turnips. I went up to T.B.S. & drew 3 loads of potatoes for him up to the corner. John is ploughing at the corner. Rather cloudy & cold.

16. Tue. 16. I went up & helped T.B.S. again & finished picking over his potatoes & hauled them all away (30 c per bag too cheep). T.P. & Andrew at the turnips. John ploughing at the corner. Some smart showers.

17. Wed. 17. T.B.S.s sale. We were all at it. I bought a lot of truck $11.00 & the farm at $2200, $1500.00 of a mortgage against it at 7 per cent, due 18 February, 4 years to run. I have to give $700.00 in notes. Lord, bless Thou, and all will be well. A few cold showers from N.W.

18. Thur. 18. T.P. & Andrew worked a while at the turnips & gathering the apples. I got most of the things I bought at the sale down home & afternoon I took T.B.S.s luggage down to the station and when I got back T.B.S. took Nell & buggy to go out to a farewell Social at Midhurst. I looked over our account after I got home from Union prayer meeting & found $36.00 coming to me. John finished ploughing stubble at corner. Fine but cold.

19. Fri. 19. Andrew took T.B.S. down to W. Frileck's with Nell & buggy. I took Norman & Topsy & Democrat round by the corner & met T.B.S. & wife & they went with me into Barrie, and we signed the writtings for the transfer of the land. I gave one note due in twelve months for $200.00 & another due in twenty four months for $250.00 & another due in thirty six months for $300.00, $1.40 for registration I paid. Nails, 35 c., fees & luch, 30 c., bolts for cutting box, 7 c., spring snapps, 15 c., mending shoes, 10 c. Gave Grandma R. $30.00 on a note I gave her last year. I took T.B.S. & wife down to Frilecks & then got to E. Home to tea & walked up to the corner & staid all night. T.P. did not come today. John ploughed at T.B.S. Damp & drizzling. Finer, P.M., & warmer.

20. Sat. 20. I left soon after 7 A.M. with Nell & buggy & took Mabeth & Frances down to the station to see T.B.S.s family all off. God bless and guide them all and keep from evil, giving journeying mercies & guide them into the right place. I got home about 9.30 A.M. & found a lot of chores awaiting. T.P. is drawing turnips home which I sold him for a weeks work & John ploughing at T.B.S. Afternoon we cleaned up screenings leaving about 5 bags for gristing. Cold & squally. Some snow. Very stormy, P.M.

21. Sun. 21. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mama staid afternoon with Aunt Annie. We drove up to Methodist meeting at night. Gave T.P. $10.00. Cold & wintry. Hard frost at night.

22. Mon. 22. I helped T.P. off with a load of turnips to the corner & then Andrew & I fixed up the stalls in the horse stable so as to leave the box stall for cows. T.P. got the last of his turnips loaded by noon and afternoon we got all the potatoes picked over & put into a pit but not covered & 1 load of small ones into the barn. It kept us very late but I am glad to get it done. John is threshing at Grants. Cold, A.M. Warmer, P.M. Threatens rain.

23. Tue. 23. John threshing at Grants. Andrew finished ploughing barley stubble at T.B.S. by noon & afternoon began ploughing No.2 S. T.P. & I covered potato pits, turnips & mangolds & got in a load of carrots by noon. Afternoon we went up to the corner taking T.P.s last load of turnips & then shifted 2 loads of oats from the stable to the barn as we think of getting the horsepower to cut down here instead of threshing. I left T.P. up cutting wood for threshing machine. Raw S.E. wind. Cloudy. Rain at night.

24. Wed. 24. Andrew ploughing No.2 S. T.P. gang ploughed potatoe & turnip ground. John & I picked up potatoes after plough. I drove up to the corner about 11 A.M. taking Mama & Jane. Heard that the machine was to be at the corner tomorow noon so I went off asking hands. I came down afternoon and fixed a neck yoke and did other chores & dug a load of red carrots & picked some apples. Cold N.W. rain squalls & some hail, A.M. Finer, P.M.

25. Thur. 25. Andrew ploughing No.2 S. T.P. is at the corner cutting wood. John & I did chores. Got a load of wood down for Grandpa & then got half a load wood, 3 barrels of apples for A. Ronald, bought of T.B.S. & some other truck & went up to the corner and got things ready for threshing. The machine came about 12 A.M. & by night we had the spring wheat threshed, 120 bus., fall wheat, 90 bus. A. Ronalds wheat, 10 bags, & about 300 bus. oats. There is about as many more oats yet to thresh. White frost. Fine & sunny today. S. wind.

26. Fri. 26. We got threshing in good time & finished the oats & about 48 bus. peas by 9.30 A.M. We took the machine down to Phillips's with 2 teams as the roads are tough. John & T.P. came back and we took a jag of straw over to the stable & afternoon John & T.P. went to Phillips threshing. I took 4 bags of peas over to A. Malcolms & 1 over to A. Armstrong, [130] lbs. I did some straightening up & then came home bringing 2 bags of oats and did up chores here. Linda calved, bull calf. Fine. Rather strong S. wind. Rain at night.

27. Sat. 27. John ploughing No.2 S. Andrew & I did chores & worked at the carrots. T.P. was at Phillips threshing, A.M., at home, P.M. I went to W. Orchards threshing afternoon. Fine, A.M. Shower, P.M.

28. Sun. 28. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested, P.M. and drove up to Presbyterian meeting at night. Fred'k Bremner preached ("unsound."). I came to the conclusion that whatever blessing people may think they get by holding the idea that after a soul has trusted in Jesus and been saved, there is still a danger of being eternally lost. The preaching of that "Gospel" [ ] will never be used in regenerating anyone, nor can make one more holy. Some showers.

29. Mon. 29. Andrew ploughing between showers, No.2 S. T.P. threshing at W. Orchards. John & I went up to the corner with Norm & Nell taking Fanning Mill & the old bobsleighs. I left them at Cota's. He is to iron a new pair for me. John helped me to clean up 18 bags of wheat & we got the new box on the waggon & loaded it by 2.30 P.M. & then John went off with Earnest English. He is to be away a week & call as he comes back at Willie Jefferys. Very rough squally weather.

30. Tue. 30 October 1888. I staid at the corner last night & got away in good time with the load of wheat, 41 bus., 20 lbs., sold at $1.16 c per bush., $47.90 c. I got a pair of horse blankets & 2 [s --], $2.20 c., fees & lunch, 30 c. Paid out $1.20 c. for window stops for H. Bergh, 25 c. I had of S. Crowley on the other stuff I brought out. I got home in time to help Andrew to do chores. He has been ploughing. Finished No.2 S. & began ploughing sod, No.3 N. T.P. threshed at I. Downies till Fred Boyce came. Fred is to work for me for a month. T.P. went over to help B. Tracy at a raising. I heard that Wm. Tracy was badly hurt. Very fine. Cooler at night.

31. Wed. 31. Started Fred Boyce ploughing with old team, No.3 N. T.P. threshing at I. Downeys till about 10 A.M. Andrew & I did chores & bagged up what fall wheat is down here & took it up to the corner. Met T.P. on the road. Andrew & he worked at getting up potatoes while I went down to see J. Fraleck about a horse. He was not at home so afternoon I got Norm shod on front feet & blacks on hind feet & then I went down to see Wm. Tracy. Found him much better & got him into the buggy & took him to his own house. Lord bless him spiritually. Fine & much warmer.

1888: November

1. Thur. 1st November 1888. I went to Tollendale with 37 bus. wheat, 20 bus. for Andrew R. I got it back with me & home about 5 P.M. to the corner. I staid up to the meeting. Andrew & T.P. finished the potatoes at the corner. Fine & very warm.

2. Fri. 2. T.P. came over & we got 2 bags of oats & took down home with the grist. Called at Hindles and got 5 bags of peas. J. Fraleck brought down the colt I bought off him & I gave him a note for $125.00 in a year with eight per cent intrest but if paid within 4 months no intrest to be charged at all. We took him out to work sod, No.5 N. & had a shine at first but he came to the work pretty well after a while. Fred B. is ploughing with old team, No.3 N. Afternoon Andrew & I went up to the corner & cleaned up and loaded 15 bags of goose wheat. Andrew went home after & I staid up & got ready to go to town tomorow. Sold Ram lamb] to Mr. Bremner. Very warm but S.W. wind. Shower at noon.

3. Sat. 3. I went to town with the goose wheat. The buyers did not care for it but I got $1.03 per bus., $36.17 c. I got beef, $1.40, cheese, 17 c., fees & lunch, 25 c. Paid Lane for making suit of clothes, $8.00 (too much). I got home in good time but had a lot of chores to do. Fred. R. Bremner came down & staid all night. T.P. & Fred. B. ploughing. Rain squalls from N.W., A.M. Fine, P.M.

4. Sun. 4. S.S. & meeting as usual. Job. 29, 30 & 31 & 32 Ps. Mama & I went over to see W. Tracy afternoon. He is better but was sleeping so he did not stay long. Came home by the corner & did not drive up again. I staid & went to see Grandpa & Grandma at night. Lord bless. Fine & pleasant.

5. Mon. 5. T.P. & Fred. B. ploughing. I spread manure, No.3 N. Mothers birthday. Lord bless. I settled up with T. Pattendon. Lord bless him. Afternoon I went up to the corner & fired some stump heaps & did other chores. Wm. Cain came and got $20.00 that I owed for plough, $15.00 (13 [Fleury]) & $5.00 ballance that should have been on Note for Binder. Fine & very warm. Heavy rains with lightening from 9 P.M. till morning.

6. Tue. 6 November 1888. Fred B. ploughing No.3 N. Andrew & I got up the last of the parsnips & turnips & drew one load to the pit by noon. John got home then, safe & well, thank the Lord, and went on ploughing No.5 N. (big feild). We finished up the roots by dark. Dark & cloudy but dry.

7. Wed. 7. John & Fred. B. ploughing. Fred finished No.3 N. about noon and went into No.5 N. Andrew helped Mr. Budds man to get away the hives of bees bought at T.B.S.s sale and then he & I went up to the corner with 8 bags of barley & peas to chopp. We got it done by about 2 P.M. & brought it home & then went back & cleaned up 15 bags of fall wheat at the corner. We got 7 bags of oats chopped for the horses besides the barley & peas. Fine & rather warm.

8. Thur. 8. I started from the corner with the wheat in good time, but a heavy snow storm came on which made it very unpleasant. I sold Grandma Ss turkeys at 8 c., 39 lbs., $3.12 c. Sold wheat to Wilkinson, 33 bus., 57 lbs., at $1.16 c., $38.85 c. I got long handles shovel, 75 c., & axe handle, 20 c., & packet of tacks, 3 c., lunch & fees, 30 c. I brought home a barrel coal oil & 2 kegs nails for A.R. Maybeths shoe mending, 40 c. Snow from 8 A.M. till 9 & then very heavy rains.

9. Fri. 9. John & Fred B. ploughing No.5 N. Andrew & I did chores & helped R. Collins to move from H. Fullers to S. Crowleys house & then went up to Hindles & got 6 bags of peas, 13 bus., 17 lbs. We butchered a pig for noon spell & took up all the young cattle to the corner farm and put them in their winter quarters (Great Shepherd keep). I came down home then and did chores. Very tired. Fine but cloudy.

10. Sat. 10. John ploughing No.5 N. Fred Boyce & I took Charlie & plough and run a furrow along the ditch on the concession to drain the orchard. We cleaned out the calf pen & sheep pen while a shower went over & then Fred took the shovel & threw out the furrow that we ploughed. Afternoon I took Mr. Bremners ram up and did some business at the coner. After I got home we run another furrow in the ditch making the drain empty pretty well. Heavy shower, 9 A.M. Fine but cloudy after.

11. Sun. 11. Maybeths birthday. We went to meeting & S.S. as usual. (Job 32 ch., 33, 34, Ransom). Afternoon rested & staid in at night and wrote to Wm. Collins & Louisa. They have measles. Lord bless & heal. Snow squalls, A.M. Finer, P.M.

12. Mon. 12. John finished ploughing No.5 N. & Fred Boyce & I taglocked sheep and did other chores and then went up to T.B.S. little feild by his old barn & moved some old fence to put south of the orchard, T.B.S. John began ploughing the little feild. Afternoon Fred ploughed with old team & I finished moving the rails and then drew a small load of wood for Grandpa and then took a load up to the corner & brought Cecilia Bremner down. She is to go to town with us tomorrow. Fine.

13. Tue. 13. I went to town taking Mama, Alice B. & C. Bremner & a lot of turkeys & fowl. Sold fowl at 35 c. pr. & turkeys 9 c. lb. I came home by the corner bringing old Mrs. Fletcher home about dark. Found Pruney had a peice of mangold in her throat but we got her relieved. A Mr. Little from Innisfil was here and staid all night so I had to put his horse up at Grandpas. Mama lost shawl. Fine & warm.

14. Wed. 14 November 1888. I went to the back feild (T.B.S.) & started F. Boyce to plough with old team & as T.P. came he went up to corner with black team and began moving rails from the old pasture to make the feilds into shape & John went up & ploughed sod south of wheat, No. 2 W. I went over to see Wm. Tracy & then went up to the corner & laid worm of fence between No. 2 & No.3 East. I had to come home early to do up chores. Fine & very warm.

15. Thur. 15. Thanksgiving day. "Hallelujah." After doing chores I went up to corner & to English church service. After dinner I went down & laid up some fence which I began yesterday. I took the black horses home & then drove up again at night.The Union prayer meeting was in Pres. Church & I took for subject 3 aspects of Salvation, 1st, of the soul, 2nd, Salvation from power of evil habits, 3rd, Salvation, of body. A good meeting, Lord bless. I had a "time" with Mrs. Gant about the wheat as I came home afternoon and was rather upset. Lord bless her and open her eyes. Fine & warm.

16. Fri. 16. Fred Boyce ploughing back feild. I was nearly all morning doing chores, Daisy calved, & then went up to corner and took waggon with black horses. Got Topsys hind shoes off. She interferes & the holdback on the waggon tongue was to fix. I sent Andrew down to look after things and John helped me to clean up 21 bags of oats & then he hauled some more rails. I laid up all the fence 4 rails high. D.D. McLeod preached in Pres. Church. Flurries of snow. Cold at night. Freezing hard.

17. Sat. 17. Uncle Freds birthday. I went to town from the corner taking 21 bags of oats, 61 bus., 24 lbs. Sold at 38 c., $23.45 c., 25 c. oatmeal. Lunch & fees 30 c. I got home in good time but very cold. Fred Boyce and Andrew did up chores. John at the corner. Put up box stove. Got Jack shod. Very cold with N.W. snow squalls falling continually.

18. Sun. 18. S.S. & meeting as usual. We drove up with sleigh though it is rather soft. I went up at night again. Mr. Kenny preached in Pres. Church (called on me to). Lord bless Thine own Word & Work & let our eyes be unto Thee. Fine & bright, A.M. Wintry, P.M.

19. Mon. 19. Fred Boyce took down Flour & Spencer Croley trunk & then began drawing out manure from barnyard to Orchard with sleigh. John brought down [Topsy] & Jack & then helped him. I did chores, cleaned Grandpas stove pipes, etc., A.M. Afternoon Andrew & I cleaned up 22 bags of peas at Hindles & then he went on to the corner to tend the things up there. I drove up at night with buggy to Pres. meeting. I. Downey paid for wheat, $15.20. I paid him for twine, $2.60. Mr. Thomson called on me & I spoke from 2 ch. Ephesians. Lord bless. W.O. squared up for wheat, Timothy seed & the binding twine I got from him. Coming to me, $36.78 c. Paid all but 50 c. Soft & some heavy rains & soft snow. Freezing at night.

20. Tue. 20. I went tot town taking 16 bags of peas from Hindles, 38 bus., 24 lbs. at 66 c., $25.35 c. I got 2 files, 25 c. Lunch & fees, 30 c. W. Orchard gave me 50 c. ballance on wheat. I got home about dark. Very cold & tired. Fred Boyce &John drawing out manure to the Orchard with sleigh.

21. Wed. 21. I started Fred Boyce threshing peas, & after doing chores John & I went up to the corner with sorrel horse & sleigh. Left 3 bags of peas & barley to chopp & then John & Andrew drew rails for fencing on east side of the farm. I went down to Doghertys & paid $100.00 for Nell. Spoke to J. Lumley & had a talk with Grandma Bennett. J. Lumley lent me his rod and chain for the bull. I got home as soon as I could & did chores & drove up with buggy to meeting in Pres. Church. Mama went along. Fine & some warmer.

22. Thur. 22 November 1888. I did chores. Fixed up pigpen. Went up to corner afternoon taking 4 barrels of apples to put in Grandma R's celler. Came home & did chores and then drove up to Pres. meeting. F. Bremner spoke. I got down a bag of oatmeal. Paid for it, $3.93 c. The sleighing is rough & not much snow but a little nicer than the waggon. Fine but wintry.

23. Fri. 23. After doing chores F. Boyce & I went up to Hindles & finished cleaning up the peas, 16 bags in all & then F.B. went on threshing here. I picked over potatoes & put them in barrell. That is what were in the back kitchen. The weather keeps cold & I am afraid they will freeze. Oiled up door fastening, etc. Cleaned up peas that F. Boyce threshed, 25 bus. about. I went up to Pres. meeting. Spoke from "Who then can be saved." Mark Xcn. John & Andrew [drawing] manure at corner. Cold & wintry.

24. Sat. 24. After doing chores we cut some roots off the pine stump in the yard & then after some manuvering got it on to the old sleigh & hauld it down to the pile in No.1 S. Mr. Boyce came & got 5 lambs, 4 of mine & 1 Grandpas, & a sheep (Johns, $5). John & Andrew took up the bull & I rode up with Mr. Boyce & arranged with Peter Knapp about getting horse power to run cutting box. John got a jag of wood up to corner with sleigh. Fine but rather wintry.

25. Sun. 25. S.S. & meeting as usual. Job 38, 39, & part of 40 c. We drove up with sleigh but it is rough going. I drove up at night with Democrat to Pres. meeting. A Mr. Hall was there and spoke from 2nd Cor. 14 c., 16 v. Life. Very good. He is to be here through the week. Lord bless & keep in thy love & fear. Fine. Softish.

26. Mon. 26. Fred & John hauling manure on to pits. I mended up stall partitions, etc., A.M. John & Fred fixed crosscut saw, etc. afternoon & I went over to O. F. [Brights] to see about horse power & then saw W. Tracy. Came home & John & I took sleigh & got down the power from Peter Knapps. He brought down his 6 ewes to the Ram. We drove up to Pres. meeting at night. Mr. Hall spoke from [ ] IV ch. Prepare to meet thy god. Two souls expressed desire. Lord bless. Snowy. Softish but fine, P.M.

27. Tue. 27. John & Fred went up to saw. I did chores, etc. Afternoon I drove up & got a load of cedar poles to make a fence round the straw stack & then went on to the corner to get Netty & Norman shod but both blacksmiths were busy so I came on down to Downeys & got his cutting box. Took 3 bags of oats & peas from corner farm to A. Malcolms to chopp. Mama came home with me. I drove up at night with buggy as the Democrat spring iron is broken. Drizzling mist. Softish.

28. Wed. 28. I. Downey, Mr. Phillips & John P. came and we got the horse power & cutting box set by about 9 A.M. & we cut oatsheaves till about 4 P.M. filling up the three bins in grainery. John took the cutting box home with the Democrat & left it at Youngs to be mended. Isaac Downey wants it for tomorow. I drove up with buggy again at night. Drizzling & softish.

29. Thur. 29. We rigged up the fence round the straw stack. Skidded up the horse power & then went up to the bush and cut some drags of wood. We drew a few out afternoon but found it was too soft footing for the horses so I came down and did a little fixing up. I drove up with buggy at night. Softish, drizzling. Snow at night.

30. 30 November 1888 Friday. We spent the forenoon clearing up workshop and straightening up generally. Fred Boyce's time is in so he started for home by the noon train. The good Lord bless him. We fixed horse blankets, girths, etc. Aunt Bessie came with baby. Andrew came down & helped to dress 6 pr. of fowl. We went up with sleigh at night. Good meeting. Soft snow, A.M. Finer, P.M.

1888: December

1. Sat. 1st December 1888. I started to town with sleighs taking 6 pr. of fowl & 16 bags of peas (Hindles), but found sleighing tough so got Mr. Dobbins waggon which hindred me a good bit & when I got to J. Hayters a bag fell off & burst. Those who go a borrowing go a sorrowing. I got to town & unloaded about 12.37 1/2 bus. of peas at 63, $23.63 c. I was rather late home. I called at J. Hayters & got the shawl Mama lost on 13 Nov. 25 c. reward. Snowy, A.M. Fine, P.M.

2. Sun. 2. S.S. & meeting as usual. I spent awhile afternoon at Grandpa's & drove up at night to Methodist meeting. Mr. Kenny has begun the special services on "Methodist lines." I am afraid there will not be much good done but God knoweth if He be pleased to bless, all will be well, however pose the Instrument. Soft.

3. Mon. 3. We spent most of the forenoon making a hay rack for bobsleighs & then we drove up to the corner. John took Mmaa down to see Aunt Eliza. She has another daughter. I fixed up the Knobs for the bulls horns & put chains from the ring in his nose so that he will be easily caught if we want to lead him. When John came back from Aunt Eliza's we got the horses shod - sorely. We were too late home to put on a load of hay. We drove up again at night to Mr. Kenny's meeting. Lord help. Softish & snowy.

4. Tue. 4. We put a load of hay on the sleighs for there has been more snow through the night & I went to town with it but found the sleighing very poor. I sold the load, 1865 lbs, at $13.00 ($12.10 c.). Sleigh weighed 1010 lbs. I brought out a barrel of salt for Mr. Collins & got home about 4 P.M. I have sold a load to Mr. Brown (Hotel) for tomorow. I drove up to the Bible Society Meeting in Pres. Church. Snowy & soft.

5. Wed. 5. I went to town with hay on the waggon, 2200 lbs. hay, waggon weighs 1300 lbs. Sold at $14.50 (15.95 c.). I got home about dark. Lost the little binding chain. John & Andrew took stuff, peas & oats, to A. Malcolm to chopp from corner farm and took him over 910 lbs. hay. He wants the old cutter at $5.00 & me to take his at $20.00. I saw T. Parr. He promised me money on 15th. Fine & getting colder.

6. Thur. 6. I went to town with another load of hay on the waggon [1865], $13.65 c. I sold to Nealy pump maker at $14.50. He only gave me $5.00 on it. I do not like that way of doing business. I got home in good time and went up to Methodist meeting at night. Lord bless. Fine. Rather soft.

7. Fri. 7. We started Mama & John off to Barrie taking Annie & Jane along and 6 bags of grist, partly wild goose kind. I did chores, fixed partitions in stalls, feed trough for little pigs, etc. I did not get up to meeting at night as the folks were late home. Fine & rather soft.

8. Sat. 8. I went to town with hay on waggon, 2175 lbs., at $14.50, $15.75 c. Sold to J.J. Brown. I went down to Dyments & got the grist John left yesterday & got home about dark. Fine but cloudy. Soft.

9. Sun. 9. S.S. & meeting as usual (1st Psalm). I rested afternoon and drove up at night to meeting in Methodist Chapel. Mr. Thomson preached. We manage to scratch along the road with sleigh. Rather mild.

10. Mon. 10th December 1888. We got chores done as soon as we could and then went up to the corner with sleighs & got a load of straw from the barn to the stable for Andrew & feed the cattle. We bagged up 10 bags of oats to bring down. Afternoon we butchered the pig that we fattened up there & got Topsy shod on hind feet again. She interfered before. Spent some time with her teeth which made it dark before we got home. I drove up again at night. Mild. Inclined to thaw.

11. Tue. 11. I went to town with hay, 2225 lbs. I let it go for 2200 lbs as some rain fell on it. Sold at $14.50 c., $15.95 c. Mr. Scott got it & gave me $10.00 on it, the rest to be paid on Saturday. I got axle grease, 25c., bells, 15 c., curry comb, 10 c., changed Andrews rubbers, 10 c., Spencer Croleys coat, 25 c., glass in watch, 20 c., suet, 20 c., weighing hay, 15 c., fees etc., 30 c. I got home about dark and drove up again to meeting at night. Rainy, A.M. Fine & cold, P.M. with snow at night.

12. Wed. 12. T.B.S.s birthday. After doing chores I put Topsy in cutter & took Mama out to see Mary Cavanagh. I called to see Mr. Stillwell about exchanging horses. His is blemished so concluded not to take her. We called at [R--] Thomas's coming home. He has a clyde filly belonging to his brother Thomas that he will trade but she has a running at her ear. We left there about 8 P.M. & got home about 10.30 P.M. The sleighing is rather tough. Snow squalls from N.E., A.M. Cold, P.M., & finer.

13. Thur. 13. After doing chores we butchered Grandpa's pig, A.M. Afternoon we cleaned parlor stove pipes & then I went up to the corner and put on Grandma R's storm windows & staid up to meeting. Paid A. Malcolm $50.00. Pretty steady snow.

14. Fri. 14. We butchered the three fat pigs & then I took the Sorrel horses up to the corner to go to town tomorow & bagged up 15 bags of peas. Cold & stormy.

15. Sat. 15. I went to town with the peas and sold at 62 c., 35 bus., 30 lbs, $22.00. I got $5.95 c. from Mr. Scott for the hay he got last Tue. I got lumber for door, 73 c., & brought out 10 bags of flour for A. Ronald. Lunch & fees, 30 c. John cut up the pigs. Milder. Rained a little at night.

16. Sun. 16. S.S. & meeting as usual, 2nd Ps. (Kiss the Son). Harry Coles came down. He thinks of Missionary work. Lord bless & guide. We went up to meeting at night. Mr. Kenny gives good gospel but tedious. Rainy most of the day.

17. Mon. 17. John & I went up to the corner taking up a cedar for the sill of a wood shed. I got it into shape & the boys got the old driving shed to peices to help to make up the wood shed against the house. I got the pump from the barnyard thawed out & the rod mended & the pump fixed up again & then came down home & did chores leaving the boys up & I drove up again at night to Bertie Bremners meeting. It was real good. Lord bless. Soft, A.M. with heavy mist. Cold & some snow at night.

18. Tue. 18. I got up to the corner as soon as I could & started the boys knocking out the stalls in the old log stable & rigging it up for a sheep pen. I wrote to Willie Jeffery & to E. Job enclosing $1.00 for Gospel Herald. I read Canadian Baptist & had a good time with Bertie & Fred Bremner. Mr. Kenny closed revival services at night. I feel sad to think there is so little apparent result. Lord bless. Cold & wintery. [Snowball (animal)].

19. Wed. 19. Mama's birthday. I began fixing up a door for the sheep pen at the corner but H. Bergh came & so we cut a hole in a partition between the two bedrooms & then shifted the stove so as to warm both rooms. I gave Mr. Cote $12.00 for ironing bobsleighs & waggon box & then got home as soon as I could to do chores but had to go to the corner with Snowball. Sharp biting N. wind. Snow, P.M. Snowball (animal).

20. Thur. 20 December 1888. I started John off as soon as I could to get the horses shod and I followed as soon as I could with the sheep to the corner leaving Grandpa over there. He should have 4 but I cannot see one of them marked like his. I laid up a fence to keep the cattle in the yard and finished up the sheep pen up there & then John & I took over 1365 lbs. hay to Andrew Malcolm & got up some wood that was lying round the [1365 + 910 = 2275] sheep pen & then got home & did chores & drove up with cutter to Union prayer meeting at night. Lord bless for thy name's sake. Sunny betimes with blustering N. wind.

21. Fri. 21. John threshed some peas. I did up chores & went up to the corner and packed up a box for Uncle George for Christmas. I drew up a rough sketch of a barn to be put up at the corner next summer and wrote up to Joseph Davenport about it. Fixed a bolt up in the cutter runner & did other chores. Very wild blustering cold N. wind with snow.

22. Sat. 22. I went to to town with buggy. Mabeth went along. We took 3 turkeys, 24 lbs. at 9 c., $2.16 c., 12 chickens, $1.80 c. I got $8.25 c. from Nealy for hay he got on the 6th. I paid W. Orok taxes for Grandpa, $2.04 c., & Hindles, $7.66 c. I got some lumber for fixing up the windows at the corner & R. [Mane] promised to bring it out for me. We got home about 4.30 P.M. Very cold S.E. wind. 10 below zero.

23. Sun. 23. S.S. & meeting as usual ("Surety & Bail"). Mama went to see Mrs. W. Tracy & walked round to meeting. I took a rest, P.M., & went up to meeting at night. Soft.

24. Mon. 24. I started John off to Barrie with a load of hay to Browns Queens Hotel & I drove up to the corner as soon as I could & took a jag of straw over for A. Ronald & then cleaned up 18 bags of oats & weighed them & took them over to A. Morrens. I weighed the waggon again, 975 lbs, when I came back & left it in the old barn at the corner & brought down the sleigh. John got home all right, thank the Lord. Soft. Warmer. W. wind.

25. Tue. 25. John & I took a look over T.B.S. swamp, A.M., to see what timber & lumber could be got for building a barn at the corner. We had Grandpa & Grandma, Eliza & her family & two little "[Manyers]" to dinner & after all were gong home I wrote to Wm. Collins & T.B.S., 54 Oak Ave., Chicago. Soft & some warmer.

26. Wed. 26. T. Stokes came down and put on a storm door front. I went up to the corner & found H. Burdge at the windows up there so had to turn in and help him which kept me till night. Dark & drizzling. Rain at night.

27. Thur. 27. I went to town with 1815 lbs hay. Sold at $17.50 c. per ton, $15.88 c., fees & lunch, 45 c. I brought home a bag of bran for H. Burdge, 40 c., mending halter & rope, 15 c. John threshing peas. I took buggy up to Union prayer meeting. Came on colder. Freezing with snow.

28. Fri. 28. Did chores & cleaned up peas, A.M. Afternoon John took Daisy up to the bull & I went up and rigged up the pump for the winter. When I got home at night I found that Norman was lame on front leg. Seems to have been a kick. Colder. Some snow. Daisy.

29. Sat. 29. I could not take Norman to town with hay so we poulticed his leg & then I went up to the corner & got taking down the old cookhouse against hte log house. I worked at it till night & then came home. Found Norman better. John threshed oats. Mild. Some light snow.

30. Sun. 30. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mrs. [Manyers] & Mrs. H. Coles came down. We drove up at night with Democrat to Methodist meeting. The snow is nearly all gone. Very mild.

31. Mon. 31. I got up to corner as soon as I could & finished taking down the old cookhouse & got the timbers up to the house to make a woodshed. We got the frame up & rafters on. Andrew is helping me & John is threshing oats at E.H. Mama is not well.

1889: January

1. Tuesday 1st January 1889. I went up to the corner as soon as I could and worked at the shed till noon when I came home and started John up with Democrat and two bags of peas & oats to chopp. He brought Mr. & Mrs. Bremner, Mr. & Mrs. Kenny & Phoebe & Grandma R. down with him about 4 P.M. I hunted up 3 of Grandpa's sheep that had wandered up to T.B.S. place & had a chat with S. Jacobs & Eliza, who were down at Grandpa's. Gave T. Pattendon $5.00 for threshing peas. Mild & pleasant.

2. Wed. 2. John & I went up to the corner and we all worked at the shed till about 2.30 P.M. & then came down home and put on a load of hay & run it into the barn for town tomorow. We took some more chopp over to Malcolms - from corner farm. Mild & pleasant.

3. Thur. 3. I went to town with the hay. Sold to McGuiac at $15.00, 2130 lbs., $16.05 c. I brought his waggon home to him and he took my load to his own place himself. I brought home 80 lbs. bran for H. Burdge, 60 c., & a Farmers account book for Mama, 50 c. Fine & springlike.

4. Fri. 4. 20 years married. "Ebenezer." I started John off to town with a load of hay to Queens Hotel. 1950 lbs. at $15.00, $14.25 c. I went up to the corner and fixed up W.C. & cleaned it out and did other chores. I got home about 4.30 P.M. & we put another load of hay on the waggon. Fine & springlike. Hoar frost.

5. Sat. 5. I went to town with hay, 2350 lbs. at $15.00, $17.62 c. I bought a hind qr. of beef off Warner Wice, 128 lbs. at 5 1/2, $7.04 c., 50 c. on boots exchanged, fees & lunch, 45 c. I got home in good time & fixed the barnyard pump & did some other chores. I paid Wm. Orok taxes on corner farm. $19.56 c. on own, $18.20 c. Chilly S.E. wind. Sunny, P.M.

6. Sun. 6. S.S. & meeting as usual (97 Ps. "Light sown"). I staid at home the rest of the day and rested & spent the evening with Grandpa & Grandma. John, Maybeth & Alice drove up to Presbyterian Chapel. Steady rain all day. Snow at night.

7. Mon. 7. John & I drove up to the corner as soon as we got the chores done and drew over 2 loads of straw from the old barn to the stable & took 3 bags of oats & peas over to Malcolms to chopp. I gave my vote for Councilman and got home about 3 P.M. & put a load of hay on the waggon. There is not reliable sleighing as yet. She snow is soft. Gave Grandma R. rent, $25. I drove up with cutter at night to Church business meeting. We thank Thee Lord be gracious still. "Increase our numbers as with a flock." Blustering N.W. wind but soft with a little snow.

8. Tue. 8. I went to town with the hay. Found it very heavy wheeling, 2550 lbs. at $15.00, $19.12. I got a bottle of liniment, Dr. Morgans recipe, 20 c. Lunch & dinner at Billings, 25 c. I got home about 5 P.M. & went over to old Mr. Tracy's & Wm. Tracys after tea. Lord bless them. Soft & cloudy.

9. Wed. 9. We did up chores & got ready for threshing peas. Cleaned up oats, 22 bus. afternoon. We put a load of hay on to the waggon & then I went up to the corner & straightened up a little there & saw A. Armstrong about building the barn. Soft with heavy rain, P.M.

10. Thur. 10. My birthday. Ebenezer. I rested a little, A.M. Fixed bucksaw & cut some wood. John threshed some peas. I started to town with hay but a very heavy gust of wind came & threatened to blow over the load so I took it back into the barn & cut wood & filed saw, etc., A.M. Afternoon John & I went up to the corner & cleaned up 12 bags of wheat, 7 spring, 5 fall. We got the marked sleigh fixed & I drove up at night to Union prayer meeting. Staid up to go to Stayner tomorow. N.W. squalls with some snow.

11. Fri. 11 January 1889. I got up about 2.30 A.M. & got started to Stayner about 4.30. I found the sleighing rather poor but got there in good time & started for home again about 11.30 A.M. Home about 4 P.M. I like Stayner Mills the best. I had about 29 bus., 30 lbs. of wheat altogether. Wintry but not very cold. W. wind.

12. Sat. 12. I went to town with the hay that we put on the waggon on Wednesday, 2500 lbs at $15.00, $18.75 c. I sold another load to go in on Monday to Bothwell. I got the Deed of T.B.S.s farm. It has been lying at H.D. Stewarts office since October. I had forgotten to call for it. I got axe & handle, chalkline, etc. Home about 5 P.M. Tired, but thankful. I went to town with waggon (sleighing scant in spots). Mild & pleasant for winter.

13. Sun. 13. S.S. & meeting. "Hallelujah." Miss Robinson came down & we drove up to Methodist meeting at night. Maybeth is going to stay at the corner and go to school with Andrew, Annie & Ruth. Lord bless and keep them all. Some snow fell last night. Mild & pleasant.

14. Mon. 14. I started John off to town with hay on sleigh, 2300 lbs at $15.00, $17.28 c. Uncle Sam came down & rigged up a broad axe & we ground up a chopping axe & then we went out to the back end of T.B.S.'s place & got started to get the timber for a barn at the corner. S. Croley & his two men came afternoon & we managed to get out quite a lot of it by night but the timber is pretty well culled. John went up to Methodist Tea meeting at night & I drove up & got bill of timber, etc. Mild & pleasant.

15. Tue. 15. We were all at the timber & made a good lot though it is rather hard to find the right size. R. Collins & Allan Howie, S. Croleys 2 men, are good hands. Fine & pleasant.

16. Wed. 16th. T. Pattendon & J. Kestar came as well as the other hands so I started them getting out rafters. They got out the quantity but there will likely be some culls. We got about all the timber [hoisted] up but some posts & nearly all scored for the first time. I went up to Grandpa's at night for a while. Mr. & Mrs. Coles were there & her two sisters. Soft & rainy, P.M. Rained most of the night.

17. Thur. 17. Uncle Sam is away to Barrie to try & sell his colts so we all worked at cutting wood. The water is rising very fast in the flats. I drove up to Union prayer meeting. Cool N.W. wind. Freezing at night.

18. Fri. 18. Spencer Crowley, Jessie Castor, & T. Pattendon came and Uncle Sam, about 9 A.M. We worked at the timber till noon and then a heavy snowstorm came on so we had to quit the timber. Jessie & T.P. threshed oats & John & I chored. Cold N.W. wind, A.M. Heavy snowstorm, P.M.

19. Sat. 19. We all worked at making roads, A.M. so as to let Uncle Sam catch up with the hewing. Afternoon we began going over the timber the second time but found some culls. Cold & wintry.

20. Sun. 20. When I went out to feed the things this morning I foudn Plum dead. She seemed all right last night and had eaten her feed as usual and we cannot tell what was the cause of her death. We drew her out to the north of the barn and skinned her which made us rather late for school. I took a rest after and staid in at night and the rest went out. Francey, Annie & Jane staid with me. Cold S.E. wind with snow all day.

21. Mon. 21st. It is too stormy to work outside today so we did chores, etc. John threshed some oats and I did a lot of reading. N.W. gale with snow.

22. Tue. 22. Jessie Kestor did not come this morning so I got Mr. Howie from Spencer Crowly and they worked at the timber all day. I went to town with Topsy & cutter. Mama went along. I took in Plum's hide. It only brought $1.50 c. Fine & pleasant.

23. Wed. 23. The men found some culls in the timber yesterday so we had others, trees, to hunt up. We got all but about two posts by night but I hurt my knee just as I was leaving work at night and had some difficulty getting home. I gave T.P. $2.00 (overpaid I think). He is not coming again at this job. Cold, A.M. but [ ]. Got warmer like a thaw.

24. Thur. 24. I found my knee very stiff & painful this morning. John took a load of wood up to the corner & brought down the chopp. Uncle Sam worked at the wood alone, A.M. & this afternoon Mr. Collins & John are with him. I think they will be about done by night. I rested my knee, read a little, had a chat with a Mr. Bruce, a young man who is staying at Mr. Bremners. Bertie sent him up. I wrote to Fred afternoon and drove up to Union prayer meeting with sleigh at night. Two posts 18 ft. long to get out yet but we will draw them out & hew them afterward. Very fine, softish.

25. Fri. 25. John hurt his toe yesterday so he is not able to do much. I drove up to the corner and got the sorrel horses shod and then to Foystens to enquire about an order for hay to Mr. Sneath. From there I went to S. Jacobs & got a travoy for getting timber out of the bush. Afternoon we took Plum's carcase up to the bush and brought down a load of wood for Grandpa and then put on a load of hay at night. Mama, Jane & I spent the evening at Wesley Orchards with some other friends. Mild & pleasant like spring coming on. Snow going fast.

26. Sat. 26. I went out to Mr. Sneaths with the hay, 2085 lbs., weighing it at the corner as I went. I had some difficulty unloading as there was only two girls to help me. I got home about 1.30 P.M. and then went over to Budds Mill to see about sawing lumber and see how the road was. If it does not thaw much more and little snow falls, I think we can get the logs over & lumber back. We got out a few turnips for the horses. Mild but rather cloudy. Frost at nights.

27. Sun. 27. S.S. & meeting as usual. Hallelujah. I drove up to Methodist meeting at night with sleigh. Waggon in the morning. We had a good time at the Bible class & worship meeting. Snowed most of the day.

28. Mon. 28. I took old Charley back to the eleventh Conces. with travoy for H. Tracy to get out the timber. Henry came with his oxen soon after 8 A.M. & by night we had a good share of the timber out. It s a rough job & hard on my knee. Calm, clear, wintry, frosty night.

29. Tue. 29. We got at the timber in good time & had it all out by night for which I feel very thankful. I agreed to let H. Tracy have a load of turnips at 10 c. Rather stormy & cold.

30. Wed. 30. I started John drawing the timber to the corner. Made a skidway west of the old stable. He took up 3 loads & then we put on a load of hay for Barrie tomorow. After tea I took Mama & Grandma R. to see F. Foysten. He has a suspicious lump in his throat. Wintry.

31. Thur. 31st January 1889. I went to town with hay, 2350 lbs. at $14.00. I got a barrel of salt, $1.00, rubbers & felt socks, $2.00, Maybeth's books, $1.75, fees & luch, 40 c. I called at Mr. Sneaths on the way home & got the money for the hay I took out last Sat., $15.50 c. Mr. Orchard came down & we drove over to Josephine to the Temperance meeting. J. Hindle threshing oats. John drawing barn timber with black mares. Wintry, cold & stormy at night.

1889: February

1. Fri. 1st February 1889. I helped John away with a load of timber & then did chores. Helped away with a second load before noon. Afternoon, J. Hindle came & we cleaned up the oats he threshed yesterday. John got down a load of wood & we helped him away with two more loads of barn timber. We cut up some ash logs & some dry cedar and put on a load of hay for town tomorow. Adair gave me $3.00 for 10 bus., 7 lbs. oats, 67 c. to come yet. Wintry but not very cold.

2. Sat. 2. I went to town with the hay accross the flats by Josephine. Sold the hay at $14.00, 2150 lbs., $15.00. I paid Bemrose $3.70 c., Sadlers bill, & a note at Bank of Commerce for the Binder (A. Harris Son & Co.), $25.00. I got Maybeths H.S. Physics, $1.00, other expences, 35 c. I got home about 2 P.M. and spent the afternoon reading the Wittnes (was I right?). N.W. gale with heavy snow from 9.30 A.M. Calmer at night.

3. Sun. 3. S.S. & meeting as usual, 104th Ps. (Lord bless). I rested afternoon and staid in at night & Mama went up at night with the young folks to Presbyterian meeting but she staid with Grandma R. Mr. Hall preaches Lord bless the Word. Wintry.

4. Mon. 4. John made four trips to the corner with barn timber & then we put on a load of hay. I intended taking it to town but H. Fuller came over to get some hay for A. Morren so I concluded I would take it there on Wednesday. J. Hindle came & finished threshing the oat & barley rakings and cleaned them up & then threshed oat sheaves. They are yeilding better than the white ones. Fine but wintry.

5. Tue. 5. A very heavy fall of snow last night & still falling a little. I started John away with two more peices of timber for the barn and then did up chores till he came back. When we cleaned up the oats threshed yesterday and bagged up 5 bags of chopping & mixed 3 bags for Grandpa giving him oats for peas. I took old Charlie & cutter down to Parr's Camp to see him about settling for the hay delivered last March. I did not see him but spoke to his Father & Mother. I got home 5 P.M. & John started off with sleigh down to a party at T. Robinsons accross the River. Lord bless them & keep in safety. Cold bitter N.W. gale with some snow. Blizzardy.

6. Wed. 6. The young folks got home about 3 A.M. Pretty cold. We slept till 7 A.M. J. Hindle came down to thresh oats. I took up the oats & peas for Grandpa, 3 bags, & oats, 5 bags, & barley for ourselves & got them chopped. John chored. Grandma R. gave me $25.00 on the timber for the barn. I got home with the chopp about noon. Afternoon I went over to the station and paid $50.00 which I owed on the drill & got the note from the express agent. I went over to Dobbins and staid awhile & then called at Angus McDougalls to see how Katy was. She got her leg broke by the engine on the track as she was coming home from the Josephine Temperance meeting. I got home about 5 P.M. & then after milking, I went up to see how Grandpa & Grandma were. I got home pretty well tired for I walked all the way. J. Hindle threshing oats. Fierce cold N.E. blizzard. More snow at night.

7. Thur. 7 February 1889. Still stormy but not quite so bad as yesterday. I did chores. Went up to see Grandpa & Grandma & then cleaned up the oats. J. Hindle threshed on yesterday, A.M. Afternoon mended bags & then got two jags of wood. Drove up to meeting at night. Word from F. Foyston encouraging. "Hallelujah." Some calmer.

8. Fri. 8. We drew up some more wood and broke the track down the lane, A.M. Took the waggon off the lane up to Grandpa's barn. Afternoon I took 2070 lbs. hay over to A. Morrens & when I got home found Ned running at the nose pretty badly so I took Topsy & went over to get H. Fuller to come & see him. I am afraid all the horses will get the Distemper. Fine & pleasant.

9. Sat. 9. I started John with timber up to the corner. Norman cut his front leg going through the drifts in the lane. I laid down some of the lane fence to stop the drifting & John took up the last stick of the long timber. We cut some cedar for Grandpa & then I went up to T.B.S.s & closed up the gable end of the old stable. Mr. English came to tea & I drove up to Mr. Foystons with him at night. Wintry but calm.

10. Sun. 10. S.S. & meeting as usual. 8 Ps. & 2nd Ch. Heb. ("What we see & what we hope for.") I walked down to Parrs Camp at night and spoke from XXII Gen. Lord bless thine own word. Fine.

11. Mon. 11. We went up to the corner and got on what seemed a small load of hay (clover) but it weighed 3060 lbs. It was noon by the time we got home so I left the load on the Concession & fed the horses and got dinner. I took Norman & Nell afternoon and took the load out to Mr. Sneaths farm on the 7 Con. I had a tough time. The roads are very heavy but I got out and back all right though it is hard on the horses. The Distemper is coming on them all. Snowy & soft, A.M. Colder, P.M. & very heavy snow storm, 4 P.M.

12. Tue. 12. John took Charlie & cutter to corner & brought Andrew down & he & Francess went to town. Young Mr. Scott came over and got 1550 lbs. hay. We have not a great deal more to sell down here. We fixed up things ready for Grandpas cow, A.M., and afternoon we got Grandpa & Grandma & Alice down and what things they are likely to need for the next two months. Andrew got home in good time & then John went up with him to help to do the chores. We weighed out 500 lbs. of hay for Adair. Keen N.W. winds with some snow squalls.

13. Wed. 13. We got chores done & then got a load of wood and took up to the corner. Brought down Grandpas pig. We drew a load of straw over to the stable from old barn so as to help Andrew with his feeding and got a small jag of clover and brought down. Afternoon we got down a jag of hay for Grandpas cow & fixed up our old pigpen for Grandpa's hens & got them down. Keen freezing weather. Warm when sun shines. N.W. wind.

14. Thur. 14. After doing chores we went up to the bush by the eleventh Con. & cut some tamarack. We drew down one load to use here and got another load which I took up to the corner at night when I went up to Union prayer meeting. I got Mr. Clarke to fix up the saw at noon which hindred us some but saved in the long run. Clear, cold & sunny.

15. Fri. 15 February 1889. We went up to the bush with old Charlie & got out a lot of the rafters which T. Pattendon & Jesse Castor cut a while ago. We could not find them all and some of them are very crooked so I gave Adair an order for 20 at 6 c. Afternoon we went up to the corner and put on a load of Clover hay & I took it down to Dawson Thomas' on T. Livingstons place, 1865 lbs. at $12.00, say $11.00. He promised me the money for the 1st March. It was about dark when I got home & after tea Mr. Crispin came for his horse insurance so I gave him $18.00 for Netty & Nell. Mr. Young came & got me to go down with him to Parrs Camp and while I was there T. Parr paid me $20.00 for the hay I delivered to the two Travers last March. Thank the Lord. Clear & cold but sunny.

16. Sat. 16. After choring we went up to the bush & worked at the sleepers for the barn. We got a good lot of them cut & hauled out with old Charlie. Raw S.E. wind. Rain at night.

17. Sun. 17. S.S. & meeting as usual. Grandma R., Jane & John Pitt came down. I rested awhile afternoon & drove down to Parrs Camp at night. J. Hindle went along with me & we had a good meeting. Lord bless thine own Word. Mild, A.M. Freezing at night.

18. Mon. 18. John threshed a little at the oats & I took Topsy up & got her front shoes set & the hind ones off. I saw Mr. Orchard & he told me the notes he had against T.B.S. & I were in the Bank of Toronto, Barrie. I posted receipt of the $20.00 to T. Parr & a P.C. asking Pilkie about shingles for the barn and agreed with Grandma R. to take $100.00 that she has in the P.O. Savings Bank. I paid Mr. Youngs blacksmith bill, $14.65. Raw S.E. wind, A.M. Came on heavy snow about 11 A.M.

19. Tue. 19. After doing chores, John & I went to town with Topsy & cutter. I called at Mr. Collins & got $5.00 for flour & $4.00 off A. Ronald for butter, $18.00 off Mr. Sneath for hay delivered last week. I got the note, $107.20 c., cashed which T.B.S. gave me & paid the intrest on the farm mortgage, $105.00. Paid the two note we gave to Mr. Orchard a year ago for harnes, etc., $10.95. & T.B.S. heifer, $17.00, axe handles, 45 c., paper, 25 c., divider at Ottons, 15 c., combs, 30 c. (G.G.G. powders, 30 c.) (a mistake), Johns teeth, $5.50 c., lunches & fees, etc., 50 c. We got home in good time & after tea I took Mama round by the corner & then down to see H. Tracys wife. Home about 11 P.M. Tired. Stormy. N.W. gale with heavy snows.

20. Wed. 20. We bagged up 9 bags of peas & oats & I took them up to chopp & let Wesley Boyce have old [ ] to get some sawdust to bed his colt. I went down to Miss Tracys to see her brother, Wm., but he was gone. I got home soon after noon & then John & I hitched up the sorrel horses for the first time for nearly 2 weeks. They are getting better of the distemper. We got their hind shoes off & I got Henry Fuller to look at the cuts they had. He advised Friars Balsam. We dug out the track down the lane at the corner & then took down 6 bags of chopp for the cattle up there & brought down 2 bags of goose wheat for the hens, a bag of apples & 6 bags of chopp for the cows down here. I wrote to T.B.S. & Mr. Dixon asking him about getting the use of the money another term. Cold westerly winds drifting the snow.

21. Thur. 21 February 1889. Frank Papineau sent to ask me to take him over 1/2 ton of hay so I weighed out 320 lbs & took over. Mama went with me as far as H. Tracy's & I called for her as I came home at noon. Afternoon John & I went up to the corner farm & drew over some straw & chaff from barn to the stable & brought down a small load of clover hay. I drove up with Charlie at night to Union prayer meting. (Good). Lord bless more & more. Cold W. wind but sunny.

22. Fri. 22. S. Coles asked me last night to have the lumber from Knapps Mill which he got cut for the barn as it was in the road, but it was so very stormy that we threshed oats, A.M. It was some calmer P.M,. so I took Topsy & Norm and drew a small load. I had to leave it in the lane as Normans whippletree bolt came out & I could not find it till I unloaded. Cold N. wind with fine snow. Blizzardy.

23. Sat. 23. I started off about 9 A.M. & made two trips to the mill. The last load was 16 ft. long, 900 ft. Rather too much of green hemlock. John threshed oats. Very cold. Blizzardy.

24. Sun. 24. S.S. & meeting as usual. I did not feel right this morning so rested most of the P.M. & read a little. I drove up to the corner and brought Mama home (she went over to se Percy Johnston) and then J. Hindle went down with me to Parrs Camp & S. Coles. Nat & Lizzie came d0own too so we had a good time. Praise the Lord. Very cold but fine & sunny.

25. Mon. 25. Johns birthday. (Lord give second birth). We cleaned up the oats that were threshed, about 30 bus. & then got down a load of wood & put on 2 sleepers, 18 [ft.] & a post, and afternoon I took them up to the corner with sorrel horses & then went from there & got a load of lumber from Knapps Mill. The young folks went up to a concert at Methodist chapel. 23 16 ft. boards, 10 in. wide. Clear & cold. Warmer, P.M.

26. Tue. 26. I went to Barrie with Topsy & cutter intending to do some business for Grandma R. but found she had to be there personally. I took in 18 doz. eggs, 26 in all, with Andrews, & sold at 18 c., & Andrews 3 chickens, 54 c. I got home soon after noon & then went down to Knapps Mill & got another load of lumber & scantlin. Raw cold S.E. wind. Mild at noon. Colder with snow, 3 P.M.

27. Wed. 27. I went down to Knapps Mill & got another load of lumber & scantlin & grists and afternoon the boys came up and got a load while I went to the "Farmers Institute," the first held in Minesing. Mama & the young folks went at night & I staid in with Grandpa & Grandma. We weighed out 400 lbs. of hay for Adair & he paid me $2.00 on it, 80 c. to come. Fine & pleasant.

28. Thur. 28. Late up this morning. Wm. Cain came down before we had breakfast to look at Topsy. After talking awhile, we hitched her to the cutter & I drove to the corner and back. He agreed to take her at my price, $125.00, $50.00 now, & $75.00 by 1st April. We take her out next Tuesday. After this we went back to the eleventh con. & got 5 posts for the barn & John took them up to the corner. Cloudy & mild.

1889: March

1. Fri. 1st March 1889. I went to Barrie taking Grandma R. & Jennie Pitt. John Pitt & Andrew went along. Grandma R. drew Jeannies money. I got a barrel of Northern Spys, $4.50 c. I got home about 5.30 P.M. & then took Netty & cutter & drove up to the corner & gave Granma R. a note in Jeannie P. favour for $100 at 6 per cent int., payable in a year at Minesing P.O. She gave me $40.00 more on the barn timber & then I went down to J. Fralecks & paid him $125.00 for the horse I got off him last fall. Lord make me grateful & help me to pay my debts. Hard rimy frost last night. Fine & sunny after 10 A.M. Soft.

2. Saturday 2nd March 1889. We drew up 3 loads of sleepers & posts to the corner & afternoon we cleaned up Andrew Ronalds fall wheat, 9 bags, & brought it down here and 3 bags for Mr. Bremner to take to Stayner on Tuesday. We took 4 bags of oats over to A. Malcolms. Fine, soft & sunny. Frost at night.

3. Sun. 3. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Bruce & Cecilia Bremner came down. I rested awhile, P.M., & drove down to Parrs Camp at night. Mr. Bruce, Cecilia Bremner & Frances went with me to help with singing. Lord bless & give the single eye. Fine & sunny.

4. Mon. 4. John went down to the Mill & got 650 ft. 16 ft. hemlock plank for the cow stable & 370 ft. of inch stuff for siding. I cleaned out the horse stable sweeping down cobwebs, etc. & put a new feed box in Nells stall. She has distemper yet. H. Tracy came over & got a load of turnips supposed to be 30 bus. to settle for his time skidding out the barn timber. Afternoon we went up to the bush and got out some sleepers. Very warm & sunny. Cooled, P.M.

5. Tue. 5. I got away in good time to Stayner with the grist. I tied Topsy behind and got there in good time all right. I staid till Wm. Cain came home at noon & then got my grists for A. Ronald & Mr. Bremner & left them on my way home. I saw Mr. Pilkie about shingles for the barn. He can furnish them at $1.30 c. per 1000. Fine but chilly N.W. wind. Softish.

6. Wed. 6. We drew 3 loads of wood forenoon & afternoon we got out the rest of the sleepers for the barn. I took a load of wood up to the corner at night & settled the store bill, $109.06 to A. Ronald, $33 for wheat & work I had done for him against it. Ballance to A. R., $76.00. I spoke to J. Chapple about hiring for the summer. (O Lord direct Thou my paths). Mama went with me. Fine & pleasant.

7. Thur. 7. I started John off to Pilkey's Mill for shingles & I staid at home & chored & made up calculations, etc. He got 25000 and home in good time. A very fierce storm came on increasing from 3 P.M. with snow from N.W. I did not go to Union prayer meeting. Cloudy with cold N. wind. Feirce gale with snow from 3 P.M.

8. Fri. 8. The storm still continues. We did not do much but choring.

9. Sat. 9. It is too stormy to do much but got much calmer towards night. It is not very cold but the roads east & west are blocked with snow. Still stormy.

10. Sun. 10. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Bremner came down with us from meeting to go with me to Parrs Camp but Mr. Thompson the Presbyterian minister could not make his appointments on account of the roads so F. Jacobs drove him down & Byron & Donald Jacobs came down & H. & S. Coles, so we had quite a heavy reinforcement. May the good Lord bless His own word & work. Calm & quiet. Not very cold.

11. Mon. 11. I rigged up the flails & John & I began threshing the fall wheat that was left from the machine. I drove up to the corner at night to see Grandma R. about getting money to pay for the shingles & lumber for the barn. Wm. McDonald came to see me about hiring for the summer. I told him I had spoken to another party so I spoke to J. Chapple again & agreed to come for seven months for $136.00, $20.00 per month for 6 months & 16 for the last month. He is to begin about the 1st April.

12. Tue. 12 March 1889. I went to town with Nell & cutter. Mr. Bruce went along. I took 28 doz. eggs. Sold at 20 c. per doz. I drew $100.00 from Mr. Stewart for Grandma R. to pay for materials for the barn. I made enquiry about the roumoured application for Licence to sell Liquors in Minesing & bought 15 bus. spring wheat for seed to be got next Tue. Left word with Wm. McDonald that J. Chapple was coming to work for me. I got home about 4.30 P.M. & drove old Netty up to the corner & finished up my business. Mild & pleasant & springlike.

13. Wed. 13. J. Hindle came down to thresh. I went up to the corner taking some peas & mixed them with oats at the corner farm & took them over to Malcolms to chopp. J. Pitt helped me & then went down with me to the station and I brought up 7 barrells of sugar for A.R. & a keg of prunes. I got home about noon. I went up again about 3 P.M. as I thought my knife was in the peas & oats but I found that they were done and nothing seen or heard of the knife. I took 9 bags of chopp for the young cattle at the corner & brought the rest home & then J. Travers came over to get a load of hay so I promised to take it over in the morning. I went down to Budds to see if the money was all right and soon after I got back, a company of young folks gathered & did not break up till 12 oclock. "God of their fathers be the God of their succeeding race." Mild but fresh N.W. wind. Cold at night.

14. Thur. 14. We rigged up the sleighs & put on a load of hay & 2 bags of oats, 1900 lbs. hay, 5 1/2 bus. oats, $18.20 c. altogether. I am to get it from Mr. Budd on Saturday. I got home about 2 P.M. and we weighted out 400 lbs. of hay for Adair & at night John took a company down to Mr. Crawfords to spend the evening. Mama went with me to the corner & I went to the Union prayer meeting. Fine & springlike but chill S.E. winds.

15. Fri. 15. J. Hindle came down to thresh till noon. John took a load of sleepers & then got another load on A.M. Afternoon he took the sleepers up to the corner & from there he went down to Knapps Mill & got 1000 ft. pine plank for barn floor. I finished threshing the wheat. I went up with cutter at night & saw James Johnston about Mrs. Wm. Tracys case. I spoke to Mr. Stokes too. Clear & sunny. Frosty nights.

16. Sat. 16. Mama & Jane went with me to town. I got the money from J. Travers for the hay & oats & got 16 bus. of Red Bald Spring wheat at $1.15 ($18.40). Saw A. Orchard about his mare & came home by the corner & left the wheat there. Home about sundown. Roads slushy. Sunny & springlike.

17. Sun. 17. S.S. & meeting as usual. Spoke about the License business & after meeting had the members into the vestry. They decided to Expell Mrs. Wm. Tracy. At night a good number went down with me to Parrs Camp & found them pretty well broken up. Lord bless the seed sown. Sunny & warm.

18. Mon. 18. I started John off with sleepers & I cleaned out stove pipes & sold 2 pigs to a man for $4.00 each. He gets them tonight or Wednesday. John took two long cedars up beside & afternoon we got out all the wood that we could get at leaving most of it at Grandpas. Warm & sunny. Snow going fast. Frosty nights.

19. Tue. 19. H. Tracy came in good time and we got out a good few logs for firewood, over 70, I think enough to do us for a year. He left it at the edge of the slash so we can reach it with the horses or cut it where it is. The water is rising fast. Frosty nights. Fine days. N. wind today.

20. Wed. 20 March 1889. John and I cleaned up the fall wheat, 11 bags in all & afternoon we went out to the 11 Con. and got the rafters which Adair got out for us. We had a tough time as the snow is nearly all gone and a good deal of water on the road. We left the rafters in a feild against Phillips bush. Soft & springlike.

21. Thur. 21. Joseph Chapple came down. He is to stay 7 months, $20 for 6 mos. & $16 for 1. John & he threshed oats down here & I went up to the corner taking a box to hold the spring wheat which I brought out on Sat. I went over to Wm. Johnstons to look at some horses he has but I think they are too dear. I went over to Mr. Toystens & saw one of his. Andrew staid at home, P.M. & helped me to clean up 9 bags of oats. I got them weighed at A. Malcolms & let him have 3 bus., 1 bag, & left the others for H. Tracy, 22 bus., 2 lbs. I staid up to Union prayer meeting. Springlike but cooler.

22. Fri. 22. Jos. & John threshing oats. I fixed up turnip pit & put about 20 bus. in the sleigh & afternoon I took them up to the corner for Andrew to feed to the young cattle. I went down to see a young mare that J. Parker has for sale. He holds her too high for me. J. Travers came over while I was away & got 15 1/2 bus. oats. Fine & springlike.

23. Sat. 23. Jos. & John took up a bit of Tamarack that was cut to the corner & then staid and threshed peas. Mr. Collins came & finished threshing the oats down here and after cleaning them up he threshed a few peas. Andrew brought down the old sow. She will have pigs soon. I rigged up calf pens, etc.

24. Sun. 24. We went to meeting this mornig with the Democrat as the snow is nearly all gone off the roads. Mama staid up & Maybeth came down to "flourish round with Alice" as Mama says. I rested afternoon & did not go out at night. Fine but colder.

25. Mon. 25. Jos. & John went up to the corner on horseback to thresh peas. Mr. Collins came & threshed here. I fixed cow stall & chored generally forenoon. Afternoon I went up to the corner and after looking after things there I drove over to Foystens & compared their little mare with Nell, and went from there to Dogherty and saw his horse which he has for sale & had a chat with old Mrs. Bennett at Mrs. Lumleys. Lord bless them all. As I came by the corner I saw a mare that a Mr. Williams has for sale at Midhurst. Home at dark.We put the old sow in the pen by the hen house & the pigs in the old hens. Cold N. wind. Sunshiny. Colder at night.

26. Tue. 26. Jos. & John threshing peas down here. I got away as soon as I could with Nell & buggy & got clover & grassed at corner & sowed on the fall wheat, No.2 West. John brought Snowball up to give them milk at the corner & took Cherry down to E. Home. Snowball jumped the gate getting her hind leg fast & hanging by it til the bar of the gate broke. I got her down to the stable and tied her in and fixed the gate. Afternoon Wm. Cain came & I agreed to take Topsy back again. He is to bring her back in about a week. The roads are too bad to bring her now. I saw Alb. Orchard and he agreed to exchange harrows. I called & settled with J. Hindle leaving clover seed to sow up there. Very hard frost. Softer & warmer through the day. Westerly winds.

27. Wed. 27 March 1889. I went up to Hindles & sowed grasseed as early as I could leaving the boys to do chores. Afterwards they went up and took horses & bobsleighs taking the new harrows I got from Wm. Cain to Mr. Young to be fixed up & got horses shod. I got up soon after & we cleaned up 19 bags of oats & then the boys began moving down the lumber I left in the lane 22nd & 23rd Feb. & piled up ready for using. After dinner we got the oats weighed & I took them over to A. Morren, in all 103 bus. 6 lbs. ($2.06 c. coming to me). I went from there to the station and got the cultivator I ordered from Wm. Cain. I left it in the old barn at the corner. I left the boys hauling & piling up the lumber & came on down to do up the chores. Frost last night. Softish, A.M., with S.W. wind. Colder P.M. with N.W. winds.

28. Thur. 28. The boys finished threshing the peas in east mow & cleaned all up. I went up to the corner taking Spencer Crowleys trunk & got Charlie & Nell shod. I got home about noon & then the boys went up to the bush to draw the logs (which H. Tracy got out) to a dry place to saw. I made out the timber & lumber account with Grandma R., afternoon, and went up to Union prayer meeting at night. Cold & wintry with some snow. Sunny at times.

29. Fri. 29. John & Jos. working at the logs sawing & drawing out. I did chores & cleaned out Grandpa's stove pipes. Afternoon I wrote out the "Bush story" for Maybeth & about 4 P.M. I hitched up & got a load of wood onto the waggon & Jos. & I went up to the corner & put on a small load of clover hay & I staid up for town tomorow. Cold & wintry.

30. Sat. 30. I got off to town in good time. Sold at $12.00 ($9.35 c.). I brought out 10 bags of flour for A. Ronald. Saw Travers about the oats & bags he got 10 days ago. He says he will send to Minesing Station. Home about 6.30 P.M. John & Jos. sawing wood. Sunny but cold N. wind.

31. Sun. 31st. S.S. & meeting as usual (2nd Ch. Romans, trust). I rested P.M. & drove up to Presbyterian meeting at night. Supposed to be Mr. Thomson's last service. He spoke to me about going a round for him in case he stays (Lord guide). Cold & snowy. Warmer at night.

1889: April

1. Mon. 1st April 1889. John & Jos. sawing wood, A.M. Afternoon they took a load of pea straw up to Grandpa's & brought a load of oat straw down & cut a little more wood till tea time & then Jos. went up to the corner with me and we put on another load of clover hay. Wm. Cain brought Topsy back. I gave him a note for the $50.00 which he paid on her (payable 1st Nov'r). I staid up at the corner & attended Church meeting. Sunny but chill N.W. wind.

2. Tue. 2. I went to town with the clover. Had some difficulty before I got to the school house but after that I got along all right. I sold at $12.00, 2175 lbs. ($13.05 c.). Mr. Raikes got it and I agreed to take him another load. I got home about 6.30 P.M. Letter from Mrs. Baldwin & from T.B.S. to Grandpa. Snow last night. Fine today but chill wind.

3. Wed. 3. I found the sow had 8 pigs this morning. I am thankful they are all right. I started Jos. off with Nett & Nell & waggon to help Mr. Collins to move to Mr. Stokes's house he has bought off him, but he came home after one trip on account of the heavy snow. But it got a little fairer afternoon and he went again & got them moved up by 5 P.M. & then he & I went up & cleaned up a load of peas for town tomorow. I staid up. Very heavy soft snow from S.E. Finer at night.

4. Thur. 4th April 1889. I went to Barrie with 17 bags of pea, 39 bus., 10 lbs., at 60 c., $23.50 c. I paid for the Bull at Bank of Commerce, $95.00, & brought up a big load of goods from the station for A. Ronald & left the horses in the stable till after Union prayer meeting. Fine but cold N. wind [ ] sun.

5. Fri. 5. Jos. & I took up horses & waggon with rack, 8 bags of fall wheat, 2 of peas & a pig for Mr. Collins. We took the wheat up to the corner farm & took a load of straw from the barn to the stable for Andrew. I made two more trips to the station for A. Ronald & Jos. piled lumber & shingles & laid up fence, etc. We cleaned up 5 bags of goose wheat & put on 1300 lbs. of clover hay & took down to Mr. Collins & then Jos. went on to E.H. & I went back to the corner farm to stay with the intention of going to Stayner with a grist tomorow. A snow squall about 5 P.M. One lamb came. Cold chilly S.E. winds.

6. Sat. 6. I got away about 4 A.M. to Stayner but found the roads very bad so I left 3 bags of wheat at T. Robinsons & went on with the other 10 bags. I got it done in good time and got home about 4.30 P.M. leaving a bag of bran & flour at the corner. Fine & sunny.

7. Sun. 7. S.S. & meeting as usual. I staid up to help Andrew with the sheep. There are 5 lambs come & seem to be doing well. I went to English Church service afternoon & Methodist at night. 4 more lambs yesterday. 5 in all. Fine & sunny. Frosty nights.

8. Mon. 8. We moved Grandpa & Grandma up to their own house & the boys went on sawing till noon. I took up Grandpas pig, etc. & did up chores. Afternoon Jos. split wood & John & I went up to the corner farm and cleaned up peas which the boys threshed and run 11 bags through twice for seed. We hitched to the new waggon with hay rack & drove over the snowdrifts along the sideline to make a road for tomorow & then John took the 11 bags of peas down to E.H. & I staid up to look after a sick sheep. Sold a load of Timothy to E. Dixon. Softish at night.

9. Tue. 9. John came up in good time and I started him off in good time for Barrie with a load of clover hay. I made another pen for lambs and fixed up generally. Went to see a sick sheep of Peter Knapps. Our own sheep seems better. Jos. split wood. I went down to E.H. about 4 P.M. Sunny but a cold N. wind.

10. Wed. 10. John & I put on a load of Timothy & then he took it up to E. Dixons, 1865 lbs. I think, $12.35 c. I took up 4 bags of peas & mixed them with oats at the corner and took over to chopp & came down again at noon & got a load of turnips & put on another load of Timothy & John took it over to A. Morrens, $13.50 c. per ton, 2050 lbs., $13.83 c. I brought down 2 bags of goose wheat for Grandpa, 305 lb., & took 2 bags of peas over to Mr. McDonald (Paid for). Joseph finished threshing peas forenoon & afternoon began digging the drain a spade depths deeper against the road, to drain the orchard. Fine & sunny & springlike.

11. Thur. 11. John & I went to the corner & put on 2400 lbs. of clover hay for A. Ronald & then put on the rest of the clover that was in the old house & John took it down to E.H. I cleaned up 3 bus. goose wheat for B. Tracy and finished cleaning up the peas & weighed out those that were left that T. Pattendon threshed. T.P. threshed 91 bus., 43 lbs. that I have account of. I staid up to Union prayer meeting. Fine & sunny. No rain yet.

12. Fri. 12. April 1889. John & Jos. fixed up fences against the 11 Con. & finished sawing wood. I spent the forenoon fixing up calf pens, horse stalls, etc. Afternoon I took 17 bus. of peas to E. Dixons ($10.20 c.) and brought down the Goose wheat to sow here & got the rest of the chopp from A. Malcolms. Mama came down with me. Jos. ploughed up against the 11 Con. & John peeled rafters. Fine & sunny. Dry. N. winds.

13. Sat. 13. I went to Barrie with Nell & buggy. Mailed $24.00 order on Bank of Toronto to Mr. Dixon being intrest on $300.00 ($75.00 Grandpa's debt). Expected to see Mr. Budd & J. Travers but did not. I got a light set of double harness off Bemrose. It is to be $24.00 if complete but I do not want 2 collars so it will be so much less. John was up at the corner laying up fence & fixing up generally & Jas. finished ploughing the peice at the 11 con. & then peeled rafters. I got home about 5 P.M. & did up chores. Gave Grandma R. $20.00 on the rent. I owe her about $130.00 yet. Lord help me to pay my debts. Hard frost last night. Cold high N. wind today.

14. Sun. 14. S.S. & meeting as usual. I took Grandma R. down to see old Mrs. Tomlinson. She is very sick. I left Grandma R. at the corner & then came down to E.H. & got a rest & drove up at night to Presbyterian meeting & Mrs. Thomson got me to preach. Lord bless Thine own Word. Frosty night

15. Mon. 15. John & Josh went to the corner with the waggon & sorrel horses & drew some rails to finish a fence between No.1 & 2 East. I drove up with Nell & buggy & sent Andrew down to oil the new harness. I laid up a peice of fence to keep cattle off the corner feild and John began cultivating No.1 E. Mr. Budd sent over for a load of rakings, 1640 lbs., & Josh went down to E.H. at noon to get the old horses & plough J. Hindles garden, but he came back right away to tell me that Nell had a dead colt. I went down to E.H. & burried the colt & did some other chores & Andrew went up to the corner to look after things there. I took Topsy over the new road to see about the blockade E. Jones & J. Hindle made. Called at W. Johnstons & Orchards. Hard frost at night. Warmer today with S.E. winds.

16. Tue. 16. I started Jos. off with the old horses and drill, to put in the spring what, No.1 E. I chored and fixed up all round & afternoon I took Nell down to the station to post a letter to Scissons (Reeve) about the blockade that Ed. Jones and J. Hindle have made in the new road. I called at O.F. Wrights on the way home. He wants some peas. I drove Nell up in buggy at night taking whippletrees, etc. for work tomorow. Warm & springlike.

17. Wed. 17. John went down to E.H. with sorrel horses & began cultivating No.2 S. & Jos. came up with the black mares & finished drilling the wheat & then harrowed it over & then took the drill down home to drill No.2 S. with spring wheat (Goose). Andrew & I took 4 bags of oats over to A. Malcolms to chopp & then began clearing off old rails, etc. from the new peice No.3 E. Mr. Collins came and worked at the fences. Warm & springlike.

18. Thur. 18. Mr. Collins came again today & finished the fences. Andrew & I cleared all ready for ploughing by about 10 A.M. There are a good many stumps to burn. I left Andrew & Mr. Collins to plough & pick up & I went down to E.H. to sow grasseed but it was to rough till it was harrowed so I chored around & did not get much sown. Joseph finished [culling] the wheat & John is going on with the cultivator in No.1 N. I walked up to Union prayer meeting. Very warm & summery.

19.Fri. 19 April 1889. Andrew & I ploughed & picked up in turn on the new peice, N.3 E. & after tea I took over 700 lbs. of hay for Mr. Cote & then I went down to E.H. Herman Coles drove me down a peice of the way. Jos. & John are going on with the seeding down here, 5.30 P.M., but a heavy shower stopped them about 5.30 P.M. Andrew ploughing new peice of corner. Fine & summery. S.E. & S.W. winds. Thunder shower.

20. Sat. 20. I got up early & sowed grasseed No.2 S. & then went back to the peice against the 11 Con. & sowed oats & Jos. harrowed. There is about 3 1/3 acres in it. John did chores, spread manure in garden & orchard, & hitched Jack to the Horse rake & run over No.2 S. crossways which covered in the graseed nicely. I sowed grasseed on the 2 peices at T.B.S.s & did a lot of fence fixing, leaving me very tired at night. Warm & summery.

21. Sun. 21. S.S. & meeting as usual. I staid up at the corner & looked after things & spent a while with Jas. Johnston & went to the Methodist meeting at night. We did not take the horses out at all. Light rain, A.M. Wintry, P.M.

22. Mon. 22. I got up to the corner as soon as I could & got ploughing the new peice, No.3 E. (John & Joe put in No.1 N. with oats & worked at the other seeding on T.B.S.s place afterward). I had a good bit of stone to pick off & haul off with the chain but I have pretty fair sailing now. I went over P.M. to see Miss Bremner. She is not well. Hard frost last night. Milder today, but cold N.W. wind.

23. Tue. 23. I woke up this morning very sick, a billious attack. Andrew staid home and kept the old team ploughing but it is rather rough for him. Cold N.W. wind. Warmer at night.

24. Wed. 24. Mama is sick today & I am not good for much. Andrew ploughed, A.M. but it rained, P.M., & stopped all our work. The boys have all in at E.H. but about 3 acres of peas in No.5 N. This rain will keep us back a bit. Fine, warmer, A.M. Rainy, P.M.

25. Thur. 25. Joe came up with black team this morning bringing oats & peas for seed. We cleaned up 20 bus. of oats for Mr. Collins & straightened up round the barn, A.M. Afternoon Joe picked up roots, etc. on the new peice & piled around the stumps that are left. He got done about 5 P.M. & then took the sheep & lambs all down to E.H. except 1 delicate one which we will leave here for awhile. Andrew ploughed No.3 E. & John ploughed grandpa's orchard. I am better tonight. Cold & cloudy. Raw N.W. wind.

26. Fri. 26. I sowed peas on 6 acres of the roughest of No.3 E. & Joe harrowed them in till about 5 P.M. & then we went down to E.H. taking Mr. Collins's oats & a calf that A. Malcolm cannot get rid of. John finished putting in all but a swaley peice in No.5 N., E.H., & Andrew is nearly done ploughing No.3 E. (corner farm). Cold N.W. wind. Cloudy.

27. Sat. 27. Joe started off in good time with the drill to put in the rest of the peas in No.3 E. corner farm. John began crosharrowing No.5 N. (E.H.) but a steady rain came on about 9 A.M. so we run a furrow through the swaley peice & put away the sleighs & did other chores. Cold N.W. wind. Rain from 8.30 A.M.

28. Sun. 28. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested, P.M., & at night I walked up to the corner & brought Charlie down. The boys will sleep in his stall & watch old Netty. We think she will foal soon and want to watch her in case any help is needed. John staid up at night. Rainy all day. Cold N.W. wind.

29. Mon. 29 April 1889. John brought Netty down as we can watch her better here being nearer the stable. He took Charlie & run out some furrows in No.1 N. & No.2 S. as the water seems to lie too long. I fixed up some fences & did other chores. Joe is picking up on the new peice (No.3 E. corner farm) & hoeing in the peas round stumps. John ploughed the orchard afternoon. Cold dry N.W. wind. Cloudy.

30. Tue. 30. I am not well so I did not do much but chore around. John finished harrowing the peas, No.5 N., forenoon, & afternoon I helped him away with the gang plough which Phillips had borrowed & he worked at the corner farm. Joe is working at No.3 E. I laid in the stable at night to watch Netty. Cold N.W. wind. Cloudy.

1889: May

1. Wed. 1st May 1889. I am some better today & had a lot of choring to do as the boys are all at the corner. John broke a plough point & came down at noon to get another. He came down at night bringing chopp & sat up watching Netty. Cold raw N.W. wind. Cloudy.

2. Thur. 2. I started John off to the corner with seed peas & a pig. I did chores. I do not feel good for much. Let Netty on the grass for a while. Letter from Jones about the road. I drove up to Union prayer meeting at night. Had a talk with J. Hindle. Cold N.W. wind. Cloudy.

3. Fri. 3rd. John ploughed a peice at the south end of No.6 N. with old horses so as to exercise Netty. I did chores & then went up to the corner & straightened up there. Sowed some oats at the north end of the wheat, No.2 W., where the snow had smothered. Jos. put in the peice of oats on the south end of wheat, No.2 W. & then came home with the drill but the horses got away on the hill & made a bad smash. We shall have to get more severe bits for them. Cold high N.W. wind.

4. Sat. 4. I went to town with the Democrat taking Maybeth to get her teeth fixed. I saw Mr. Budd & got $53.00 off him for hay. I got the single harness repaired, $1.15 c. & ordered 2 new bridles & a collar & brought home 2 new [ ], 40 c., bits & a Rockwell rig. I got a pair of shoes for Grandpa, $1.25 c. and a bag of apples for ourselves, 75 c., & 2 barrels of sugar for Grandma R. I got home about 6 P.M. Shoes repaird, 50 c. to pay. Fine & a good deal warmer.

5. Sun. 5. S.S. & meeting as usual, 6th Rom. (H. Tracy). I drove down with S. Jacobs & after dinner he drove me out to Craighurst to Presbyterian meeting. We staid with a Mr. McLean to tea & then went out to Midhurst Church. S. Jacobs took all the services but the "sermons." "Naaman the Syrian," [ ] Rom. 1 ver. at Craighurst & at Midhurst the same reading with 2nd Eph. Lord bless. We got to the corner Minesing about 9 P.M. & then I walked home. Hallelujah. Very pleasant. A fresh warmish westerly wind.

6. Mon. 6. John put in a peice of peas in the swale, No.5 N. It was too wet before & then came up to corner. I went up before him & sowed grasseed on the peice of oats south of the wheat, No.2 W. We took a load of straw over to A. Ronalds & a small jag over to our stable up there & 415 lbs. of clover hay to A. Armstrong, & then John harrowed the peice I sowed graseed on. I came on down home & chored around. Joe has been working in the garden & watching Netty. I gave Grandma R. $55.00 making $150. I have paid in all. I made up the intrest on what I owed & renewed the Notes for a year (14 Apl. 1890).

7. Tue. 7. Joe & I rung & altered the pigs & calf I got from A. Malcolm. Hung gates & chored generally & then put in the front orchard with carrots excepting some peices which we have in with "gaden sauce." We got done about 5 P.M. & then put on a small load of hay & Joe took it up to Mr. Cote. John got done with rolling up at the corner and home about 6 P.M. (Mr. Stokes put in 8 grafts for us. Mr. Keast brought down our waggon for us from I Downey). Very warm & summery with westerly wind.

8. Wed. 8. I laid out in the barn to watch Netty and came in about 4.30 A.M. & called the boys while I took another sleep. John started for Stayner with 3 bags of wheat from here & to get the 3 bags which I left at T. Robinsons on the 6th. I helped Joe to saw some cedar for stakes & started him splitting. I chored around the garden and watched Netty. I drove up at night taking Mama and started Andrew down with the young cattle & the sheep & lamb we left up before. A letter from Dr. Brunskill asking if I would trade Topsy. I wrote back in the affirmative. I staid out in the barn with Netty. John got home from Stayner about 5.30 P.M. Thank the Lord. Very hot. Not so much wind. Cooler in evening.

9. Thur. 9. We cut the ends of the young cattles horns & docked the lambs & then relaid the fence between No.5 & 6 S. We shall have to stake & rider it well for we intend pasturing the horses there. I made a maul - & did other chores and at night I drove down to Knapps to meet the French horse but Crispin brought word that he could not get here till Friday noon. So I left a collar that we had been using at Fralecks and then came up to the Union prayer meeting and staid up at night. Warm but fresh westerly wind.

10. Fri. 10. We moved out the stoves at the corner & then I drove out to Midhurst to see the Councill about the new road. I found out that there was nothing on the petition about fencing it and that it has to be 4 rods wide and that the men who placed obstructions in the road were liable to imprisonment. I got back to the corner soon after noon and after dinner went down to Knapps but did not get away till after 4 P.M. After getting tea at the corner, I came down home and put in the evening choring. The boys are working at the horse pasture fence, No.6 S. Very warm, A.M. Cooler, P.M. A few drops of rain at noon.

11. Sat. 11. John laid out in the barn to watch Netty last night (no colt yet). The boys worked at the fence & I got down an old gate from T.B.S.s to hang against the lane & we got it all finished up by night. Cool N.W. wind but sunny.

12. Sun. 12. S.S. & meeting as usual (7 Rom.). I staid up to dinner and then drove out to C. Watties to see the old lady. She is very frail. Grandpa S. & Grandma R., Mama & Jane went along & we got home about 5.30 P.M. I staid home to do chores and watch Netty & the young folks went up to Pres. meeting or R.B. Fine. Cool & pleasant.

13. Mon. 13 May 1889. Grandma R.'s birthday. I got up about 2 A.M. to look at Netty. John was sleeping in the barn. He called me about an hour after & about 4.30 A.M. she had her foal but I had sent John for H. Fuller & A. Morren but the colt came before they got here. Its head was bent down and I was afraid of trouble but I am thankful it seems to be all right. John & Joe ploughed a bit of Grandpa's garden & then we went up to the 11 Con. & got out 3 more rafters & fixed up a peice of slash fence & then got out a lot of seed potatoes & after dinner John & Joe went up to the corner & ploughed Grandma R.'s garden. Joe came down at night bringing a steer that was sucking a cow we have up there. We got a good sleep at night. Frost last night. Warm & thundery today & rather cloudy.

14. Tue. 14. I drove up to the corner & left Nell at Cotes to be shod & then Joe & I ploughed the orchard east of B. Church with Charlie & I sowed grasseed on & Joe harrowed. John helped a little at the orchard & then ploughed in the peice by Pres. Church for potatoes. I got done by noon & then came down to E.H. leaving Joe to finish Grandma R.'s garden. I did chores & got out the pit of small potatoes and then began the larger ones. Light shower last nigth & this morn cleared off with cold N.W. wind.

15. Wed. 15. I left Joe to get out the rest of the large potatoes and then to go to a raising at S. Webbers. I got up to the corner as early as I could and S. Jacobs was there soon after & we got the old house roof off by noon & then Uncle Same went down to the raising. I got nails out of boards & piled up, etc., till teatime & then got home to do up chores at E.H. A few drops of rain through the day & rather cold. A thunder shower at night & then much warmer.

16. Thur. 16. I left Joe to fix some fence and cut potatoes for seed. I got up to the corner as soon as I could and found Mr. Collins working at the lumber getting out nails, etc. We began cutting potatoes for seed till noon & then Mr. Collins finished ploughing the potatoes land & harrowed it while John went down to Percy Kitchen's raising. I fixed the gate into the potatoe patch (2 3/4 acres) & the gate against the land and then helped Mr. Collins to plough A. Ronalds garden. I staid to Union prayer meeting and then home. Cloudy, A.M. Fine, P.M.

17. Fri. 17. Andrew took the team down to E.H. with chopp, etc. Joe & Andrew went up as soon as they could to the corner taking all the seed potatoes with them. I did up the chores & then followed. They got the stones hauled off the potatoe land by 10 A.M. & began planting. I put in the day choring & cutting seed potatoes. Joe came down with me at night to help with chores. Fine but very hot only for a fresh southerly wind.

18. Sat. 18. I got up to the corner with Nell & buggy about 8.30 A.M. and left the boys & Mr. Collins to finish planting potatoes & Mama & I went to Barrie & did a lot of small bits of business for myself & my neighbours. Ordered 100 lbs. of Scotch twine at 12 1/2 c. to be delivered by 1st July. We staid awhile at C. Watties & got to the corner farm about 6 P.M. & found a big crowd playing football in No.2 E. We got tea & then away down to E.H. where a lot of jobs were waiting to be done. Very hot but fresh southerly wind.

19. Sun. 19 May 1889. Andrew came down late last night to say that Frances was very sick so Mama went back with him. We found her very much the same this morning so I staid up after S.S. & meeting. She seemed easier afternoon but about 9 P.M. semed to be worse so I went in to Barrie & got some medecine from Dr. Ross. I got back about 1 A.M. & we slept till morning pretty well. Warm S. wind. Thunder shower 3 P.M.

20. Mon. 20. I got down to E.H. as soon as I could. We hauled a lot of straw and mulched the currant, Raspberries, etc. & then washed the sheep. Afternoon the boys went up to the corner to finish planting potatoes in the orchard by the house. I took old Charlie & ploughed the garden at T.B.S.s & planted some peas that John Pitt brought up for me. At night I took Netty up to Peter Knapps to see if she was in season but I do not like to send her all the way to Barrie. I found Frances apparently better. Warm thundery. Hosts of mosquitoes.

21. Tue. 21. I went up to the corner as soon as I could. The boys had the potatoes all planted and were working at taking down the old building. I did chores & cut some seed potatoes and we went up to T.B.S. old buildings & pulled down some old fence & straightened up things and began to plough the peice round the old barnyard. Drizzling rain from N.W. Cold wind, P.M.

22. Wed. 22. Joe is not well today so he has gone to town on Topsy. I was going up to the corner but John found a lot of Fralecks cattle in the meadow so we had to go to work & fix fences. We got the rest of the ground round the old barn ploughed & most of the potatoes planted afternoon. I went up at night & found Frances better, thank the Lord. Cold N.W. wind. Some drizzling rains. Frost at night.

23. Thur. 23. We all went back to the 11 Con. & put up a rail fence against the road & fixed a slash fence along the south side of the clearing but did not get quite finished as a light shower came on. John & Joe took Jenny & old sow up to the corner & I did other chores & drove up to the Union prayer meeting. Cool, A.M. Warmer, P.M. with a light shower. Old sow & Jenny.

24. Fri. 24. Queens birthday. We went up to the swamp with stone boat & got a load of evergreens & planted them on the north side of the orchard. Joe took Netty & Nell down to Knapps to the French Horse (Nett took), (12th day). I straightened up workshop & about 4 P.M. drove up to the corner to the football picnic. I staid with Mama & Francess. She is better, thank the Lord. Very cold N.W. wind. Hard frost at night.

25. Sat. 25. I took the sheep up to the corner & helped H. Wyles to shear them. We got through by 5 P.M. Andrew went to town with Nell & buggy to fetch out a young woman to work the knitting machine. John & Joe chored, piled wood, fixed fences, planted potatoes, etc. Cold N.W. wind.

26. Sun. 26. S.S. & meeting as usual. Thank the Lord for a good attendance (Be gracious still O Lord). I staid in at night & did the milking, etc. & the young folk went to meeting. Grandma R. came down. Not quite as cold.

27. Mon. 27 May 1889. John & I went up to the corner & bagged up all the oats & took 9 bags over to Malcolms to chopp. I staid up and Uncle Sam & I worked at taking roof off the old barn. John took the dung box down home & he & Joe began drawing out dung to No.6 N. but a heavy rain came on about 4 P.M. Agnes Wadds came out & two other young folk. Andrew took the sheep home. High S.E. gale with some rain.

28. Tue. 28. Heavy rain through the night & cold blustering wind with some snow, A.M. I chored round the house & garden at the corner. Donald Jacobs helped the boys to draw out dung with three waggons. It is the best way. Cold blizzardy wind & some snow, A.M. Finer, P.M.

29. Wed. 29. I went to Barrie taking Alice B., Cecilia Bremner & Miss Bloxham, & the wool. I sold it all but the two south down fleeces (6 lbs., 22 c.) at 18 cts. & brought home 600 lbs. of nails & some rollers for the barn doors which gave us load enough. I got to the corner just as a steady rain came on, 5.30 P.M., & went down home to tea & then drove back with old Charlie to an anti-Jesuit meeting in the Hall. I staid up at the corner all night. Traded Topsy for grey horse. Very hard frost last night. Some milder through the day with S.E. wind. Rain came on about 5.30 P.M.

30. Thur. 30. I filled up stake holes in the fence between No.1 & 2 E. They were neglected last 16 April & sowed some grasseed in the fence corners & did other chores getting pretty well wetted so I took off my clothes to dry & went to bed for a while. Afternoon I helped Grandma R. with some book work. I drove down home after tea & then went up again taking Agnes Wadds to Union prayer meeting & staid up for the night. Rain all day, sometimes very heavy. A cold east wind.

31. Fri. 31. Uncle Same came up about 8:30 A.M. & we worked at taking down the old buildings, piling lumber, getting out nails. It was very unpleasant for we had frequent showers. John staid down at E.H. and Andrew brought up the team & waggon intending to draw old shingles & peices of boards up to the house for stove use but it was too wet to work them comfortably. I came down to E.H. at night. (D. Woods brought cow I think). Showry all day but much warmer. Pruney.

1889: June

1. Sat. 1st June 1889. Everything seems saturated with water. The weather faired off about 9 A.M. so J.C. & I went up to the corner & drew up shingles from the old buildings to our woodshed. They are not fit to use again. I sold Joe the Sylvie cow for $25.00 & he took her away. John did chores at E.H. Fair after 8 A.M. but S. winds.

2. Sun. 2. S.S. & meeting as usual (VIII Rom. - Son & Servant). I went down home & staid at night to do the chores. Rain at noon & at night.

3. Mon. 3. S. Jacobs, Joe Ch. & I at the sleepers for the barn & then got the last of the roof off old barn & rafters down. John chored at E.H. Fair.

4. Tue. 4. S.J., Joe & I at the taking down of the old barn & getting some timber out of it for the new one. Joe drew rails from the west end of the old barn and put them on the fence against the concession, A.M. Sold Cameron 2 sheep for $10.00 to be delivered at Phelpston next month. He gave me $1.00 on them. Fair & warmer.

5. Wed. 5 June 1889. J.C. & John & S. Jacobs getting timber out of the old barn for the sheep pen. We have a few peices to get out yet. I do chores at E.H. & then get what I can done at the corner after. Light shower, A.M. Fair, P.M.

6. Thur. 6. Joe, John & I got the old log house down & the logs piled in a big heap. We made a fence outside the limits of the new barnyard. John went down to E.H. to do chores after 5 P.M. & I staid up to Union Prayer meeting. (Redeemed). Fair, warmer.

7. Fri. 7. John began to plough the fallow at E.H., No.6 N. Joe & I drew away sawdust, dung, etc. from the old house at the corner cleaning what we could out of the cellar which has a lot of water in. We got 2 load of stone in to fill it up. A steady rain came on about 11 A.M. so Joe cut & piled wood in the shed & I helped Grandma R. with some business. We went down home with the team at night. Fine & warm till 11 A.M. Heavy rain afterwards.

8. Sat. 8. Everything very wet. I went up to the corner & got some oil & we cleaned & oiled the harness, equal to 4 sett, quite a big job. I rode up to the corner again at night to look after the bull & the cow. Andrew had gone out to Craighurst to a football match. Cloudy & misty, A.M. Clearer, P.M.

9. Sun. 9. S.S. & meeting as usual (L ch. Isaiah). I drove up with the buggy & went from there down to Mr. Coles & went over with Sam, Harry & James to a Mr. Joyce's & had a good meeting there. (God bless the word). Old sow got out. Some heavy rains. Fairer at night.

10. Mon. 10. We do not know what is best to do everything is so wet. Joe is away hunting his little pig which got out of his pen. John chored, A.M. & I rested. Afternoon Joe, John & I fixed up fences & chored round the barnyard. I drove up to the corner at night & let the pasture at Hindles to Wesley Orchard & brought the young cattle down home. Cloudy but not much rain. Cool.

11. Tue. 11. We all worked at staking & ridering the fence against the lane, north end of No.5 S. & ploughed a furrow down the horse pasture, No.6 S. to let off the water from the lane. Ploughed a furrow in the ditch on the Con. & Joe & John chored round the garden afternoon & I did some writting & wrote to T.B.S. Fair. Looks like drier weather. Cool.

12. Wed. 12. We took a jag of straw up to the corner and then John & Joe drew out manure from the new stable to the fallow bringing stone back to fill up the cellar of the old house. John went down to the raising at J. Stackley's afternoon & Joe finished peeling rafters & helped me to secure the cistern which was in the old cookhouse. It is full of water and may come handy for the threshing machine engine. Fair. Cool.

13. Thur. 13. John doing road work for corner farm (hauling gravel). Joe & I drew out manure and drew in stone getting the cellar pretty well filled up. Shower in A.M. Fair after.

14. Fri. 14. John ploughing fallow (No.6 N. E.H.). Joe & I drew out manure all day. Andrew went out to Midhurst afternoon to a picnic & football match. Fine, warm & summery.

15. Sat. 15. Heavy thundershower till 8 A.M. Fair after. Joe & John made eavetroughs & I went down to see some lots of Mr. Cavanagh's for R.A. Thomas. He wants to know if the water backs up from the river. I could not get any where very near to the lots for the water is very high. I went down to Mr. Campbels and made enquiry there and was told that the river did not cross the lots in question. I got back to the corner about 1 P.M. & got dinner & fed the horse and then got home and did some other chores. Heavy thunder shower till 8 A.M. Fair after but rather close. Cooler, P.M.

16. Sun. 16. S.S. & meeting as usual (last of VIII Rom.). I took up the buggy & afternoon I took Grandma R. down to se Mrs. Adams and after tea I drove over to Mr. Joyce's & we had a good meeting, "Praise the Lord." I was late home. Gentle rain most of the day.

17. Mon. 17. John ploughed No.6 N. & John P. & Joe hauled manure to the fallow, No.3 S. I put in the forenoon mending fences & choring. John Pitt is come to stay for a month & perhaps longer. Good Lord help us to do the right hting. (Wesley O. brought colts). Fair but cloudy.

18. Tue. 18. John P. ploughing to rest his sore hands. John R. & Joe at the manure. I washed off the buggy & then went up to the corner & afternoon I tried the harrow on the potatoes with old Charlie but it pulled some up so I took the new cultivator. It works very well. Coming home I spoke to J. Phillips about coming on the road tomorow. Fine but threatening rain.

19. Wed. 19. Rainy. Joe took Democrat & fetched the scraper from 11 Con. & took Miss [Wymer] home & brought the plough down from the corner. Afterward we got out a few more loads of manure. I do not think we will draw any more now. After 3 P.M. the two teams ploughed fallow, No.3 S. J. Pitt spread manure. I chored & fixed things, generally. S. Tracy sent $3.00. Heavy shower till after 2 P.M. Warm.

20. Thur. 20. I went up to Mr. Phillips to start them on the road. J. Hindle came to get me to look at the barn & spoke of his resignation of church membership. Good Lord bless & guide. I got home again & John P. & I went to the corner with Charlie & buggy & piled up rafters, etc. Afternoon Uncle S. Jacobs came & we got out some more timber. Union prayer meeting at night. John & Joe ploughing, No.3 S. I left J.P. at the corner. Very fine but threatening rain. Rather hot.

21. Fri. 21. Steady heavy rain. Split wood, etc. afternoon. Joe & John made eavetroughs at T.B.S. I went over to H. Tracys to see about the 11 Concession & speak to his daughter Mary about Baptism. The Good Lord guide us all aright. H. Tracy, Adair & I offered to give $25.00 each towards ditching the concession if the council would give the rest. Afternoon I read awhile, etc. and after tea, I went over to see T. Pattendon as to how we stand on account of pea threshing, etc. I called to see J. Hindle on the way home. Very heavy rains, A.M. Fair, P.M.

22. Sat. 22. We all went up to the corner farm and piled and sorted the old lumber leaving it conveniently near where the barn is to be. John P. cut up Burdock round fence corner. Afternoon we made two ditches to drain the lane behind the old barn. I brought down the team & Salt, [Whert], & cultivator at night leaving the boys to their football fun. Fair.

23. Sun. 23 June 1889. S.S. & meeting as usual (IX Rom.). I rested afternoon & read at night. The young folks went out. Very fine.

24. Mon. 24. John & Joe at the fallows. J.P. spreading manure & cutting thistles at corner. I butchered a calf for Grandpa, hoed in garden, etc. Fair.

25. Tue. 25. Joe & J.P. hauling stone to fix gully bridge, A.M. John harrowing fallow. I went up to the corner and did some business and afternoon Joe, J.P. & I mended up the gully bridge. Dr. [Wargh] came & got my name as a member of "Home Knowledge Association," $12.50 to pay before New Years. Fine & pleasant. Rather warmer.

26. Wed. 26. John harrowing fallows. Joe, J.P. & I went up to the corner and drew stone for foundation of barn about 5.30 P.M. The Framers came & so we had the timber to skidd up for them. Fine, warm.

27. Thur. 27. Joe & J.P. helped to finish getting the timber into shape & then went down to the station and got a sulky plough that J.P. had sent for. We intend trying it on the fallow at the corner. John came up & helped to haul stone & we got the fence moved against the lane from the fallow, No.2 E. & all the stone off by about 3.30 P.M. & then the boys, John & Joe, began ploughing. J.P. went to A. Lindsays raising, P.M. Union prayer meting at night & I went home after as Grandma S. is not well. Warm & a few heavy drops of thundery rain. Much cooler at night & mist from N.W.

28. Fri. 28. Late up. I spent the forenoon salting cattle, fixing fences, pulling mustard & fixing pig troughs, etc. I went up to corner with Netty afternoon (2nd time). (Nell). (Nil.) John was ploughing with J.P. sulky plough & Joe with Peter Knapp's. They both work pretty well but I do not think I will buy one this year. Fair. (Netty). Rather hot.

29. Sat. 29. John is ploughing at the corner fallow. Joe, J.P. & I worked at the road in front & up near the hill ploughing & scraping making the ditch deeper & leveling the knolls. J.P. worked at the hoeing in orchard, P.M. Fine & rather hot.

30. Sun. 30. S.S. & meeting as usual. I staid up & took dinner with Grandma R. & then went over to hear Mr. Booth review the S.S. quarters lessons (very good. Lord bless Thy word). I rode down home with Uncle Sam. Grandma S. is not well & John has been down to fetch Aunt Eliza. She seems better tonight. Fine & rather warm.

1889: July

1. Mon. 1st July 1889. I got the load of G. Ploughwrights narrow plough & John & Joe went up to the corner to plough fallow, taking rafters & sleepers up with them. I got home again about 11 A.M. J.P. is hoeing in orchard. I cut thistles, weeds, etc. in pastures. Church meeting at night. Rather close & cloudy.

2. Tue. 2. J.P. hoeing. I spent forenoon making hay rack & doing other chores afternoon. I went to the corner with Charlie & buggy and not finding any letter from Woodbridge I wrote down to Fanny & went to the station and posted it. I saw Mr. Budd & promised to take him a load of hay next week. When I got back to the corner I found the carpenters were getting read to raise on Friday so I drove down to D. Dixons & finding he was not going to raise that day I asked hands on the 11 Con. Warm & thundery.

3. Wed. 3 July 1889. John went off asking hands to the raising & Joe & I worked at getting the stone into shape for the foundation. J.P. hoed potatoes at the corner. I drove down to Uncle Sams & he sent Byron to fetch Dr. Allen to see Grandma S. as she does not seem to get better. John met the Dr. at Minesing Station & took him over to Grandmas & then brought him to the corner & he walked from there to the Station himself & John went down to the river asking hands. When he got back I brought Mrs. Bremner home. She has been seeing Grandma S. Warm & thundery. A heavy shower, 6 P.M.

4. Thur. 4. I got up to the corner as soon as I could get the chores done and we worked at the foundation and afternoon Wesley O., J. Downey, H. & B. Tracy, F. & S. Jacobs, & Heman Coles came & helped us to get all put together. I staid to Union prayer meeting at night & then went to E. Home. Fine & cool.

5. Fri. 5. We all went up to the corner as soon as we could & got things ready as we could for raising. A good turnout of the neighbours afternoon and the building went up without accident. ("How many did the Lord give His Angels charge concerning"). I got home about sundown & had cows to milk, etc. Fine but much warmer.

6. Sat. 6. John & Joe ploughing fallow at corner with J.R.s plough. J.P. is away to Barrie with his sisters. Andrew & Frank Jacobs have been to town the last 2 days to Exam, & today is their last day. Lord bless them & keep them. I worked at hay rack forenoon. Afternoon I fixed some fence & walked up to the corner and did some other chores. Warm & summery.

7. Sun. 7. S.S. & meeting as usual. Grandma R. came down. I took a rest and about 4.30 P.M. I started with team & Democrat to Mr. Joyces beyond Anten taking Maybeth, Cecilia Bremner, Mr. Bruce, Harry & S. Coles. We had a very good time. Praise the Lord. I got home about 10.30. Very warm & summery.

8. Mon. 8. I started John with the Mower at Grandpas hay & Joe mowed fence corners forenoon & went to D. Dixons raising afternoon. I went up to the corner & run through the potatoes with the cultivator & staid up to the meeting to hear the reason for J. Hindle's & T. Hindles resignation. "It was vanity & vexation of spirit." Very hot. A light N.W. breeze at times.

9. Tue. 9. J.P. & I went up to the corner taking 4 eavetroughs & other truck. We hauled some lumber & shingles to the building for the carpenters & some water in barrells to Paris Green potatoes & got home again about 11 A.M. Afternoon we started raking up & hauling in the hay. We got Grandpas in & a load on that I promised to take to Mr. Budd. I rigged up the old waggon coupling pole & hay rack, etc. Andrew went up at night to do the chores. Very hot but good harvest weather.

10. Wed. 10 July 1889. Joe went to Budds with the hay, 2475 lbs. John finished cutting No.1 S. J.P. hoing carrots. I cut weeds etc. in Uncle T.B.S. garden & raked out some fence corners. Andrew went down to station at noon & met cousin Mary & Nelson & brought them down to Grandma S. Afternoon we finished getting in the hay against Grandpas house except the rakings. I went up to the corner at night to do chores. Very hot but a fresh breeze about 11 A.M. Cloudy & a fine few drops at night.

11. Thur. 11. I got down as soon as I could to E.H. & started John to cut a peice at T.B.S.s. Joe mowed fence corners round No.18. J.P. turned some of No.1 S. over & afternoon we got hauling in with the two teams. I drove up at night to Union prayer meeting & stayed to do chores in the morning. Cleared off with brisk N.W. wind.

12. Fri. 12. Joe & I drew lumber for carpenters & blocked up sleepers in the barn & then got down to E.H. about 9.30 A.M. & drew in with 2 teams all day finishing all No.1 S. but about 3 loads of rakings. Thankful. Cool & pleasant.

13. Sat. 13. I went up to T.B.S. to get his old stable ready to put hay in but rain threatened so I came down and helped the boys to get in the rakings. The rain soon passed off and we went back to T.B.S. & hoed potatoes till noon when Andrew who had been helping Byron Jacobs to put Paris Green on the potatoes at the corner came down to get me to take Annie F. to Barrie to get some teeth out. She had not slept well for two nights so I took her in & got them out & was home again about 5 P.M. The boys got in 3 loads of hay & put the rest into cock. I went back to the pasture feild & deepened some spring holes for the cattle to get water & found Strawbery heifer had calved so I had to attend to her which kept me til dark. "Welcome sweet day of rest." Thunder shower about 9 A.M. Cleared off but hot till 3 P.M. then a cool west wind.

14. Sun. 14. S.S. & meeting as usual (XII Rom.). I came home afternoon & rested. The young folks went out at night. Cool & pleasant.

15. Mon. 15. John went up to the corner to cut 8 acres of clover, No.3 W. Joe went to Mill for lumber for the carpenters at the corner. J.P. took Cherry up to the corner & then Andrew & he & I hoed potatoes at T.B.S.s till noon. Afternoon J.P., Andrew & I got in the rest of the hay at T.B.S.s except rakings. I saw J. Ploughwright & he agreed to take the 2 sheep to Phelpston as he had to go anyway. Joe got another load of lumber. He went to Camerons for this. I drove up at night to see how the carpenters were doing. Fine & cool. Cherry. High N.W. wind.

16. Tue. 16. I started Andrew gang ploughing fallow, No.6 N. Joe off to Camerons Mill for more lumber. J.P. hoeing carrots. I went up to corner & did some chores there & finished putting Paris Green on the potatoes. Saw J. Johnston & T. Stokes about the programme which is out for the concert which the R.B.s are getting up. It is all secular music & we do not like it. Lord help us to do the right thing. Cool & dry with high N. wind.

17. Wed. 17. John cut another slice of meadow. J.P. hoed carrots. Joe mowed fence corners. Andrew gang ploughed fallows. I fixed up whippletrees afternoon. John, J.P. & Joe went to corner with horse rake & cut fence corners & the others raked & put into heaps. I hoed carrots till 3 P.M. & then took cousin Mary & Nelson to station & came by the corner & helped at the hay. Very fine & pleasant.

18. Thur. 18 July 1889. Wm. Brown, one of the carpenters, helped me to haul in hay from No.4 S., 21 big loads into Grandpa's old barn. I was very tired at night but drove up the Union prayer meeting and home again. Fine, rather hot. Light shower at night.

19. Fri. 19 We threw off 2 loads of hay that were in the barn & got up to the corner as soon as we could & got in 2 loads there but a steady rain came on so we had to quit. John took a load of hay to Isaac Downeys (say $6.30 c.). I staid up & chored generally, made doubletree, etc. Grandma R. gave me $20. on mens board. Rainy. Cleared at night.

20. Sat. 20. Joe went down to Marv's Mill for shingles. I chored. Afternoon we made a bridge to the barn door. Andrew & John gang ploughed & cut some meadow, No.5 S. Old Mr. McDonald had Charlie. J.P. working at carrots. Fine, but close & cloudy.

21. Sun. 21. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mama & I drove over to the meeting past Anten at night which made me late home. Lord bless Thine own Word & Work. Fine.

22. Mon. 22. We all got up to the corner as soon as we could & turned out the hay that was in cock & [ ]. John drew some lumber from A. Malcolms & a load of small stone for bridge & afternoon Mr. Collins came & we got in 4 loads of hay & then a smart shower came on & stopped us so John, Andrew, & J.P. went down to E.H. to gang plough their carrots, etc. & Joe C. took a load - hay, over to A. Armstrong & then we fixed up the other bridge into the barn & at night took the 2 old barn doors down to his place to put on his barn (letters from T.B.S. & to Aunt Fannie). Fine till 2.30 P.M. & after that showery.

23. Tue. 23. John finished cutting No.5 S. John P. hoeing carrots. Joe hauled some wood from T.B.S. wood shed so we can use the shed for stowing hay. I knocked off a lot of boards from the old buildings to use in boarding up the old straw pen in Grandpas barnyard. We went up to the corner just before noon & found the hay would be fit to draw without turning so Mr. Collins came & Wm. Brown & we got all in and home soon after sundown. Joe got 2 loads of hay for his cow. Clear & cool N.W. wind.

24. Wed. 24. Threatened rain so we got in 3 loads not quite ready but it cleared off so we cut the orchard at T.B.S. & afternoon John cut in T.B.S.'s feild south of home till 2.30 P..M. & then went to J. Lumleys raising. Mr. Collins helped us & we got in half of No.5 S. & the rest raked up. Light showers, 8 A.M. Fine & cool windy, P.M.

25. Thur. 25. Joe & Mr. Collins finished cutting T.B.S. orchard. John cutting at T.B.S. We hauled in 4 loads of hay, A.M. Afternoon John finished at T.B.S.s with the machine about 4 P.M. though there are a good many fence corners & odd spots to cut with scythe. We got in all the good hay from No.5 except 2 loads & then I drove up to Union prayer meeting (104th Ps.). Silent -. Fine & cool N.W. wind.

26. Fri. 26. We got in all out of the big meadow (5 & 6) S. except 2 loads of rakings & then got in one load from T.B.S. & put it & a load of rakings on the stack west of the barn. I drove up to the corner at noon & got A. Armstrong to help & we got in a good lot of good hay. Filled up T.B.S. woodshed & cookhouse & put 2 loads into the old stable.

27. Sat. 27 July 1889. We got hauling in hay in good time & had T.B.S. feild cleared by noon, 2 loads on waggons to go to the corner farm as the hay up there was badly stained with the rains. John, J.P. & Joe went up with the hay & after John came back he got a load for A. Malcolm & Joe & J.P. got in 2 loads of rakings. Thank the Lord. Hot & threatens thunder showers.

28. Sun. 28. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mama went down with Mr. Crawfords & I spent the afternoon at Mr. Bremners and walked home about 6 P.M. & helped Maybeth with the cows. Fine today but heavy thunder shower last night.

29. Mon. 29. John setting up Binder. J.P. harrowing fallow, No.6 N. Andrew finished ganging No.3 S. Joe & I went up to corner & finished breaking fallow. It took both of us to do it & we got through by about 3 P.M. & then he harrowed & I chored. Fine. Rather hot.

30. Tue. 30. John & J.P. mowing fence corners & odd spots. Andrew harrowing fallows. Joe at corner fallow. I went to town with sorrel team & took in chickens for Grandma S. & some for ourselves. I got 100 lbs. of Manilla twine, bedstead, etc. Mama & Annie F. went with me & we took Annie F. to Dr. Oliver. He thinks her cough is spasmodic. We came home by the corner & got there just in time to help with raising the shed & sheep pen which made it late before I got home. Thankful all is so well. Fine but thundery.

31. Wed. 31. Andrew finished harrowing fallow. J.P. hoed in garden, A.M. John & I went up to Hindles & began cutting the wheat. Afternoon J.P. & Andrew went up & shocked & I took the harrows from here up to the corner for Joe to use as the others are too light & broke. I brought the other harrows down & then helped the boys to shock up. It will take most of tomorow to finish at Hindles. Fine but hot.

1889: August

1. Thur. 1 August 1889. John, J.P. & Andrew at the wheat at Hindles. I cut some fence corners, etc. till noon & then Joe came down with team & we got the hay in that John & J.P. cut on Tue & Joe cut a peice of poor spring wheat, No.2 S., about 1/2 acre (Red Bald). I drove up at night to Union prayer meeting. Oh Lord bless & guide. Fine & rather hot.

2. Fri. 2nd. Joe & I cut some patches of hay near 11 Conces. & then cut some fence corners. I drove up to corner at night & found the boys (John, J.P. & Andrew) had finished Hindles & had a good bit done at the wheat at the corner. Lord make me grateful. Light shower last night. Cloudy, A.M. Fine, P.M.

3. Sat. 3. Joe mowed some fence corners, No.2 S. I chored & shook out some that we mowed yesterday and afternoon we got the hay against the 11 Con. in & some fence corners gathered. John, J.P. & Andrew have all cut at the corner but about 5 acres. Fine.

4. Sun. 4. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested afternoon & then went over to Anten meeting. We had a good time. Praise the Lord. Great Shepherd bless & keep Thine own. Fine & cool.

5. Mon. 5. I drove up to the corner with Dick & brought Jack down as he has a sore eye & we do not want to work him for awhile. Joe, J.C., Andrew & I hauled in at Hindles & J. Hindle mowed away. We got all in but 3 loads & brought 1 down to our barn. I drove up at night to hear Mrs. Degeer on Prohibition. John finished cutting at corner & started No.2 N. Fine & pleasant.

6. Tue. 6. We got the load off & drew in all at Hindles bringing another small load down at noon. Joe & I went up to corner afternoon & got in 5 loads. John, J.P. & Andrew cutting wheat. Andrew took Aunt Fanny & Annie F. down to the station at 4 P.M. Lord bless them. Annie F. is going with Aunt Fanny for a change. Sold lambs to Hubbard, $3.20. Fine harvest weather.

7. Wed. 7 August 1889. We got hauling as soon as we could & about 11 A.M. Andrew & J.P. came up with Johns team. John has been sick so we hauled with one team still till 5 P.M. & then John came & we got in 4 more loads. Fine harvest weather.

8. Thur. 8. W. Brown is threshing at W. Orchards & I. Downeys for us. A. Armstrong came & we hauled away lively with 2 teams after 3 P.M. Andrew went home & raked at Hindles. We finished the wheat about dark & all staid up to Union prayer meeting. Cloudy all day.

9. Fri. 9. Joe & I got down home as soon as we could and hauled away at No.2 N. wheat. John, J.P. & W. Brown unloaded a big load of wheat that was in the barn & then came down & got a load of rakings at Hindles but had an upset which hindered them so we did not get to work with both teams till after 10 A.M. We got in all No.2 N. but 3 loads by P.M. when a heavy thunder shower came on & Mr. Brown went to Peter Knapps to thresh afternoon. I chored around. Fixed a set of bars for No.2 N. John & Joe mowed fence corners. J.P. is not well. Cloudy & threateneing and a heavy thunder shower about 2 P.M. Cleared off. Fine at 3 P.M.

10. Sat. 10. John & Joe cut all the fence corners but No.1 N. I fixed up the old waggon tongue & then we drew in all the wheat from No.2 N. except rakings & got the last of the rakings from Hindles. Joe went to Alvin Johnsons threshing afternoon and we got in Grandpas wheat, 3 loads, & 2 loads of our barley. I am very tired tonight. Clear with high N.W. wind.

11. Sun. 11. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested awhile afternoon & took tea at Grandpa's with Miss Bremner & Mr. Bruce. The young folks went to meeting at night & I helped Mama with chores. Fine & very cool.

12. Mon. 12. John to Mr. Bremners threshing. Andrew raked barley stubble & then went up to rake wheat stubble at corner. Joe, J.P. & I got in fence corner hay, etc. and afternoon John & J.P. pulled peas, No.5 N. & Joe & I began cutting the oats against the bush. They have been tramped down by bears & rabbits. A few light showers, A.M. Finer, P.M.

13. Tue. 13. John & J.P. went to the corner to pull peas. I started Andrew ploughing No.6 N. & then Joe & I cut oats. They are badly down & the bears have made a nasty mess of them. A steady rain came on about 4 P.M. leaving us about 4 hours work to finish them. Libby Wallis came down. Cloudy & close, A.M. Heavy rain, 4 P.M.

14. Wed. 14. I am on the sick list today, a touch of diorhea. The boys chored, A.M. Afternoon Andrew ploughed No.6 N. & the rest of us went to the corner & put in posts for eavetroughs & A. Armstrong came over after tea & we got the south side of the barn all done that we can do till the cistern is dug. Rainy, A.M. Cold high N.E. & N. wind, P.M.

15. Thur. 15. Andrew ploughing No.6 N. I went up to corner as soon as I could & found they had done the eavetroughs all but the entrance into the cistern. Joe hitched to the harrows & J.P. & John pulled peas. After tea Joe took some wood up to the house & to Grandma Rs & brought a load of old rails down here for the engine. I took Mama over to A. Morrens & went over again to let him see Jack's eye but he was not home either time but Aunt Bessie just got home from Toronto where they had been getting advice about Willie. Good Lord help & guide. I staid to Union prayer meeting. Cold high N.W. wind. Rain squalls at night.

16. Fri. 16. August 1889. I started John up to corner with Binder to cut spring wheat. J.P. is up to pull peas till wheat is ready to shock but frequent rain squalls will stop harvest work. Joe went back to finish the oats we left on Tuesday. Andrew ploughed awhile. Cold high N.W. wind with rain squalls.

17. Sat. 17. Joe at Phillips's threshing. J.P. pulled peas till 10 A.M. when I went back with him & we worked at the oats against the bush binding & turning over. Andrew ploughed till noon & then we all worked at the oats (J.P., Andrew & I) till 5 P.M. when we got a load of loose oats & came to tea. John got down with the machine from cutting spring wheat & he & Joe & J.P. went up to the corner & finished shocking spring wheat & Andrew & I got in a load of oats. Fine but not pleasant. Threatens rain.

18. Sun. 18. S.S. & meeting as usual. I drove up with buggy & from there to Mr. Cole's to dinner. Mrs. Coles went with me to Anten at 2.30 P.M. & then I came back to tea & from there to the meeting beyond Anten. Called to see a sick man on the way home. Lord bless Thine own Word & Work. Late home & tired. Fine but threatens rain.

19. Mon. 19. I am sick today. The boys unloaded the oats, drew wood, water, etc. & afternoon threshed all out of this barn but hay, about 200 bus. wheat, 35 oats, 35 barley. Close & cloudy.

20. Tue. 20. Joe & J.P. up to corner to pull peas. Andrew ploughing fallow. John took Josie, Carl & Willie Johnson down to the station for Orrilia (God of the Fatherless bless & keep) & then he cut spring wheat, Goose, No.2 S. I took Francey up to corner to cook for the men. I did some chores. Grandma R. gave me $25.70 cts. which I paid out on the buildings & I gave her $15.00 on the sugar. I got home soon afternoon & shocked up spring wheat. Andrew quit ploughing at 4 P.M. & helped. Close, warm & thundery. Cloudy.

21. Wed. 21. Andrew finished fallow, A.M., No.6 N. John & I began cleaning up some wheat for grist, but we did not get done by 10 o'clock so he finished cutting No.2 S. & I cleared up round the barn door & straw stack till noon. Afternoon Andrew & I finished cleaning up 10 bags of wheat & then John & he began cutting oats, No.1 N. & I finished shocking spring wheat, No.2 S. & then drove up to the corner to get more Binding twine. Joe & John P. pulling peas. Smart shower, 6 A.M. Fine after.

22. Thur. 22. I got away to Stayner about 6 A.M. John & Andrew cut No.1 N. & 2 acres at T.B.S. Joe & J.P. puling peas. I got home from Stayner with grist about 6 P.M. I got a gang plough head from Wm. Cain. Fine & pleasant.

23. Fri. 23. John, Andrew & I got working at oats against bush, T.B.S. We got some bound up & drew the rest in loose & then went up to the corner taking the broken drill for Malcolm to mend. We had not time to draw in any up there. Wm. & Walter Bremner came down. Fine but thunder shower passed round.

24. Sat. 24. We got to work in good time with 2 teams & got in 9 acres of peas, No.3 E. & all but 2 loads of spring wheat (10 acres, No.1 E.). I went over to see Alonza Knapp at noon. He is laid up with a broken knee & his wife is very sick too. Fine & pleasant.

25. Sun. 25. S.S. & meeting as usual. 65 Ps. "Confidence." Phillipians "No Confidence." I rested afternoon and did chores at night. The young folks went to meeting. Lord bless Thine own Word & Work.

26. Mon. 26. John & Andrew cutting oats, No.3 N. Joe & I took 4 fall pigs up to corner & I took up team & we got in the rest of the spring wheat & the rakings of the fall wheat & got home about 12.30 P.M. John went to G. Ploughrights to thresh & Andrew finished cutting oats & Joe, J.P. & I got in 6 loads of goose wheat. Fine but high S. wind. Like rain. Cool N.W. wind at night.

27. Tue. 27. Keil Lapham came this morning and we got a good forenoon hauling in of wheat, No.2 S., & oats, No.1 N., and got in 2 acres of oats by T.B.S.'s house as well. They are a good crop. Andrew went up to the corner to water the things & plough fallow. Warm. Fine harvest weather.

28. Wed. 28. John went up to cut the oats at the corner and I started Joe, J.P. & Keil Lapham pulling peas with horse rake. I shocked a few oats & afternoon I went up to see the machine men at J. Fletchers. They cannot come to plough before next week so we shall have to stack down home both peas and oats. Staid up & John & I drew in 3 loads of peas at the corner. Fine & rather hot.

29. Thur. 29. John, Andrew & I finished drawing in peas at the corner about 2.30 P.M. We left Andrew to shock up the oats & then come down to help us. We found the boys had just finished pulling all the peas so we got to work hauling 2 loads of Grandpa's & 5 of our own. I drove up at night to Union prayer meeting. Lord make us grateful. Fine but very hot.

30. Fri. 30. All our force hauling peas into Grandpa's old barn. It was full soon after noon so we began a stack down here. The peas are a good crop. Fine & cool N. wind.

31. Sat. 31. We got in the last load of peas & then got at the oats, No.3 N. but afternoon we all went up and finished the harvest at the corner by tea time & then we come down here & finished harvest here. We made two stacks & they are uncovered but the weather looks dry at present. "The Lord is good to all." "Hallelujah." Fine & rather warm.

1889: September

1. Sun. 1st September 1889. S.S. & meeting as usual. ([Caleb wholey] followed the Lord. "Victorious"). I rested awhile afternoon and then drove out to Anten to see the sick man (Lord bless) & went on from there to the meeting in [M--'s] house, a good time, praise the Lord. Late home & very tired. Fine & rather warm.

2. Mon. 2nd. Andrew gang ploughing No.3 S. John & Joe went up with teams to the corner taking feed with them & ploughed fallow. J.P. picking up & burning roots on pea ground. I called at W. Orchards to ask about seed wheat & called at Alf Foystens too & spoke to A. Ronald about Timothy seed and afternoon, J.P. & I cleaned out the big barnyard cistern which is dry. Spent the evening at Mr. Bremners. (Lord bless). Fine & rather hot. 90 in shade.

3. Tue. 3. John P. & I put up a pump house and fixed a support to it for a spout to the cistern. I went down to J. Fraleck's to enquire about threshing & found they had broken the concave. Andrew broke another gang plough head so he borrowed one off Phillips's. J.P. & I rigged up a pump in Grandma R's cistern to water the cattle & horses & then we fired some stumps in pea ground. Thunderstorm, 5 P.M. so I came down home. Called on Mr. Stokes on the way. Fine but hot till 5 P.M., then heavy thunder shower.

4. Wed. 4 September 1889. Andrew gang ploughing. I did chores & then helped J.P. cut thistles on pea ground, No.5 N. John & Joe ploughing at corner. Afternoon rain came on so we covered the oat stack & cleared up the barn floor & cleaned up Grandpa's wheat & cleared out the bin the barley was in & did other chores. Rather dubious weather but fine, A.M. Heavy rains, P.M.

5. Thur. 5. Andrew finished ganging No.3 S. & J.P. & I mowed thistles on pea land. As it threatened rain at noon, we put lumber on the east side of the stack of oats & peas & then Andrew harrowed & J.P. cut thistles again, too wet to go to Union prayer meeting. Threatened rain all day. Heavy showers at night.

6. Fri. 6. I took Charlie & buggy up to the corner & did some business & got home again 11 A.M. J.P. & Andrew made a bin for oats on barn floor & afternoon Andrew raked up thistles & rubbish on pea ground & I burned it up. J.P. finished cutting thistles on pea ground at T.B.S.s. Cleared up but not very fine.

7. Sat. 7. J.P. went to Barrie. Andrew began ganging No.5 N. I asked hands & got ready for machine on Monday. I butchered Blossoms calf & took the 2 hind qrs., one to Aunt Eliza's & one to Aunt Bessies. Late home. Fine but rather warm.

8. Sun. 8. S.S. & meeting as usual (Rest. 4th Heb.). Mama & I rested at Mr. Bremners afternoon & walked down about sundown. Fine & pleasant.

9. Mon. 9. We threshed all day & just finihsed all but the little west mow of oats. The stacks were not very wet but the better of being done now. Very hot. Summery.

10. Tue. 10. John & Joe ploughing at corner. Andrew ganging No.5 N. J.P. & I got up the potatoes at Uncle T.B.S. old barn & did other chores. R.A. Thomas & Mr. Cavanagh came at night & made enquiry about their lands. Hot & summery. S.E. winds.

11. Wed. 11. J.P. up to corner to cut rubbish in fence corners. J. & Joe ploughing, Andrew ganging down here (about done by noon). I helped Angus McDougal away with a load of chaff & straw, 3 loads. He has got to clear the barn doors. I went to corner afternoon & did a lot of choring up there and walked home at night. Fine but high howling S.E. wind.

12. Thur. 12. After doing chores I went up to the corner & put the drill in working order & afternoon, John & I got 12 bags of wheat from A. Foyston, 25 bus. at $1.00 (too much) & then began drilling. Joe harrowing. J. Pitt & I began working at a leanto against the north end of horse stable. The timber does not work in very well. I walked home after Union prayer meeting. Andrew working on fallow & pea ground at E.H. Warm & dry. S.E. wind.

13. Fri. 13. Andrew got the 25 acres of fallow & pea ground down here cultivated & harrowed & ready for ridging up by night. John & Joe finished the fallow at the corner & went down home at night, taking 19 bus., 20 lbs. Michigan Amber wheat from Peter Knapps. J.P. & I working at leanto. Fine. Dry & warm.

14. Sat. 14. After doing chores I went up to the corner & J.P. & I worked at the fallow shoveling out furrows & sowing grasseed. Afternoon we worked at the leanto. We got the frame up. John, Joe & Andrew ploughing No. 3 S. Fine & dry. Warm.

15. Sun. 15. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested afternoon at home. Fine till dark, then heavy rains.

16. Mon. 16 September 1889. I ploughed while John took Flora heifer up to corner & back and then I mended the old waggon box. Afternoon started John off to Barrie with 12 lambs to Wm. Hubbard. Joe & Andrew ploughing, A.M., & harrowing & drilling No.3 S. (Michigan Amber). Afternoon I went up to corner & helped J.P. at the leanto. Went with Grandma R. over to Mr. Bremners at night. Fine & cool. Flora.

17. Tue. 17. Andrews birthday, 16. (Lord give second birthday). He finished drilling No.3 S. & John ploughing No.6 N. I saw Aunt Grace & Wm. Bremner off for the old Country. Lord bless them & keep them. Joe came up & got 4 more bags of Michigan Amber from P. Knapp & I sowed the pea land, No.3 E., by hand & he harrowed. It is pretty rough but I broke a good many clods with the axe. Not many stumps left. J.P. cut his hand forenoon & went down to see about his plough which Knapp is trying, P.M. Home at night. Fine & cooler.

18. Wed. 18. After doing chores I went up to the corner to help J.P. with leanto. J. finished the pea land & got down to E.H., 3 P.M. R.A. Thomas called & I rode down home with him at night. He is thinking of buying land at the river. Cold. Fine except a few light showers.

19. Thur. 19. I rode up to the corner with R.A. Thomas & J.P. & I shingled on the leanto. John, Andrew, & Joe working at fall wheat at E.H. I staid up at night to Union prayer meeting but it rained so not many came. High blustering N.W. gales all day with rain, P.M.

20. Fri. 20. John, Andrew & Joe at fall wheat ground, No.5 N. It was too wet to work at the leanto so J.P. & I sorted over the old nails & then threshed the peas that were put on the barn floor. I came home at night. Cold N.W. gales with rains.

21. Sat. 21. J.P. working for Grandma R. John, Joe & Andrew finished putting in No.5 & 6 N. with fall wheat, part Michigan Amber, part Seneca from Alf Foysten, & part Seneca from Grandpas, 3 bus., 30 lbs. I put in the whole day resting & choring round. Mr. McKinley came down to see about getting a cow for Mr. Fleming of Toronto. I offered him Linda for $50.00 or Snowball for $35.00. Very cold N.W. wind with rain at night.

22. Sun. 22. S.S. & meeting as usual. I went to Anten at night which made me late home & very tired. Hard frost last night. Cool & pleasant.

23. Mon. 23. Joe ganging No.3 N. John finishing up fall wheat land, opening furrows, harrowing, etc. Andrew & I went up to the corner with old team & Uncle Sam came afternoon & we got working at the hen house & pig pens. J. Pitt is helping too. Andrew went to fetch the shingles which Joe left July 20. Fine & warmer.

24. Tue. 24. Joe ganging. Uncle S., J.P. & I at the buildings. John finished up the wheat ground & then came up & helped awhile afternoon. Andrew too. Fine.

25. Wed. 25. Andrew & young folks off to Barrie to the show. John & I cleaned up 24 bags of oats & then went to the corner to work at buildings but Joe wanted to be away P.M. so John kept the gang going No.2 N. Uncle S. had to go to Phelpston early but got back in good time to the work. The young folks got back from the show, 8 P.M. bringing Mr. & Mrs. English & Sidney. Fine but threatens rain.

26. Thur. 26 September 1889. John & I off to Barrie with oats, 62 bus., 26 lbs. (a mistake in reckoning to be rectified again). Sold at 25 c. per bus., $15.70 c. I got gang plough head, $1.25, points, 70 c., halter chain, 20 c. I went to the show & looked around but staid rather late. I brought home 1 barrell coal oil for A.R. & 2 kegs nails, etc. John came home with Joe. He had our buggy. Cold & some showers.

27. Fri. 27. John & I bagged up 20 bus. oats fo I. Downey & I took them up for him. He gave me $7.00 on them & the hay he got in July, $4.00 to come yet. I sent $6.25 c. to Traders Bank for H.K. Association (a mistake). J.P. & Andrew & I worked at buildings. Joe ganging & John moving fence by Grandpa's. Cold & some showers.

28. Sat. 28. Joe finished ganging No.2 N. (I think) & then we went to the corner & he began ganging No.1 E. Andrew, J.P. & I chored at corner buildings & came down home at night leaving J.P. to feed & tend to the bull & cow. Cold & showery.

29. Sun. 29. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Wright was there afternoon. I rested & staid home with Mama at night. She is not well. Fine.

30. Mon. 30. John helped Andrew to get up some wood & then he went on to the corner with old horses & ploughed in south feild. I helped Joe on with a load of hay, 1315 lbs. & we took it on to Mr. [French] at corner. Joe got 800 ft. of lumber from Camerons Mill & then gang ploughed. J.P. & I working at buldings. B. Tracy working at cistern. Rather showery.

1889: October

1. Tue. 1st October. Joe ganging & Andrew ploughing between showers. J.P. & I at the buildings. B. Tracy at cistern. John working No.2 & 3 N. with cultivator & harrows. Very showery. Rather cold.

2. Wed. 2. Joe hanging & Andrew ploughing. J.P. & I working at the buildings. Joe & I graded up the barnyard so that we can thresh up here now any time we can get the machine. The weather is very catchy & we do not get on very fast with the work. J.P. will be helping do up Grandma's chores after this. Fine but sticky underfoot.

3. Thur. 3. Andrew & I worked at the buildings awhile & then divided the double stalls in the horse stable. Joe came up afternoon & drew up some wood. We made a gate & did other chores. Mr. Wright at Union prayer meeting. Lord bless. Very heavy rain, A.M. Fine, P.M.

4. Fri. 4. Joe ganging, finished by night. Andrew ploughing South feild. I fixed fastenings to doors, eavetroughs, etc. & came down home at night bringing some wood & purposing to go to Barrie tomorow. Fine but cold N. wind.

5. Sat. 5. Very heavy rains. We spent the forenoon choring, making bags, etc. & half deciding to go to town. Afternoon it was drizzling. John ploughed at Hindles & I made up some accounts & wrote to W.J. Jeffery, T.B.S., Aunt Lizzie & Mr. Dixon. Andrew & Joe at the corner. Heavy rain, A.M. Damp & cloudy, P.M.

6. Sun. 6. S.S. & meeting as usual. Elder Wright took up most of the time. I rested awhile afternoon, & found Snowball had calved 5 P.M. so we got her in and then I went to Mr. Joyces beyond Anten where we had a good meeting. Praise the Lord. Fine but very cold. Snow on the ground.

7. Mon. 7. Joe went to get a load of sand to plaster the cistern at the corner and then helped Andrew to plough South feild. John ploughing at Hindles. I got in corn and did other chores. I went up to corner to look after things there & staid up to church business meeting. Lord forgive & bless. I was not very late home. Fine but cold N. wind. Frost at nights.

8. Tue. 8 October 1889. John, Mama, Maybeth & I off to Barrie taking a lot of chickens. Miss Tracy & Agnes Greensides went too to look after teeth business. I got $100.00 for Grandma R. & did other chores. I called as I came home & engaged some boys to help us to get up potatoes. Very cold N.W. wind.

9. Wed. 9. Joe & I got on a jag of straw & went up to the corner & we all got to work at the potatoes, 4 boys helping. John ploughing at Hindles & doing chores at home. I came home at night. Fine, but rather cold.

10. Thur. 10. I got up to the corner as soon as I had chores done & helped at the potatoes. 2 more boys helping this afternoon. John ploughing at Hindles. Union prayer meeting & Psalm. Fine & some warmer.

11. Fri. 11. We finished up the potatoes & I bagged up 4 bags. Joe ploughed south feild. I came home at night. Fine & Indian summery.

12. Sat. 12. I got off to Barrie with 4 bags of potatoes, sold at 40 c. They weighed 5 bags nearly, $1.95. I settled with Mr. Gabbraith about the mistake, 26 Sept. (oats), $2.50 c. I took Maybeth with me & she got out some more teeth. I saw Travers & got $6.00 which he owed me for oats since last spring & I got the barrell of water lime which I paid for last Tue. & a bag of apples at 60 c. Sold 4 hens at 20 c. each & 2 at 15 & all but 1 of Andrews at 15 c. each, 30 c. pair. Andrew harrowed No.1 E. at corner & Joe & John stumped & burned in No.6 S. down here. I got home about dark. Cloudy & misty. Raw east wind & a drizzle about 11 A.M. Finer, P.M. & warmer.

13. Sun. 13. S.S. & meeting as usual ("Amiable") 84 Ps). I rested P.M. & went out to Anten at night taking Grandma R. We had a very good time. Showers of blessings we need. Dry & cool. Frosty nights.

14. Mon. 14. John at H. Tracy's threshing. I went over to see about the machine & then went up to the corner taking 4 bags peas for Joe, 8 bus., 42 lbs., 1 bag before, 2 bus., 7 lbs., 1 bus. oats. I got home by 12.30. John ploughed at Hindles, A.M. Afternoon Joe & I worked at the stumping in the back feild, No.6 S. & John harrowed No.3 N. Fine & pleasant.

15. Tue. 15. John & Joe ploughing No.3 N. I chored till noon & then went to Peter Knapps threshing. I got G. Tracy to go for tomorow & the next day & W. Degeer for Friday & Sat. Andrew ploughing potatoe ground at corner & girls picking. Fine.

16. Wed. 16. I chored, A.M. Picked up & burned in No.6 S. John & Joe are ploughing & harrowing No.2 & 3 N., 130 lbs. peas for Grandpa. Fine but frosty nights.

17. Thur. 17. I left John & Joe at the ploughing down E.H. & I got up to the corner as soon as I could & found Uncle Sam there to help at the buildings. We got pretty well on with them by night. Andrew went down to E.H. to get some oats for horse feed. Union prayer meeting (Stewards). Fine Indian summery.

18. Fri. 18. I worked at the hen house & pig pens and went down to Wm. Jones's at night to a meeting for Mr. Kenny. I was rather late home. Andrew took his colt, the [one] we got from Joe C. down to E.H. Its fetlock is cut. John & Joe are ploughing No.2 N. Fine.

19. Sat. 19. I went to see Tomlinsons cattle at W. Armstrongs. Andrew & I both worked at the buildings, A.M., & then we put some pea straw over the open shed & cleaned up the peas. J.P. & I threshed 20 Sept. We put knobs & chains on the bulls horns. I rode down home with Wm. Jones & he got 2 bags of oats, 172 lbs. Fine but frosty nights.

20. Sun. 20 October 1889. John left the horses Nell & Dick in the lane while he went to get a blanket & they run off, knocked open the gate and went up to the corner farm before they stopped. It put us all out a bit but I am thankful no harm was done but the back of one of the seats broken. We had S.S. & meeting as usual. Lord make us grateful. Mama went with me to Anten Mills at night, not so good as last Sunday. Fine but coldish.

21. Mon. 21. John, Andrew & I got things ready for threshing at Hindles. Joe & E. Bruce threshing at Mr. Collins for me. Machine moved over & began threshing soon after 12 & were done & threshing down here about 5 P.M. Snow last night. Fine today.

22. Tue. 22 We finished threshing about 9 A.M. & Joe & J. Hindle went to help Mr. Phillips for me. Andrew went up to the corner afternoon & John finished ploughing No.2 N. I fixed up things round the barn. Snowy, A.M. Fine but cold, P.M.

23. Wed. 23. Joe & J.H. threshing at Phillips's. John & I went up to the corner about 10 A.M. & Andrew & he drew water for the machine & I wrote to J.J. Brown about selling wheat & to Fred about Grandma S. & then went to see the hands for threshing, P.M. The Machine got up about 12 oclock but Phillips horses ran through the barn floor with it breaking barn door pulleys & smashing the straw carriers, so we could not thresh. John & I did some chores & Andrew drove to Mr. Burgess round to see some children from Mr. Quarriers Home. I came down at night to do chores. (Joe home, P.M.). Hard frost at nights. Sunny but cold days. S. wind.

24. Thur. 24. John came down last night with word that we could not thresh this morning. The machine takes a long time to mend but we drove up about 10 A.M. & we got threshing about 11.30 & kept on all day. I came down to E.H. at night to do chores. Hard frost, nights. S.E. wind.

25. Fri. 25. I got up to the corner as soon as I could & got J.P. to help us to save chaff. We had about half an hours run after dinner & then they went to E. Dixons, & John helped. Joe went home. A P.C. from J.J. Brown about wheat. Threatening, A.M. Drizzling, P.M. S.E. wind.

26. Sat. 26. John at E. Dixons threshing. I did chores & then started to Barrie with buggy. I stopped at the corner & cleaned up 1/2 bus. wheat & took in for sample. J.J. Brown offered 78 c. at Minesing & Bothwell, 80 c., so he gave me bags to put the wheat in & I got S. Jacobs to bring them out. I got home about dark. Annie went with me & got a tooth out & I got 3 taken out. I shall have to get some more put in soon. S. Jeffery came. Cold raw S.E. wind, A.M. Cloudy. Finer, P.M., with N. wind.

27. Sun. 27. S.S. & meeting as usual. I drove out to Anten at night on Mr. Kennys invitation. N. Sheepwash & Lizzie came down. We had a good time, praise the Lord. but I was late home. Maybeth went with me. Fine.

28. Mon. 28. John off to D. Woods threshing. Andrew ploughing at corner. Joe at home. I did chores, drove up to the corner & engaged E. Bruce for 2 weeks for $6.00. I drew up a load of wood & took Fanning Mill & bags up to Hindles barn. Mr. Coles & James came down to see Grandma & then went up to the funeral of Mary Campbel. I drove up taking Maybeth & Alice. I found a letter from Bothwell declining to take the wheat. I got home in time to do chores. Fine but cold N. wind.

29. Tue. 29 Oct. 1889. E. Bruce came down last night & we began getting up the carrots in front. John got home from Woods threshing about 10 A.M. & Keil Lapham got the light horses to haul some wood. Fine.

30. Wed. 30. We finished the carrots about 11 A.M. & then John went up to corner farm & got Keil Lapham to help haul manure from the old barnyard. E. Bruce & I cleaned up 40 bags of wheat at Hindles. J. Hindle helped. Fine but rather cloudy.

31. Thur. 31. John & I went to Barrie with wheat, 87 bus. at 76 c., $63./ c. We got horse blankets & girths, etc., $3 - $10, to A. Foysten on seed wheat. I came home by the corner & staid to the Union prayer meeting & came home after. Drizzling, A.M. Finer, P.M.

1889: November

1. Fri. 1st Nov'r 1889. John to W. Orchard threshing. E. Bruce & I cleaned up wheat at Hindles, a few bags & a binful to clean up yet. I gave Mrs. Hindle $30.00 rent & J. Hindle $15.00 for Fanning Mill. Went over to A. Morrens with Mother which made me late home. Dark & cloudy. Fine at night.

2. Sat. 2. John & I went to Barrie with wheat, $67.30 c., 76 c. I got zinc, 50 c., for stove platform, beef, 90 c., barrel salt, $1.50. I got home in good time & did up the chores. Cloudy, A.M. Rainy, P.M.

3. Sun. 3. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Dixon did most of the speaking. Lord bless. I went up at night to the Methodist meeting. Fine but cold.

4. Mon. 4. E. Bruce, John & I went up to Hindles barn & finished cleaning up the wheat, 18 bags of gristing, 13 bags of good wheat, & 9 bags of hen feed & 2 I left for Jos. Hindle. We brought the hen feed down & then E.B. & John went up to the corner farm & cleaned up 5 bags of wheat to make a load with 13 at Hindles & then they hauled out what manure they could & got home about dark. Mr. Dixon came down. Fine but cold.

5. Tue. 5. Grandma S. birthday. We got up on good time & John got away to Stayner about 6 A.M. & I off to Barrie. I sold at the same price, 76 c., 39 bus., 20 lbs., $29.95. I got bag Apples, 50 c., Fish, 48 c., & cow ties, 50 c., sundries, 50 c. Fine but cold.

6. Wed. 6. John started ploughing No.1 N. & E.B. & I butchered a pig & then he pulled up weeds in the orchard till noon & then ploughed with John in No.1 N. I went up to the corner & wrote to T.B.S. & Mrs. H. We got the stoves arranged for winter & other chores done. Andrew finished ploughing No.1 E., all but head lands. Mama walked down home with me. Fine but cold westerly winds.

7. Thur. 7. Thanksgiving day. E.B. likes to plough. I took Johns team & took up 14 bags of peas & oats to be chopped, 5 bags of oats for horses at corner, 1 bag flour, 1 bran, 3 carrots. Andrew is off for a hunt. John chored & we rung the 2 sows, afternoon. Grandpa, Mama & the two little ones went up with me to the Thanksgiving service in Baptist Chapel. It was real good though only few were there. At night the Church was full & the meeting a success as far as we can judge. $23.49 c. collected for Salvation Army Rescue work in London. May the Good Lord bless His own Word and Work. Phillip Fuller was taken to jail. He seems to have lost his reason. Very fine but cold wind.

8. Fri. November 8th 1889. John up to Hindles to finish ploughing. E.B. in No.1 N. I went up to corner & Andrew & I fixed at the fence by the pig pen & barnyard. Fine.

9. Sat. 9. I went to Barrie taking Mama, Francey & Jane to get her teeth fixed. Took in some chickens. Sold at 35 c., $1.55 c. I got Beef, $2.00, Boots for girls, $3.50 c., Boot mending etc., $1.00, old account at Wollen Mills, 90 c. Fine.

10. Sun. 10. S.S. & meeting as usual. John & Bruce ploughing, No.1 N. I went over to Anten at night. Mr. Stokes went along. Not quite so hearty as usual. Lord bless Thine own Word & Work. Late home & very tired. Fine.

11. Mon. 11. Maybeths birthday. I did chores, taglocked sheep, etc. John & Bruce finished No.1 N. I went up to corner & chored there. G. Ploughright got his ram lamb, $3.50 & 50 c. I allowed him for taking 2 sheep to Phelpston in summer. Keil Lapham got the horses to draw sawdust & turnips. Andrew & I bagged up 8 bags potatoes for Mrs. Tench & 9 bags for Alonza Knapp & I took them over to Wm. Johnstons celler for him which made me late home. I took 3 cows from Tomlinsons for $50.00. Fine & sunny.

12. Tue. 12. John & Bruce ploughing behind T.B.S. old barn. I took up to little team & let Keil Lapham have them to draw wood & Andrew & I got the rest of the potatoes picked over by noon. Afterward I went down to B. Tracys & station on business for Grandma R. which took up the rest of the day. Andrew put up Tomlinsons cattle to fatten. Fine.

13. Wed. 13. John & Bruce ploughing between showers. I went up to corner & after doing some chores I went down to see Mrs. Fuller & spoke to Heman Coles & his wife. At night I went to Wm. Webbers & got the scraper & brought down chopp from Malcolms. Rainy.

14. Thur. 14. I went up to the corner & Andrew & I banked up the house & did other chores & afternoon he ploughed some in No.3 W. clover sod. I staid to Union prayer meeting & then brought down the team. John & E.B. scraping out ditch on concession. Heard of Wm. Bremner coming back. Rainy. Cold & squalls of snow.

15. Fri. 15. E.B. went to corner with old team & waggon. He helped Andrew to cover potatoe pits & took 11 bus. of peas down to Phillip Fullers for Henry to feed his pigs with John. Took 2 heifers & Daisy & a steer up to the corner & put Daisy & steer up to fatten & then ploughed sod on T.BS. place against bush. I went to town with buggy taking Mrs. Fuller along. I did some business for neighbours & got home about 4.40 P.M. Cold & tired & hungry. Expences, boot mending, etc., $1.76. Very cold & wintry.

16. Sat. 16. John & E.B. went up to corner with me & staid to cut wood. We got Johns sheep from Peter Knapp, 3 ewes & 3 lambs. I went down to W. Webbers with scraper & then called at corner farm & brought down oat sheaves. Afternoon I leveled what was done with scraper on the road on Thursday. Got down a load of wood & did other chores. Fine but hard frost.

17. Sun. 17. Freds birthday, Lord bless. S.S. & meeting as usual. Harry Coles came down & went back with me to the meeting past Anten. "Ordered in all things and sure." Lord bless Thine own Word & Work & guide arright. Frosty nights. Sunny days.

18. Mon. 18 November 1889. John & E.B. cutting wood in slash. I did chores & fenced in the south end of hte strawstack as the cattle had undermined it. Afternoon I helped the boys cutting wood in the slash. Tried to burn some brush but it is too damp. Hard frost last night.

19. Tue. 19. We just chored, A.M., for it rained pretty steadily. Afternoon E.B. finished ploughing Grandpas orchard & John ploughed sod against the bush. E.B. helped me up with Blossom & 2 young cattle to the corner after he finished ploughing orchard & then he brought down Pruney. She is going dry. I brought down the old horses & little plough. Heavy rains, A.M. Fine, P.M.

20. Wed. 20. E.B. & John began ploughing after 9.30 A.M. I salted sheep & did other chores. Doubtful, not written up for a while [last sentence seems to be refer to his entry in the diary for this date]. Rainy till 9 A.M. Fine till noon.

21. Thur. 21. I did up chores. John & E.B. ploughing against bush feild. I went up to corner & spent most of the time at Grandma Rs with Mr. Hall, City Missionary from Toronto, & spoke to Mr. Bremner about going to fetch Wm. from station when he comes. Union prayer meeting in Methodist Chapel. Toronto Missions & Gospel address. Dark & drizzling. Rain warm.

22. Fri. 22. John & E.B. ploughing. After doing Chores I went up to corner with team & waggon (intending) to clean up a load of wheat for town tomorow. Heard that Wm. Bremner & family were at Barrie & he hired a rig & got out about dark. Mr. Hall had a good meeting tonight. Praise the Lord. Dark & drizzling. Heavier rain at night.

23. Sat. 23. John & E.B. ploughing. I went to town with wheat, 39 bus., 30 lbs., sold at 77 c., $30.40 c. I brought home Wm. Bremners luggage which made me rather late. Mr. Hall gave a good address on 23 Psalm. Lord bless. Dark & drizzling. Colder.

24. Sun. 24. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Hall spoke on Holy Spirit. Baptism in. Annointing of. Sealing of. Filling, "and when there were no more empty vessles the oil stayed." I went to Anten at night. Cold & some finer.

25. Mon. 25. I went to town with 2 sheep which I sold to Wm. Hubbard, $9.00. I got $1 Beef, $3.50 repairing watch, $4.00 Francy's teeth. Wm. & Mr. Bremner went with me so we brought out his stove. A good meeting at night. Mr. Hall spoke on Love of God. Lord bless. Cold & rather wintry.

26. Tue. 26. Mr. Hall came down with us last night & I took him down to the station this morning. Lord bless. John & Bruce ploughing. Grandpa helped me to bag up some oats & peas & I took them up to be chopped & afternoon Andrew & I drew manure on to Grandma R's garden. Cold & wintry. Warmer at night.

27. Wed. 27. A white world this morning and more snow coming. John & Bruce took the last of the young cattle up to the corner farm. Helped Andrew to put them into place & tie them all up. I put in most of the day fixing up a rack for the lambs and doing other chores. S.E. wind with snow. [Grown] colder, night.

28. Thur. 28 November 1889. The S.E. gale increased with more snow. After doing chores we drove up to the corner farm & cleaned up wheat. I drove down home at night to do chores & then went back again to Union prayer meeting. Mr. Knox asked me for the 29th. S.E. gale with snow. Colder.

29. Fri. 29. We got up to the corner as soon as we could and got a kettle over from Mr. Orchards & set up to heat water. We butchered 4 of the pigs which took us till nearly dark and then came home to feed up. Some heavy snows. N.W. wind.

30. Sat. 30. John & Bruce went up to corner. Bruce took Flora heifer & John took team & 6 bags of flour for Uncle A.R. They brought down some hardwood logs & cut up for wood & then cleared away the snow & lumber that fell onto the hay stack at west end of barn. The weight of snow broke it down on Friday. I went to town with 2 pigs, 408 lbs. at $5.75, $23.45 c. I paid Bemrose $25.00 for the harness we got last spring. The sleighing was rather heavy, A.M. Good, P.M. Saw Edwards about T.B.S. Notes. B. of Toronto. Fine with some sunshine. Freezing hard at night.

1889: December

1. Sun. 1st December 1889. S.S. & meeting as usual. Harry Coles came down with us & I drove back with him to Anten meeting. Not very encouraging. Lord help & bless. Fine but wintry.

2. Mon. 2. We butchered Grandpa's pig & did other chores, A.M. & afternoon John, E.B. & I drove over to O.F. Wrights sale. I got an old pair of Bobsleighs, $5.25 c. I drove up to corner at night & settled with Alonza Knapp for pork & potatoes, $17.00. Soft & slushy.

3. Tue. 3. We got up to the corner as soon as we could & John took the load of wheat that was cleaned up down to the station & E.B., Andrew, & I cleaned up 3 other loads making in all 199 bus., 44 lbs. We got it all down to the station in good time & as I was feeding up at night, John Grisbrook tottered into the barn sick. He asked me to take him to Dr. Bremners so I hitched to the cutter at once. Dr. Bremner gave him some medecine & then John asked me to drive him down to Mrs. Taylors. She did not want to kep him but agreed to let him stay for the night. "Lord bless." Clear & sunny but cold.

4. Wed. 4. John & B. drawing peas in straw from Grandpa's barn, A.M. Afternoon we drove up to the corner & got some dung hauled to the potatoe pits & then got ready for cutting oat sheaves. Got cutting box from W. Orchard & Horsepower from Peter Knapps. Joseph Hayter gave me $16.00 on Andrews sheep ($2.00 to come yet) & he gave me a Note payable in a year for $20.00. Young folks off to A. Morrens at night. Fine but wintry.

5. Thur. 5. We got up to the corner as soon as we could and finished cutting oat sheaves by noon. John & B. cleaned up the screenings of wheat, 14 bags, & then came down home & cleaned up 5 bags of Goose. I rigged up the bobsleighs I got from O.F. Wrights and John drove up to the corner again with the goose wheat to be ready for Stayner tomorow. I drove up to Union prayer meeting. Some rains & snow. Mildish.

6. Fri. 6. John off to Stayner. E.B. choring. I drove up to the corner & brought Mama down & afternoon we butchered 2 pigs. John got home about 4 P.M. & then he, Bruce & young folks went off to Barrie with S. Jacobs's & others. Home 3.30. Rather stormy, A.M. Fine, P.M.

7. Sat. 7. December 1889. We drew up some wood from slash & E.B. threshed peas afternoon & I drove up to the corner and fixed up a rack in the sheep pen & did other chores. Soft.

8. Sun. 8. S.S. & meeting as usual, 116 Ps. We all staid home, P.M. & at night had a Bible reading on the Lords coming. Lord bless thine own word. Heavy rains, clear at night.

9. Mon. 9. We went up to corner farm taking 6 bags of oats to mix with wheat screenings. We made 11 bags & took them over to be chopped. John & E.B. staid up to cut wood & I took Sarah Jeffery down to Elizas & had a chat & called at corner coming home to speak to Grandma R. Afternoon I went back to (11 Con.) look up some saw logs but did not find many. Fine & clear & soft. Snow going fast.

10. Tue. 10. John & B. took up team & waggon & put in the rest of the day cutting barn logs. I put in most of the day fixing up pig pens & rigging up for Grandpas hens. Mr. Garrett, a Book Agent, came at night & told us that Cote died in Barrie last night. Cold S.E. wind. Sleet at night.

11. Wed. 11. John came down this morning to tell me about Cote's funeral & I took Dick & buggy & went to Barrie to meet them about 2 miles out. We went on to Midhurst where he was buried by C. of E. minister. I came home by the corner & saw the boys & then got home about 4 P.M. to do the chores. John has gone to Heman Coles's tonight with the girls. William J. Jeffery has a daughter. Cold N.W. wind but not freezing.

12. Thur. 12. T.B.S. birthday. John & E.B. cutting wood at corner. I chored, fixed up buildings, etc. John brought down chopp & we drove up again after tea & I got the money from P. Knapp for wheat & settled for seed wheat I got from him in the fall. Gave Grandma R. the ballance on last years rent, $74.00. Union prayer meeting. Fine & softish.

13. Fri. 13. We went back to bush against 11 Con. & cut & made roads to some sawlogs. I drove up to corner at night & settled with J. Chappel & gave A. Ronald $30.00 on store bill. Mr. Bremner settled for pork, $4.25. Rather stormy. Freezing.

14. Sat. 14. We went to the woods again & cut some more sawlogs but they are very poor & hard to get at. Old Mr. Crawford came to see me about some trouble he has with his son James. (Lord help). Afternoon I drove up to the corner and James Crawford was there so I had a talk with him & hope all will be well with them now. I gave Alfred Foyster $15, the ballance due him on seed wheat. Home about dark & after tea, Charlie Jeffery came from Owen Sound surprising us all. Snowy, A.M. Fine, P.M. but cold.

15. Sun. 15. Sunday School & meeting as usual, Rom. 12 & 13. "Love worketh no ill." Mama went to Aunt Bessies & afternoon I walked over to H. Tracys to see him about the difficulty with A. Johnson. I went to Methodist meeting at night. "Your Fathers did eat manna & are dead." Fine & rather soft.

16. Mon. 16. I left John choring & E.B. threshing peas & went up to the corner to go to S. Jacobs's to see if he could help us getting out timber for barn but found he had gone to Barrie. I had a long talk at Mr. Bremners & expect Wm. Bremners wife will take some active hart in Church work soon. (Good Lord guide for Thy Name sake). I saw Jas. Johnston about H. Tracy & Alvin Johnston & called to see T. Stokes but he was not in after getting home. I hung door & made another for woodshed. Young folks up to Mr. Orchards for evening. Lord bless them. Soft & slushy. Dark & cloudy.

17. Tue. 17. I got away to see S. Jacobs as soon as I could but he was away so I am to get word when he comes back. I saw Cameron at Minesing & he asked me about hay. I let him have a load & partly agreed to take lumber from him for barn. I spent the afternoon choring. Dark & cloudy. Some rains.

18. Wed. 18. Charlie, Jeffery & Sarah took Norm & buggy to go to Mr. Coles's. John went up to corner to get chalk line, drawing knife & axe and brought word that Uncle Sam cannot come. I went to see Mr. Phillips & John P. came afternoon and we got some sticks ready but it is rather rainy. I went to E.C. S.S. Social & had a good time. Dark & cloudy, A.M. Some showers, P.M.

19. Thur. 19. Spencer Croley & Mr. Collins (J.P. hewing) came today & we got out several peices but it is hard to get and the days ar short. I drove up to Union prayer meeting and we had a good time. "Should unconverted means be used in S.S. work?" Some clearer weather.

20. Fri. 20. We began at the timber again but steady rain came on so we had to quit before we had done much. Jessie Castor came & he ground up axes. E.B. threshed peas & John chored. Steady rain & hail, S.E.

21. Sat. 21. John & E.B. cut roads to timber. I took up 11 bags oats & peas to be chopped & 4 bags of wheat screenings from corner farm & brought down a load of wood. I chored & fixed up things, P.M. Fine & some colder.

22. Sun. 22. S.S. & meeting as usual. 1 John 3 Ch. ("Love & Love not"). I went up to meeting at night but heard that A. Morren was very sick so I drove over to see him. He is a little better. Lord bless. Sleet last night [Pres.]. Soft, A.M. Cold. High N.W. wind, P.M.

23. Mon. 23. Jessie Castor, S. Crowley, & Mr. Collins came & we got a good day at the timber. I squared up with Mr. Collins at night ($3.00 to him). Fine.

24. Tue. 24. John, E.B. & I went to corner taking a load of carrots. We intended butchering a steer & a pig but the folks the beef was for would rather wait for colder weather so we just killed the pig. I saw John Kerfoot & he gave me $1.50 for Bull service & Mr. Orchard settled up for pasture, $8.10 c. and I paid him for Barley, 2 1/2 bus. at 65 c., $1.62, Apples, 75 c. E.B. & I got home about 3.30 P.M. & did up chores but John did not face the heavy rains but staid up with Andrew. Heavy rains all day. S.E. wind.

25. Wed. 25 December 1889. We got our chores done as soon as we could. I let off some water from fall wheat, No.3 S. & John drove up to the corner to get Grandma R., Jeanie Pitt & Andrew. John got down at breakfast time so he got his Santa Claus, then Uncle Alfred Morren & family & Uncle Sam & family came to dinner and went home soon after 4 P.M. & our young folks went down to S. Jacobs to spend the evening. I wrote to T.B.S. Fine with cool N.W. wind. No frost till night.

26. Thur. 26. Spencer Croly & Mr. Collins came & we went back to work at the timber but a heavy gale with snow came on & we had to quit. I took Grandma R. up to corner with buggy and staid up to Union prayer meeting. Mrs. Bremner Jr. took part, Lord bless & guide. Grandma R. squared up the bill for the work I had done getting old buildings down & laying foundation for the new ones, etc., $78.00. I gave old Mr. Orchard $32.00 for Alberts threshing bill. Windy & cold.

27. Fri. 27. Jesse Castor came & we got a good day at the timber but there is a good bit to get out yet. Light snow, A.M. Fine, P.M.

28. Sat. 28. Jesse Castor came again. 13 peices to make yet. Fine, a little light snow. Hard frost last night. Softer today. Gave J. Castor $2.00. Rather fine.

29. Sun. 29. S.S. & meeting as usual. I went down to S. Jacob's to dinner & then he drove me to Craighurst Presbyterian service, Dan VI- & 9 - everlasting righeous. Midhurst at night. Home about 10 P.M. Praise the Lord. Some warm showers with thunder. Cold at night.

30. Mon. 30. We drove up to corner & butchered steer & afternoon John & E.B. drew down 2 loads of peas from old barn. Mama & I spent the evening at Mr. Bremners. Snowy & rather cold.

31. Tue. 31. John, E.B. & Jesse Castor at the timber. I drove up to the corner and cut up steer, 124 lbs., hind qr. to Mr. Kenny at 5 1/2 c., $7.37 c., 137 lbs. to A. Knapp, $7.53 c., 75 lbs. to Mr. Young at 4 1/2, $3.37 c., 16 lbs. to J Chappel, 20 lbs. to Degenat, 5 c., $1.00. I got home at noon & did chores & then went out to the bush to the timber and at night went out to watch night service. Home at 1 A.M. Fine & rather wintry.

1890: January

1. Wed. 1st January 1890. Jesse Castor, Mr. Collins, & Spencer Croley came & we got a good forenoon at the timber but it rained a good bit so we did not go out afternoon. Light rains. Heavier, P.M.

2. Thur. 2. We got a good day at the timber. James Cameron sent for a load of hay. We have got out about all we want of timber now. Spencer Croley is getting 2 sticks, 42 ft. long. I hurt my knee so did not go out to Union prayer meeting. A few light showers. Warm.

3. Fri. 3. We all went back to the bush and cut roads to the last timber we made. Afternoon I drove up to the corner & cleaned up some wheat ready for town tomorow. John & B[-] threshing peas & cleaning out pig pen. Finer. Warm.

4. Sat. 4 January 1890. Twenty one years married. "Ebenezer." I got away to the corner in good time & put on 15 bags of wheat & went to Barrie. 32 bus. at 79 c., $25.28 c., steer hides, $1.86 c., paid taxes, $47.64., Grandpas, $2.04 c., 15 c., [flail] leather, 15 c., figs, repairs for drill, $2.95 c., lunch, 15 c., stable, 15c. I left watches to be repaired. Home about 7 P.M. Cold S.E. wind. Hard frozen roads. Sows.

5. Sun. 5. S.S. & meeting as usual. 39 Ps. "Hundred years to come." (Mr. Stokes, "where Spirit liberty"). I spent the afternoon at Mr. Bremners and walked home about 7 P.M. Heavy rains.

6. Mon. 6. John & Bruce took some carrots up to the corner & then got out some potatoes & put into Grandma R's cellar & did some other chores. I took Dick up to be shod & left him up with Dr. Bremner & brought his beast down. She is lame. I gave vote for councilmen. Went up to Church business meeting at night. Some rains. Colder.

7. Tue. 7. John & Bruce cutting wood at corner. I took Charlie & Nell up to corner after doing chores & took up another bed. Brought down a load of wood & took up 8 bags of peas & oats to chopp. The young folks are going to Methodist tea meeting tonight. Some snow. Mild.

8. Wed. 8. I did chores, hung door on woodshed & fixed up generally. John came down afternoon to say that Hubbard had come out to see the fat cattle so I left him here to do chores & went up to corner. I sold him 4 fat cows for $110.00. He gave me $10.00 on them. I am to take them in Monday week. I staid up to childrens meeting in Methodist Church at night. E. Bruce threshed peas at corner when storm began. Cold N.W. wind squalls with snow. Frightful storm about 4 P.M.

9. Thur. 9. E. Bruce threshing peas at corner. John & I rigged up waggon & put on a load of hay & I took it to Camerons Mill. I am to get lumber for it. I did not get home till 4 P.M. I drove up to Union prayer meeting at night taking sleighs. Snowy at times. Cold S.E. wind.

10. Fri. 10. My birthday, 47. Ebenezer. It took me a long while to do up chores all alone. I got up to the corner as soon as I could & did a little business. Paid M. Young blacksmiths bill, $8.50 c. & $3.50 c. for beef. He got $12.00 in all. H. Burdge came down & put on the storm windows, $5.00, P.M. 3 more to hay. John took the horse power down to O.F. Wrights & then he & Bruce covered the potatoe pits. Dr. Bremner came down, P.M. He is keeping Dick for Barrie tomorow. Cold & snowy all day. S.E. wind.

11. Sat. 11. We got down 6 loads of peas from Grandpas barn & I took Mama over to Aunt Bessies at night. She has been sick all day & Alfred is very poorly. Snowy & stormy from S.E.

12. Sun. 12. S.S. & meeting as usual. Consecration. Heman & Harry & T. Stokes spoke. Also Mr. Bremner. Praise the Lord. I rested awhile afternoon and then drove over to Anten. Lord bless Thine own Word & work. Mr. Bruce went with me at night. Mild, A.M. Cold raw S.E. wind, P.M.

13. Mon. 13 January 1890. Soft & slushy this morning so John & Bruce went up to corner to cut up the old barn timber. Came on stormy about 10 A.M. so they threshed peas. I chored & afternoon took Nell & Dick up to be shod but Mr. Young was busy so I did some business at the corner & left Dick up for Dr. Bremner tomorow & brought down Norm & Nell. Mr. Young shod Dicks hind feet after night. I left 6 bags of stuff to chopp. Very soft till 9 A.M. then cold high N.W. wind with fierce snow squalls.

14. Tue. 14. I started John off to Mill with a load of hay & he got back about 4 P.M. with a small load of lumber. The sleighing is tough. I rigged up a rack on the old bob sleighs & afternoon I took Nell & Charlie up to be shod but found a lot of horses waiting & heard that Samuel Kerfoot body was coming down on afternoon train to be buried at Minesing so Mama & I went down to meet it & followed to burying ground. I went back to the corner & brought down a load of cut stuff. Very fine and pleasant. Raw at night with wind from S.E.

15. Wed. 15. John & E.B. threshing peas in Grandpas barn. I went up to the corner and got Nell shod and afternoon did some reading and writing. I went up at night with old horses & sleigh and brought down chopp. Andrew is not well so E.B. staid up to do chores and take the grey horse over for Dr. Bremner. Rather soft. Tough sleighing.

16. Thur. 16. John went to Camerons Mill for lumber. E.B. threshed peas, A.M. & both he & John went for lumber. Afternoon I drove up to Union prayer meeting with Netty & cutter. I wrote a reply to the Advance about J. Pitts fine. Lord be pleased to bless & guide. Cold high N.W. wind with snow squalls.

17. Fri. 17. E.B. threshed Grandpas peas, A.M. & John went up and got his horses shod & he & E.B. went for a load each from the Mill afternoon. I went over to Budds Mill to see some lumber of Adairs & then went back to 11 Con. to see him. He will not take hay for it so I concluded not to take the lumber. I finished threshing Grandpas peas & did other chores, P.M. Fine & pleasant but wintry.

18. Sat. 18. John & E.B. hauled 300 rails that I had promised E. Jones & afternoon went up to corner and cut wood and brought a load down at night. I drove up to the corner and saw D. Maw about shingles. He took $3.75 off & then I took Mama down to see Lizzie Sheepwash. She is troubled with a gathered breast. Lord bless & heal. Rather mild.

19. Sun. 19. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested & read, P.M. and went up to hear Mr. Knox at night. Lord bless Thine own Word & work. Mild.

20. Mon. 20. John & E.B. took the 4 fat beasts to Barrie. I drove in taking 3 lambs for Lowe. Hubbart gave me $100.00, $10.00 paid before. We got home about 5 P.M. taking out some beef & a barrel of apples for Grandma R. Soft with heavy rains before 6 A.M. Fine after till noon then cold N.W. gale with snow.

21. Tue. 21 January 1890. John & E.B. cutting wood for Engine to press hay. McKinlay brought the press down & we put it in the barn. I went up to corner taking 8 bags peas & oats to chop & brought down the other sleigh & barrells for water hauling & did other chores. I helped H. Fuller to measure the land by Pres. Church. Wintry. Some snow squalls.

22. Wed. 22. E.B. splitting wood cut yesterday. John drew A.M. & got a load of lumber from Camerons Mill, P.M. I knocked of boards & gathered up peices round T.B.S.s old barn & we drew it down here afternoon. The Engine came & we had to draw water. I went up at night & got the chopp & paid Mrs. Cota $8.50 blacksmiths bill. Cold N. wind but clear & fine.

23. Thur. 23. The men came early and we got pressing in good time but the Engine did not work well & they had to go to Barrie about 10 A.M. to get inspirator fixed. Bruce threshed. John mended horse blankets. I read some and went up to Union prayer meeting at night. III Phillipians. S.E. wind with snow after 9 A.M. Finer, P.M.

24. Fri. 24. Bruce choring & threshing peas. John hauling wood from corner. I drove up with cutter & took Alice down to see Lizzie Sheepwash & went from there to A. Orchard & Budge's where Geo. Cain has just finihsed pressing. He says he will send me word in about a week the names of parties who deal in hay in Toronto. I got home about 12.30 taking down 2 bags of potatoes from corner. I chored P.M. Pleasant winter weather. Some snow fell.

25. Sat. 25. John took a load of hay over to Camerons & brought some lumber back. Uncle Sam got 2 loads of hay from T.B.S. old barn floor (poor). E. Bruce split wood & chored. Fine, rather wintry.

26. Sun. 26. S.S. & meeting as usual. (W. Bremner, Isaiah VI). (Mr. B'er, "& the oil stayed") 2nd Kings IV). When I got home I found I was "Gripped" with Russian Influenza. Soft at night.

27. Mon. 27. John & E.B. went up to corner & cut wood. Old Mr. Jones got 15 1/2 bus. peas from there. John seems to have the Grippe tonight & Alice has been in bed all day & Maybeth is sick tonight. Cold N.W. wind with snow.

28. Tue. 28. E.B. went to corner & stopped the Pressers from coming & brought down Ruth & Annie. John, Maybeth, Alice & I are sick. E.B. split wood, etc. Very cold last night. A little milder today.

29. Wed. 29. John, Alice, Maybeth & I still sick. E.B. put in the day choring. Andrew came down & they got a load of hay from T.B.S. old barn. We shall not likely press any more this week. Wrote to Woodbridge & T.B.S. Fine & mild.

30. Thur. 30. E.B. went up to the corner last night to go to town with Dr. Bremner so John & I had the chores to do. We are all some better. Mrs. Kenny came down to enquire for us. John went up to corner after dinner & brought down a pressing call to go & see Mr. Wright so Mama & I went. Lord bless thine own Word & Work. Wrote to W. Collins. Very mild all day. Windy at night but soft.

31. Fri. 31. E.B. came down this morning. We are all a little better I think but not able to do much. Lord guide us aright in all things. Soft & cloudy.

1890: February

1. Sat. 1st February 1890. We are still nursing ourselves. John accidently stuck his jackknife into his thigh, a sharp cut which put him to bed again. E.B. drove up to the corner to see how things were going on. Andrew & Fancy are well so far but Grandma R. is failing.

2. Sun. 2 February 1890. I did not go out today. Mama staid up with Grandma R. & Aunt Grace came down. Andrew seems to be sickening. Softish.

3. Mon. 3. As soon as the chores were done I sent E.B. up to the corner and from there down to tell McKinley not to come before Thursday to Press. He fed the cattle up there and then brought Andrew down for he has the grip. E.B. went up after dinner to feed the things and thresh between times. Wm. Bremner came down at night and examined us all round and left medicine. It was very kind of him. Mama is in bed today. Mild & pleasant.

4. Tue. 4. After doing chores John went up to corner and got more medicine. I sent a letter & "Grace & Truth" down to Mr. Wrights. Lord bless. I wrote out reply to Beardsley in Advance. Lord guide aright. Mama is still in bed but I think better and the girls are livelier. S.E. wind & sleety.

5. Wed. 5. E.B. is at the corner threshing peas & doing chores. John is choring down here & I am trying to get better. John took 8 bags of peas & oats up to chopp and went down to tell McKinley not to come till Mon. Cold & blustering.

6. Thur. 6. We cannot do much. Mama is better and I think we all are. I wrote to Northern Advance. Calmer & milder.

7. Fri. 7. John went up to corner and sent E.B. down and afternoon he & I went out to Adair's and got out 28 rafters with old Charlie. I am very weak but not much the worse I hope. Heman came down about H. Tracy's case. He is acting very shamefuly. Lord help. Fine with snow at night.

8. Sat. 8. E.B. & I went up to the bush with old Charlie and had all but 20 rafters out by noon so I left him with his dinner to eat in Adairs shanty & came home. Andrew is better so he drove up to corner to send John down but I found his leg was very weak and sore so I told him to rest it. I took Grandpa over to see Mr. Wright and when I got back found E.B. had hurt his eye badly in the bush so I drove him up to Dr. Bremners. Saw Grandma R. She has been very sick. Fine & pleasant till 5 P.M. Stormy after.

9. Sun. 9. S.S. & meeting as usual (Ezek. IX. sigh & cry). I rested P.M. The young folks went out at night. Lord guide & keep. Fine.

10. Mon. 10. I went down to McKinleys and agreed to Press, so we got started afternoon, making 7 1/2 tons altogether by night. I drove up at night & engaged Mr. Collins for tomorow. Wrote D.P.C. to Mr. Nasmith. Wintry. S.E. wind.

11. Tue. 11. We got Pressing in good time making 20 tons in all by night. Johns leg is very stiff so I told him to rest it. E.B. is still unable to work with his eye but Andrew came down which gave us a chance to get water and wood hauled but it is a busy time. Fine but not soft.

12. Wed. 12. We got pressing in good time and finished the thirty tons by 5 P.M. and I got the Press moved over to O.F. Wrights andd home again by 8 P.M. I am very tired but thankful. Rather stormy.

13. Thur. 13. I drove down to Waltons with 4 bags flour for R.A. Thomas. I saw H. Tracy & rode up to the corner with him. The Good Lord lead him aright. I got down home as soon as I could and hitched up to bobsleighs and got on a small load of hay and after an early dinner E.B. & I went to Camerons Mill but the sleighing went so fast that we had very tough work but I got the hay there & we left part of our loads of lumber by Willow Creek bridge. I drove up with buggy at night to Union prayer meting, 1st Peter 2 ch. Lord bless. Very warm & sunny. Freezing at night.

14. Fri. 14. We butchered the old sow, A.M., and afternoon I went over to see Mr. Wright. He seems better. I drove up at night to Teachers meeting. Rainy.

15. Sat. 15. I got off to Barrie with the old sow & called at the corner and got one of Johns sheep which he sold to Mr. Lowe and took it in with me. I could only get $4.50 c. bid for the pig but she made $17.32 weighing 385 lbs. I sent Mamas letter to George town and a D.P.C. to McIntosh & Co., Toronto. Brought out a barrel of apples greening. I am owing Grandma R. 2 pails & Aunt Annie 1 pail which will make a hole into them. I got home about 4 P.M. Cold blustering N. wind. Colder, P.M.

16. Sun. 16. S.S. & meeting as usual. (Gal - V ch. Fruits). I rested afternoon and drove out to Anten at night. We had a good time. Praise the Lord. Cold N.W. wind, A.M. Milder, P.M.

17. Mon. 17. After doing chores, E.B. & I went up to the corner and cleaned up some peas & 22 bags of wheat & got the horses shoes sharpened. Paid H. Burge $3.00 on windows. I went down to A. Johnsons. Lord lead aright. Took 557 lbs. peas to Mr. Collins. A few light snows.

18. Tue. 18. I went to town with the wheat, 47 bus. at 78 c., $36.66. Saw Aunt Jane awhile about Mrs. Fletchers death. Saw A. Armstrong and he asked me to bring out the coffin for his mother. She died last night so I had to wait for it. I called and spoke to old Mrs. Wattie. Lord bless her and all of them. Cold rain. S.E. wind. A little rain & snow. Freezing.

19. Wed. 19. We helped John away with stuff to chopp & then E.B. & I took old Charly up to the bush and began getting out the timber. The old horse manages pretty well better I think than oxen. Fine.

20. Thur. 20. We got out a lot more timber, A.M. & afternoon John & E.B. went to mill & got 2 loads of lumber. I went up to Mrs. Armstrongs funeral and staid for the meeting at night but it was too stormy for the people to come out so I had a talk with James Johnston and walked home at night. Very stormy, A.M. Gale increased, P.M., with snow.

21. Fri. 21. John & E.B. went to mill & got 4 loads today but Johns sleigh uncoupled so he had to leave his load in the edge of swamp. E.B. took a small load of hay, P.M. Andrew & I cleaned up 2 loads of wheat & I drove up again at night to the teachers meeting. Lord bless and guide aright. Calmer. Some snow.

22. Sat. 22. John's leg is badly swelled where he cut it awhile ago, so E.B. came up with his team and we both went to Barrie with wheat, 36 bus., 10 lb., mixed wheat at 73 c. & 47 bus., 45 lbs., at 76 1/2 c., in all $62.85. I came home by the corner and got the sleighs fixed & brought down cut stuff. E.B. got away early & brought home a load of lumber from mill. Rather stormy, A.M. Fine, P.M.

23. Sun. 23 February 1890. S.S. & meeting as usual. (Hezekiah, Mr. B.). James 1 ch. Word of God. I staid up and went to see W.B. & he got me to go with him to A. Greensides but they had moved away so he drove round by our house and saw Johns leg. He went up at night and got it bandaged & staid & Andrew came down. Mild with soft snow, P.M.

24. Mon. 24. We started E.B. off with hay to the mill and then Andrew & I got the snow swept off the baled hay and covered it with peastraw & hay and then unloaded the lumber that E.B. brought on Sat. & then got the load that John lost in the swamp on Friday afternoon. I took a load of hay over to James Camerons farm and then took a run down to Parr's Camp to see if I could sell hay but could not manage it but promised to take down 7 bags of potatoes. E.B. and Andrew took 4 bags, 410 lbs., down to Waltons for R.A. Thomas's, 2 bags to Jesse Castor, 240 lbs., and brought down the remainder here. I promised to go down & hold a meeting at Parrs Camp on Sun. Soft and like rain.

25. Tue. 25. I sent E.B. up to the corner to get the potatoes for the camp folk & Andrew & I went up to the swamp and got out some more timber. Afternoon I took the potatoes down to the camp & then we drew some 29 rafters from Adairs swamp. Heard of Mr. O.F. Wrights death. Soft & foggy. Warmer, P.M.

26. Wed. 26. Heavy rains last night and the roads all broken up so E.B. threshed peas & I went up to corner and John who is staying there to get his leg doctored helped me to clean up the last of the wheat, 32 bags, and about 8 of gristing. Cold N.W. wind. Freezing.

27. Thur. 27. E.B. & I got drawing rafters but after 2 trips I took Mama over to see Mrs. Wright and we got back about noon. We did not go to the funeral. Andrew took Netty up to the corner to stay in the stable up there as we are short of room here. John came down and Andrew stayed up. Johns leg is better. He drew timber from skidway & E.B. & I drew out of swamp with Charlie. Went up to Union prayer meeting at night. Some soft snow. Mild.

28. Fri. 28. We began at the timber hauling again but a steady rain came on so John went up to the corner farm & got the new fanning mill & we cleaned up wheat down here. I drove up at night with sleigh to be ready for town tomorow. Warm. Steady rain, A.M. Finer, P.M.

1890: March

1. Sat. 1st March 1890. I went to town with the wheat on waggon, 49 bus., 51 lbs., at 76 c., $37.85. Had an offer from J.J. Brown for hay. It would be $6.00 per ton at Minesing station. I came back by the corner & changed the waggon for the sleigh. Cold N. wind with snow.

2. Sun. 2. S.S. & meeting as usual, VIII Gen. - "The Lord smelled a sweet savour." Afternoon I drove down to Swamps Camp having heard that it was broken up. I found 6 men there & after speaking to them they asked me to come down at night which I did and found a good gathering of men there who had come expecting to work again tomorow. I was greatly helped. Praise the Lord. Home about 9.30 P.M. Keen N.W. wind but sunny at times.

3. Mon. 3. I started John off to Camerons Mill with hay on the waggon. He had to go round by the corner. I drove up & got Dick & Nells shoes sharpened. E.B. went along & threshed peas up there. John drew some timber, P.M. Wrote to Mr. Hall. Calm & rather mild.

4. Tuesday 4th March 1890. John went down to Spencer Croleys & got 2 sticks of timber, 42 ft. long & I went up to the corner taking 8 bags of wheat screenings to chopp & brought E.B. down & we got out some sawlogs & John drew them over to Budds Mill but we do not make good speed at it. (Young folk to "Shann" meeting. Some snow squalls from S. & S.W. & N.W.

5. Wed. 5. John off to Camerons for lumber. I helped Bruce to get away with a load of hay and they both brought a small load of lumber back afternoon. We cut & drew out some sawlogs at night. Mama & I went down to Mr. Coles's to be at the Homecoming of Harry & Francess. They got home about 11 P.M. and after supper we had a few words of Christian greeting & then came home about 1.30 A.M. John drew sawlogs to Budds Mill. Very cold with snow. Fine at night & clear with sharp frost.

6. Thur. 6. We all worked at sawlogs and got them done by 3 P.M. & then got out some sleepers. We drove up to Union prayer meeting at night. Mr. Tench's farewell address. The Good Lord bless. Very cold N.W. wind. Some fine snow.

7. Fri. 7. We worked at sleepers, A.M. and afternoon E.B. and I got a grist of 18 bags Goose & fall wheat cleaned up & 11 bags of fall for market. I took the 11 bags up at night ready for town tomorow, and staid to Teachers meeting. The young folks off to a Temperance meeting at Edenvale. Cold & clear. N.W. wind.

8. Sat. 8. I went to town taking 10 bags of spring wheat from corner, 21 bags in all, 2710 lb., 625 lbs, $7.80 c. - Grandpas - sold at 70 c. and agreed to load a car with hay at Minesing at $9.00 to J.J. Brown, Toronto address. Came home through O.F. Wrights place bringing a jag of lumber that we left at Dobbins some time ago. Clear & cold but sunny.

9. Sun. 9. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Dixon spoke most of the time and came down home with us. Uncle Sam came too and we went down to the Camp together. It will likely be the last meeting. The Good Lord bless His own Word. Clear & cold but sunny.

10. Mon. 10. John & E.B. choring. I drove down to the Station to see if the car was come to load the hay on to. It was not there but we thought we might get some hauled down and stow in the freight house. I drove down to Budds Mill and they agreed to cut our logs this P.M. so John after taking 30 bales down to station, he & Bruce put on a small load, 1400 lbs., and took down to Budds Mill to pay for the sawing of the logs (he took a load over on Saturday). I got the logs drawn on to the skidway with the other team and we got 3 loads of lumber home. Soft with a little snow.

11. Tue. 11. Bruce away to Barrie on business of his own. I took 2 lambs up to the corner for S. Coles to take down to Willie Jefferys. He is going tomorow. John got the last of the lumber from Budds & 9 cedars of H. Tracys from R.R. track. I have to give him pavement stuff for them. Rainy all day.

12. Wed. 12. John & E.B. piled lumber and cleaned up wheat & I took up some stuff to chopp and brought it back at noon. Saw S. Coles off with the 2 lambs and went down to see D. Woods about hiring E.B. I offered him $10.00 for 3 mo's. We worked at getting out sleepers from the swamp, P.M. Rather rainy.

13. Thur. 13 March 1890. We worked in the swamp again getting out a lot of stuff. Mr. Lennox came down to see about Goose wheat for seed. We drove up with Democrat to Union prayer meeting. Lord bless. Very soft.

14. Fri. 14. John drew hay down to the station to be ready when the car comes. E.B. & I got out a few more sticks from the swamp, A.M., and afternoon we took the roof off T.B.S.'s old barn, and at night Mama & I drove up in buggy to Teachers meeting. Lord bless. Very soft, A.M. Colder, P.M. Frost at night.

15. Sat. 15. I went to town with 45 bus., 6 lb. wheat, at 70 c., $31.57 c. I got the P.O. Order cashed for Mama, $13.20 c. from Mrs. McGreggor. I brought out a barrel of salt, $1.60 c., and called to see Mrs. Dobbin on the road home. She is better. I came round by the corner and brought down 16 bags of cut stuff. John and Bruce drawing hay from T.B.S. old barn & John took a load over to E. Jones's. Cold N.W. wind. Freezing hard at night.

16. Sun. 16. S.S. & meeting as usual. VIII Gen. & part of IX. (Covenant). I staid at home afternoon and rested. Mama & Alice walked up at night. Roads very rough. Cold N.W. blizzard.

17. Mon. 17. I rigged up the waggon box & took in 7 lambs, $31.50 c., & 12 fowl, $2.40 c., to Hubbard. John & E.B. threshing peas down here. I got home about 5 P.M. No sleighing. Snowy, A.M. soft, P.M.

18. Tue. 18. I started John off to Stayner about 5.30 A.M. with 16 bags of wheat & then did chores. Put a patch on buggy wheel and afternoon I took Mama up to the corner and from there I went down to Maws Mill to see about shingles. He says he will not be cutting for a month but will let me have what I want for $1.00 per 1000. John did not get home till after dark. The roads are very rough. E.B. threshing at peas at corner. Cold N. wind but warm sun.

19. Wed. 19. I started John up to the corner with stuff to chopp and afternoon he took a load of hay to Camerons Mill & I went with him intending to bring 2 loads of lumber back but they had very little cut so I only got about 300 ft. He promised to have it ready in a week. Cold N.W. wind but warm in the sun.

20. Thur. 20. I took the last of Camerons mow of hay over to his farm. I had to go round by the 6 Con. so did not get home till 1.30 P.M. I chored afterward & John threshed peas down here all day. I went up to Union prayer meeting at night. May the Good Lord bless His own Word & Work. Mama was called over to Aunt Bessies. She has another son. Cold W. wind, A.M. Heavy sleety rain about 5 P.M.

21. Fri. 21. John & I went back to the timber we got out of the swamp & cut up into sleepers & pavement. Afternoon we went up to T.B.S.s old barn & took doors to peices, etc. I drove up with buggy at night to Teachers meeting. E.B. is threshing peas at corner. Soft with S.W. winds.

22. Sat. 22. Andrew & Mama off to Barrie. John & I got some sleepers hauled on the waggon but it is hard work loading them. Afternoon we drew down the clapboards and loose lumber from T.B.S.s old barn. E.B. threshing peas at the corner farm. Andrew got home about dark. Soft, A.M. Cold N.W. wind, P.M. Freezing hard at night.

23. Sun. 23 March 1890. Nine years since the house was burned. S.S. & meeting as usual. (Gen. XI ch. and Acts. 2 ch. tongues). I rested P.M. and drove out to Anten at night. Lord bless the people. I was late home on account of rough roads. Very cold N.W. wind.

24. Mon. 24. John is drawing sleepers from the swamp to the barn. I chored, etc. E.B. threshing peas at the corner. Gave Spencer Croley $5.00 for 2 sticks of [barn timber]. Cold N.W. wind. Thawing in sun.

25. Tue. 25. John drew a few more sleepers and when it got soft footing he peeled rafters & did some chores. I took Alice and Maybeth down to Dobbins to help Edith to confess to her Father that she was married. The Good Lord bless them all and lead them in paths of righteousness. We did not get home till 6 P.M. Cold, A.M. Rain about 10 A.M. Warm & sunny, P.M.

26. Wed. 26. We cleaned up some peas & bagged up 14 bags of oats & peas to chopp & I took them up to the corner and drew up a load of wood for Andrew & then brought down the chopp I left last week. John chored & threshed peas & I did up some writing business, P.M. Blustering N.W. wind. Thawing where sun shines.

27. Thur. 27. John drew up some more timber for barn. I went up to corner with buggy and took Grandma R. down to see Aunt Bessie and staid there to dinner and then took the two boys up to the corner & brought down little John who has been staying with Mama at the corner while his Mother was sick. I brought Grandma R. home again. Settled up the weighbills with A. Ronald and then Mama & I went over to Mr. Kennys to tea. Mr. Knox led the Union prayer meeting at night. God bless His own Word and Work. E.B. & Andrew cleaned up all the peas there is at the corner, & then E.B. brought down 4 sheep and helped John to cut up [some] old barn timber. Cold blustering N.W. wind. Warm in the sun.

28. Fri. 28. John & E.B. threshing peas. I chored and wrote to T.B.S. & Aunt Baldwin. I went up to Teachers meeting with sleigh. Young folks to S. of T. meeting. Easterly gale with snow.

29. Sat. 29. I went to town with cutter. Called at Dobbins going & coming. God bless. I saw J.A. Strathy, B. of Toronto, about a load for Tue. Saw J.J. Brown. He thinks there will be a car at the station soon. Saw Cameron about the lumber. He begs off while there is sleighing. Saw R.A. Thomas & he gave me $1.05 c. which he owed on flour & potatoes. I came & went through Mrs. Wrights road. John went back to the mill beyond the river for shingles. Wintry, A.M. Sunny but cold N.W. wind, P.M.

30. Sun. 30. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested awhile afternoon and then Mama & I drove down to H. Coles's to tea and from there we went on to Phelpston. We had a good meeting but were rather late home. The Holy Spirit seems to be moving the people. God bless them. Sunny but cold N.W. wind.

31. Mon. 31. John & E.B. cutting wood at T.B.S.s old barn. I went up to corner & drew 2 loads of wood for Andrew & brought down the chopp & H. Tracy got his loads of pavement for the 9 sticks of cedar John drew from the R.R. track on 10th. I mended buggy wheel, P.M. Sunny but cold. N.W. wind.

1890: April

1. Tue. 1st April 1890. I went to Barrie with buggy expecting to get some money at B. of T. but the manager acted so queerly that I came away without. I asked J.J.B. if he would advance some on the hay he bought a month ago. I have not been able to ship it for want of a car but he said he was very hard run himself and could not do it. I sent a telegram to the Upper Bank and then walked through the market & a man asked me if I would sell him a pig and while we were talking, Hubbert came and asked me if I could let him have 5 so I thought it was indication that I should sell and I agreed to bring them in tomorow. Jane went to Barrie with me so I came by Aunt Janes and got home as soon as I could. Fine & sunny but cold N.W. wind. Hard frosts at night.

2. Wed. 2. I rigged a box on the light waggon and got the 6 pigs in, and to Barrie all right and got $29.00 & $1.00 of beef for them. I lifted a note for J.A. McKinley, $35.50 for the Hay pressing ($2.00 owing yet) and got home as soon as I could. John drew a load of shingles yesterday and one today, and the young folks are gone to spend the evening with cousin Francess. Charlie came down soon after they got there. Fine & sunny but cold N.W. wind. Frost at nights.

3. Thur. 3. John & E.B. cutting wood at T.B.S.s old barn. I took the waggon up to the corner and Andrew & I got out a pit of potatoes, 19 bags good & 10 small. A steady rain came on about 4 P.M. so I left the 18 bags of good potatoes in the horse stable and brought 7 small & 1 good down home. Charlie & Francess came down. Fine & warm. Rainy, P.M.

4. Fri. 4. I think John & E.B. were cutting wood at T.B.S. [Note: previous sentence crossed out]. E.B. at W. Orchards cutting oat sheaves. I did some writing and John did some chores. They went up to S. of T. meeting at night. Soft, A.M. Colder, P.M.

5. Sat. 5. I went to town with 18 bags of potatoes. Sold at 42 c. They made 21 bags, $3.80 c. I could not get the bags emptied till near 4 P.M. which made me late home. I came back by the corner to bring some truck for my neighbours. I gave E.B. $8.00, $14.00 yet owing. Boys sawing wood at T.B.S.'s. Cold, A.M. Soft & very slushy, P.M.

6. Sun. 6. S.S. & meeting as usual. (Why should Christ rise). S. Jacobs came down & we all rested, P.M., and did not go out again at night. Rainy. Heavy at night.

7. Mon. 7. John & E.B. cleaning harness. I drove up to the corner taking Francy & bringing Mama down and then I went back to corner on horseback to let Dr. Bremner get a horse to go to town tomorow. I did some squaring up with Grandma R. about the building of the barn and staid up to Church meeting at night and slept in stable at night to watch Nell. Saw Charlie Keelie. Lord bless. Fine & sunny most of the day.

8. Tue. 8. John & E.B. worked at the harness cleaning and I went up to take Mama to the corner as Miss Robinson has come to do some sewing. I staid up & fixed up a temporary evetrough to carry water into barnyard cistern and took a rest, P.M. A P.C. from J.J. Brown about the car of hay. I gave Mr. Collins $1.80 c., being what I owe him for help pressing hay. E.B. watched Nell last night.

9. Wed. 9 April 1890. John & I went down to Station expecting to find a car there but it has not come yet. We left the load, 20 bales and came back home & got a small load down for the horses and then John took 2 more loads down & came round by the corner taking up 2 boxes from station for A.R. & bringing down some cut stuff. I sat up to watch Nell. We had to put on 2 teams to the top of the hill. Rainy, A.M. Finer & colder, P.M.

10. Thur. 10. John & E.B. went up to the corner to saw wood. I staid down here to watch Nell & do the chores. I do not feel like doing much after watching nights I did not get up to Prayer meeting as the boys are all up there. Cold N.W. wind with snow. Thaws in sunshine.

11. Fri. 11. John & E.B. cutting wood at corner. I did up the chores and Andrew came down so I got 3 hours between the sheets. My sleep in the stable is not very refreshing. Cousin Charlie came down too. Fine & getting warmer. S.E. wind all night.

12. Sat. 12. E.B. is at Barrie on his own business. John came down about 10 A.M. and so I went to bed till 2 P.M. Afterward Johnny Morren who has been here for a while seemed poorly so I took him home. Fine, warm & very summery S.E. wind.

13. Sun. 13. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested, P.M., & went on horseback to Anten Mill Methodist Chapel and had a meeting, 22 Gen. VI Heb. N. Sheepwash went with me & Charlie Jeffery went with S. Coles to Muirs house meeting & Harry & Heman went to Phelpston. Warm & summery westerly winds.

14. Mon. 14. E.B. watched Nell last night & he & I helped J. Chappel to raise the beams in his stable a log higher and then John & E.B. went up to saw at the corner & I chored and watched Nell.

15. Tue. 15. E.B. & John cutting wood at the corner & I did chores and got a sleep. Andrew came down to watch Nell. R.A. & Dawson Thomas came at night & then horses took up the stall I have been sleeping in so I laid on the couch and went out every hour. Summery days. Hard frost nights.

16. Wed. 16. I took up 12 bags of stuff to chopp and then took J. Pitts plough down to the station and afternoon I got 12 bags of oats off Heman Coles's to chopp, 960 lbs., 942 Nett. I got home about 5 P.M. and went to bed after tea but Andrew called me up soon after to Nell. We had to send over for A. Morren & H. Fuller and we were working till after ten before we got the foal away. We had to cut it through. The mare is very sick. John & E.B. slept in the stable with her. Sunny with cold N.W. wind. Hard frosts at night.

17. Thur. 17. John & E.B. went over to A. Morrens to report about the mare & then went to the corner to cut wood but they took a good sleep till noon. Andrew helped me on with some hay (1060 lbs.) for A.A. Armstrong & I took it up and afternoon I took a small load up for the horses at the corner and brought down the chopp. I walked back again to Union Prayer meeting. (Should unconverted persons pray). I heard that the car was at the station for hay. E.B. staid up to feed in the morning & then come down to the station. John, Andrew & I down here. Sunny days but cold N.W. winds with hard frosts at night.

18. Fri. 18. We got the car loaded about 6.30 P.M., 11 tons, 1303 lbs. John & E.B. had to haul 2 more loads each to make enough. I staid down at station loading. Dinner at Mr. Dobbins.

19. Sat. 19 April 1890. E.B. went to corner to help Andrew to haul wood and pile in the shed. John helped me hauling rails to fence round where the new barn is to be & keep things off the clover. Nell seems to be some better. Thank the Lord. Sunny days with cold N.W. winds & frosty nights.

20. Sun. 20. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Urquhart came last night. He came down here afternoon and I took him over to A. Morrens to tea & from there to Barrie so I did not get home till after 10 P.M. and did not get over to Anten either. Fine & sunny days. Cold N.W. winds, frosty nights.

21. Mon. 21. Andrew ploughing with old horses, No.3 W., clover sod. E.B. helped to do chores up there & then worked at getting out potatoes. I helped John away with waggon to the corner & then started him cultivating for spring wheat south of sideline. I intended bringing sheep down but found them too awkward. Put a mustard plaster on Nell. Moved Grandmas stove up to their own house. Got out some carrots. Drove up at night to see how they were getting on. John had to take the gang plough. The land was too hard for the cultivator. Sunny but cold N.W. wind. Frosty nights.

22. Tue. 22. I finished getting out carrots and took off storm windows. John cultivating & gang ploughing south feild at corner & Andrew ploughing clover sod & E.B. getting out potatoes. I went up at night and got some more clover seed. Nell seems to be getting better. Fine days but frosty nights. Cold N.W. winds.

23. Wed. 23. Looked like rain so I hurried up and sowed clover seed on No.6 N. I went up to the corner afternoon to see how things were, intending to rig up a simple harrow but think it would not be heavy enough. E.B. got out potatoes & sowed clover seed on No.2 E. John brought down potatoes & E.B. & I got down the sheep. One had lambs after getting down. Andrew drilled in Spring Wheat (Michigan). Nearly finished south feild. Some light rains, A.M. Cleared off, P.M., with cold N.W. wind.

24. Thur. 24. I started John away to corner with seed oats and he cultivated and guaged No.1 E. Andrew finished spring wheat in south feild and began putting in oats, No.1 E. E.B. finished getting out potatoes and laid up fences. I drove up with Dick to Union prayer meeting, Mr. Knox ("Born again"). Nell does not seem so well, not eating. Fine with cold N.W. winds.

25. Fri. 25. I looked after sheep and did chores early. Nell seems sick so hurried over to A. Morrens. He came back with me and we used hot water cloths and all the means we could think of but she died about 10 oclock. I feel the loss severely. We need another horse for spring work. Angus McDougal came over & got 650 lbs. of hay, Grandpas, and Graham came and got 4 1/2 bushel of goose wheat, $3.15 c. I took A. Morren back home after noon & came back by corner and sowed headlands which Andrew had just ploughed, No.1 E. E.B. dug a grave for Nell while I was away and we rolled her in and covered her up. John has been cultivating and gang ploughing at Hindles. Fine but cold N.W. & N.E. winds. Frosty nights.

26. Sat. 26. E.B. got J. Chappels mare to work with Dick and John hitched to drill & put in peas at Hindles. E.B. ganged & cultivated. The land is hard in spots. I saw some horses which are for sale and got the prices. Did chores, etc. Fine, A.M. Light rain at night.

27. Sun. 27. April 1890. S.S. & meeting as usual. I went over to see old Mr. McDonald after dinner and then rested awhile and started for Phelpston about 5 P.M. taking Mr. Bremner Jr. as far as Harry Coles's. I spoke to them from 16 Ps. Lord bless Thine own word & work. I was home about 10.30 P.M. Fine but colder.

28. Mon. 28. John ploughing sod front of Grandpas house. E.B. cultivating No.3 N. for spring wheat. We got a little in Sat. evening. John took to the drill again putting in wheat about 3 P.M. & E.B. cultivated ahead of him again. I went up to the corner intending to stay & help Andrew but found some trees were come which I ordered through Mr. Hall so I came down home again at night. Gave Grandpa $40.00 on rent, 10 owing yet. Fine & warmer, threatens rain.

29. Tue. 29. Heavy rain till 8 A.M. Cleared off after. E.B. took team & helped J. Chappel to gangplough in some peas. John & I planted trees, 2 Rus Transparent, 2 Whealthy, 1 Gen Grant Crab. When he came back he got down a load of wood and afternoon cultivated & harrowed Grandpa's orchard. John & I went up to the corner taking stuff to chopp and then he ploughed by Pres. Church & I spread manure from Potatoe pits. Mr. Doherty came to see if I would buy his horse. I walked home at night. Gave E.B. $14.00 the last of his winters wages. Andrew ploughing clover sod No.3 W. Heavy rain till 8 A.M. Cleared up after with cold N.W. wind.

30. Wed. 30. I left E.B. digging in the garden & I took Dick and went down to see W. Jones's horses which he has to sell (too high). Called at A. Morrens & from there by the corner to Dohertys. I got the horse for $85.00 to be paid 25 February 1890. He is about same size as Dick and has a good name. J. Hayter sent $2.00 owing on sheep. E.B. cultivated P.M. & drilled a little but heavy rain came on about 4 P.M. E. Jones came & I let him have 900 lbs of hay at $6.00. This with the other he got makes $4.80 c. Webster sent for a load but a rain came on so he went with a small one. John & Andrew ploughing at corner farm. Sent $25.00 to Mr. Dixon. Chilly S.W. & S.E. winds. Heavy rain about 4.30 P.M.

1890: May

1. Thur. 1st May 1890. I left E.B. to fix fences & I went up to the corner and sent John down to help him & I stayed up & Andrew helped me to rebuild a fence between N. 2 & 3 W. We moved stone, etc. I stayed up to Union prayer meeting (Witness of the Spirit) and agreed to take up the subject again next Thursday in Meth. Church. Gave A. Ronald $10.00 for grass & clover seed & Miss Robinson $5.00. Cold high N.W. wind today. Sunny, P.M.

2. Fri. 2. I picked over some potatoes till 9 A.M. & then got on staking the fence & got it finished about 3.30 P.M. Andrew ploughed by Pres. Church till John came up afternoon & then he helped me to clean up the rubbish from the fence corners & then harrowed ahead of John who drilled in peas. I walked home about 5.30 P.M. John & S.B. finished putting in goose wheat No. 3 N. forenoon & E.B. harrowed it afternoon. T. Cronin sent for some hay.

3. Sat. 3. I sent E.B. with team to help them at the corner. We expect to finish up there today. I spent the forenoon getting out stones, fixing fences, etc. Afternoon I wheeled a lot of stone that was left from the well in the garden to fill up the old well in the barnyard. The boys got home about 6 P.M. they finished the seeding but got pretty well wet. Fresh westerly winds. Few drops of rain at noon. Heavy at 5 P.M.

4. Sun. 4 May 1890. S.S. & meeting as usual. 3 c. Prov. with 66 Ps. & 10 c. Jeremiah 23-24 ver. I rested afternoon. The young folks went up at night. [Rain] & damp & cloudy.

5. Mon. 5. The land is too wet to work so John took up 2 small loads of hay, 1 to Mrs. Cote & 1 to A. Armstrong. E.B. & I got down some maple trees & planted in fence corners front of McDonalds. I went up afternoon & sowed some peas on No. 3 W. Andrew finished plowing it & then harrowed them in. I came down at night & got some more peas to finish No.3 W. Mr. English came & stayed all night. Cloudy but finer, P.M.

6. Tue. 6. E.B. had to go to town. John & I cleared away some trees that had fallen over from Phillips's bush & then we brought down some evergreens & I planted them. John went back again & finished ploughing the peice & began putting in the peas with the broadcaster. I went up to the corner afternoon & staid all night. Finer but cold frosty nights.

7. Wed. 7. I got up early & sowed the rest of No. 3 W. with peas & Andrew harrowed them in & then he ploughed Grandma R's garden & I sowed "Triumph" Oats, 16 lbs. seed & he harrowed them in & then he ploughed gardens for A. Ronald & T. Hindles. I had an interview with ___. God bless. I got home at noon and at 2.30 P.M. we got Grandpa & Grandma & Alice ready to go to Woodbridge & Mama, Maybeth & John & I went down to the station to see them off. I went down to Allandale & upon second thought determined to go to the next junction with them (Cardwell). I had barely time after seeing them off to catch the train for Allandale & that was just in nice time to catch Minesing train. I got to the corner 10.30 P.M. & stayed for the night. Tired & thankful. Cool but bright & pleasant. Frost at night.

8. Thur. 8. After doing some business at the corner Andrew & I went down to E.H. taking old team & potatoes, etc. & boys all worked at field against bugs finishing by noon and afternoon Andrew & E.B. went up to Hindles & finished there & John gang ploughed little field behind T.B.S.s orchard. I helped J. Cronin on with hay & McDonald on with a load for A. [Brussel]. Helped John to take the old fence above the orchard (T.B.S.) away & pile into fence corner & then went up to corner to do up chores. Went to Union prayer meeting (Earnest of Spirit) (too big a rush to get "beaten oil"). Lord help. Stayed up at night. Fine, rather high westerly wind, P.M.

9. Fri. 9. I did a lot of chores, A.M. Wrote some letters. Sent one to Mr. Hall. Got one from Mr. Salmon. I walked down home afternoon & back again at night. They boys did not get the barley all sown behind T.B.S. orchard. Heavy rains after 10 A.M.

10. Sat. 10. Andrew brought up Dan & Dick & Democrat & I went to town taking Mama, Francy, Annie, Ruth & Jane. Saw J.J. Brown & agreed for another carload of hay. Got soleplate for plough 21 & brought home some truck for neighbours. Staid up at night.

11. Sun. 11 May 1890. S.S. & meeting as usual. I wrote to Grandpa, P.M. & rested awhile & then started for Phelpston about 5 P.M. (2nd Ephesians). I staid at the corner all night. Maybeth wrote to Emily Wadds. Fine & pleasant.

12. Mon. 12. Andrew came up with team & 10 bags goose wheat. We put on 10 more bags that was in the barn here & I took it to Tollendale. I left 4 bags of flour with A.R. & 1 bag of flour at our own house & 2 bags bran & sent the rest down with E.B. to E.H. I staid up to do chores. E.B. has hurt his eye again. Fine till 5 P.M. Drizzling rain after.

13. Tue. 13. John came up with 5 bags of small wheat to chopp & get horses shod. Andrew brought up Dan to be shod & helped me down to E.H. with cattle & colts. We rigged up the 2 hay racks to haul hay to station and afternoon John & E.B. took 4 loads down and Andrew & I got spreading manure & ploughing in front orchard. I went up at night to feed the bull & took Blossom up to give us milk. Letter from Mr. Hall & I replied. Drizzling & damp, A.M. Finer, P.M.

14. Wed. 14. John & E.B. took 4 more loads of hay to station & after I got down I finished spreading manure & Andrew finished ploughing the orchard by noon. Afterward we docked the ewe lambs & turned the cattle & calves onto pasture. I laid up some fence & helped on with a load for Cavanagh & then went up to the corner to do chores there & lay up some fence. They boys are putting in the feild of oats behind G'pa's house, P.M. Fine & much warmer.

15. Thur. 15. I got down home as soon as I could and after sowing a little timothy in the west part of the swale. I helped finish putting in M[ ] & parsnips in fron orchard, also a pail of potatoes. E.B. finished the feild behing G'pas and afternoon finished up the fence there. John, Maybeth, Francey, Annie & I went down to S. Coles's raising. I staid to Union prayer meeting. Fine with fresh S.W. winds. Very cold N.W. wind, P.M.

16. Fri. 16. John & E.B. took a load of hay each to the station. I went down from the corner and after getting the car into place began loading. The boys got down soon after 9 A.M. & we were done loading by noon. E.B. & I went back by the corner taking a crate for A. Ronald. John went right home from the station. E.B. & I drew up wood, etc. to the house from the old buildings and at night took down a post & some rafters that were left from the bulding last year. Andrew ploughed fallow No.1 W. I staid up & piled wood, etc. Warmer but some very feirce rain & hail squalls.

17. Sat. 17. E.B. & John drew rails & stakes to fix a fence west of feild of peas against bush & E.B. came up afternoon bringing some hay & then got Peter Knapps roller & rolled spring wheat. I spent the day choring. Andrew ploughing fallow at corner. Very cold N.W. wind with some rain squalls.

18. Sun. 18. S.s. & meeting as usual. I went down home and rested, P.M. & drove up at night & wrote to __. Mama went down again.

19. Mon. 19. I did some business at the corner and then got home to help haul manure to potatoe ground No.1 N. Went up again at night with buggy. Andrew finished rolling & took roller home. Dull & cloudy & cool.

20. Tue. 20 May 1890. I got home as soon as I could to help with manure. We got done about 2.30 P.M. & then John began ploughing & E.B. & I spreading. I got Dan McClennan to pull dung into furrows so as to get it covered better. Mama went away with Dick & buggy to see after mail & Andrew drove her down to A. Lindsays to see about a [rag] carpet. I took the old waggon up to the shop to get the stake fixed & I staid up at night. Cold, high N.W. wind. Calmer at night.

21. Wed. 21. I got down home with the horses as soon as I could & got E.B. cultivating No.2 N. & I finished spreading manure & did other chores. John finished ploughing potatoe ground & began broadcasting oats in No.2 N. I drove Mama up at night and then came down again. John up to political meeting.

22. Thur. 22. I got up to the corner in good time and took Mama & Jeany P. down to the station and saw them off for Toronto (God be with them). I saw D. Cameron about lumber & then got home to let E.B. go on cultivating. They finished No.2 N. & then drew wood, etc. I got up to corner farm as soon as I could & Andrew & I fired a big pine stump. Cleared away logs from old barn to burn & the best to cut for firewood. We drew the rails that were strewn around into heaps out of the way and drew blocks & chunks of wood up to the house. Union prayer meeting at night. Fresh S.E. wind all day. Warm.

23. Fri. 23. I went down to the buildings about 3 A.M. to see if the fires were all right and looked at Netty as I came back. She seemed quite easy but when Andrew went down at 6 oclock her colt was standing beside her. I am thankful she seems all right though 5 days earlier than we expected. Andrew went down to E.H. & brought up Dan & Dick and we got the rest of the rails & chunks of wood hauled and began drawing the logs from the old stable & piling up any that were good for firewood in the lane. I drove down to the station at night to meet Mama but got a telegram saying she had missed the train. John & E.B. moved the fence against the road from No.1 N. (EH) so as to plough where the fence should stand and seed it down. Smart shower, A.M. Cooler, P.M.

24. Sat. 24. Queens birthday. Andrew & I finished drawing & piling up logs from old stable at corner & then he went down to E.H. with team & brought up Dick & buggy. Mama came home at noon & staid up at corner and went to Aunt Annies to tea with Grandma R. Mr. & Mrs. Donville called afternoon. I took Francey down to E.H. at night. They boys at United Workmens picnic so I had to do chores. Warm, some rain, P.M.

25. Sun. 25. S.S. & meeting as usual. It rained heavily so we all got dinner at corner & got home about 3 P.M. I rested awhile and then went to Phelpston at night. Heavy rains from 11 A.M. till 2 P.M. Clear after.

26. Mon. 26. We cut seed potatoes and prepared for planting. Old Mr. McDonald very low. Mama & I went over afternoon for awhile. We got started planting potatoes about 4 P.M. Andrew brought down Netty & colt and went up again at night to feed things up there. Fine, A.M. Rainy, P.M. Cleared off about 3 P.M.

27. Tue. 27 May 1890. We got planting potatoes as soon as we could & got done about 5 P.M. and then began ploughing Grandpa's garden. I went up at night to feed the bull & found cattle in. Someone had left the lane gate open. I took up Dick & Dan & drill to put into the shed. We shall have to keep someone up there to keep things [straight]. Fine but one smart shower, 2 P.M.

28. Wed. 28. After doing chores I wrote to Janey P. & J. Nicholson about hay & then hitched to waggon & went down to Cameron's Mill & got 700 ft. of fencing lumber getting home about noon. Called at E. Dixons & paid for oats, $15.50 c. Andrew & E.B. finished ploughing G'pas garden and planted most of it with potatoes. John cleared up rubbish against concession where the fence stood, No.1 N. and ploughed it and harrowed the potatoes. Afternoon Andrew took the waggon up to the corner and got the chopp from A. Malcolms and brought down the hay rack while John, E.B. & I cut, split & hauled posts for the wire fence against the lane from G'pas down to No.2 N. After tea John & E.B. took 2 loads of hay down to the station. E. Jones came & bored holes for fence posts. Cloudy & threatens rain.

29. Thur. 29. John & E.B. took 2 more loads down to the station and I went down by Mrs. Wrights to see about getting some hay to finish loading the car. She does not care to sell at $11.00. I went on to station and put on 99 bales and John & E.B. went for the rest of the hay and put it on, only 131 bales in all. I went round by the corner and saw H. Bergh about some but he thinks they may not have more than 4 carloads so I shall have to pay for the car though it is not full. John & E.B. went to Camerons Mill, P.M. & got 2 loads of lumber but the old waggon wheel broke and they had to leave the load on the roadside. I went up to corner afternoon and Andrew & I spent the afternoon burning off the rubbish round the old barn & stable. Union prayer meetings at night. S.E. wind, threatens rain.

30. Fri. 30. Rainy so I left Andrew to spread burdocks round corner farm and I went to see Herman Coles. He has been sick and his land too wet for seeding. Old Mr. Coles went with me & we agreed to go down on Monday and help him finish seeding. I got back to the corner by noon and Andrew & I drew stone from the old barnyard and closed up all under the sills of the new barn. John & E.B. put in posts for the wire fence and sawed them off level. Rainy, A.M. Fine, P.M. Rather warm S.E. wind.

31. Sat. 31. Andrew & I cleared of[f] wood & stuff from the old buildings and he got ploughing about 10.30 A.M. & I finished clearing off with the wheelbarrow till 4.30 P.M. & then went over to A. Morrens with Netty (all right). John got the load of lumber which he left on Thurs. He & E.B. finished putting on the [scantling] for fence. Fine & pleasant with drying N.W. wind. Fog last night.

1890: June

1. Sun. 1 June 1890. S.S. and meeting as usual. Mr. & Mrs. Stokes and family came down. I rested awhile & then went down to see McDonalds. The old man died this morning. I offered to go to Barrie on Tuesday and take the bearers, IV. Ephesians, & then after tea I went to Anten Mills Methodist Chapel. Maybeth went along. Fine & very pleasant, warmer.

2. Mon. 2. John & E.B. went up to the corner taking some hay for Mrs. Pattendon and then hauled out manure from the old barnyard to the orchard east of church. They put a good lot round each tree and then began hauling stones that were put in the old barnyard to fill up wet holes. There is a lot of them. They piled them against the new barn out of the way. I did chores, A.M. & P.M. I took Mama down to the funeral of R. M[ ]'s child. It died on Sat. evening at Barrie. I came down home & did chores and then went to the Reform meeting in the Hall, very late and unsatisfactory. Very fine & pleasant, warmer S.E. wind.

3. Tue. 3. John & E.B. came down before breakfast. They helped with chores & then drew wood from the old building at T.B.S. & then began tearing down. I went to Barrie with the bearers for Mr. McDonalds funeral & got home about 7 P.M. John & E.B. up to corner tonight so I had some chores to do which kept me till late. S.E. wind. Balmy. Heavy thunder shower, 8 P.M.

4. Wed. 4. Andrew came down and we washed the sheep after breakfast and then put 2 strands of wire on the lane fence & put in some more posts. Andrew went up with team afternoon to plough fallow at the corner. We moved a gate, repaired fences, etc. Very warm & close. Some little breeze at times, N.W. Very heavy thunder showers, 7 P.M.

5. Thur. 5. John & E.B. digging Grandpas garden, planting corn, etc. I went up to the corner and wrote to J.P. and did some other business & gave vote. I came home afternoon and heavy thundershowers came on soon after flooding most of the feilds worse than I ever remember. I went up to the Union prayer meeting. Late home. Very hot & close, A.M. Very heavy thunder showers from 2 to 5 P.M.

6. Fri. 6. John & E.B. digging in the garden, fixing fences, etc. Afternoon Mama & I went down to pay a visit to Mrs. Wright. I left her there & went down to Josephine to see Mr. Budd about getting a subscription for opening the 10 Con. While there a heavy thundershower came on which kept me late. When I got back to Mrs. Wrights they were waiting tea and from there we made a call at A. Morrens where I heard that E. Dixons barn had been struck with lightening & he had been killed. We drove over at once & found it was true. I arranged to go to Barrie at once and get a coffin to be brought out early tomorow morning. They intend taking the body to Etobicoke tomorow night but the heavy floods from the thundershowers have stopped trains for several days so they will have to drive to Barrie. Close & thundery, A.M. Another heavy storm, 4 P.M.

7. Sat. 7. I staid at R. Fletchers last night & this morning after feeding my horse I went down to see Mr. Peirsons folks & tell them about their nephew's death. They were much shocked. I saw J.J. Brown and got $50.00 from him on the hay, $34.00 to come yet. I saw D. & J. Dixon away with the coffin & got away soon after arriving at the house about 11.30 A.M. We got the body put in as soon as we could and after a hymn & prayer they left for Barrie station. Mama & I called at the corner & from there went to E.H. John & E.B. wanted to see the destruction from the storm in Barrie so they drove in afternoon. Cold & drizzling, A.M. Finer, P.M.

8. Sun. 8 June 1890. S.S. and meeting as usual. I rested a little while afternoon and drove out to Phelpston at night taking Cecilia Bremner and Maybeth. I was rather late home. Good Shepherd bless Thine own word (Salvation in its three aspects). Fine and pleasant.

9. Mon. 9. E. Jones came and we put in the day hewing sleepers and getting out timber that was wanted for the barn. Andrew went up at noon with team to plough fallow at the corner. Fine and pleasant.

10. Tue. 10. E.B. went up this morning to help Andrew to get out some dung from the old barnyard and after doing chores John & I went out to Midhurst to meet Mr. Darby who is bringing a young bull which I am exchanging with Mr. Hubbart for ours. We got the animal all right and his pedigree but he came in very slow. E. Jones came & sheared the sheep. I put in the rest of the day doing chores. I drove down to station at night and met Mrs. Gilmour & Miss Ferguson. Some light showers, cool.

11. Wed. 11. The young folks off to the Beach. S. of T. picnic. Did not get back till 12 at night (too long a day). I went up to the corner and did some business & drove down to the station afternoon and posted some letters & saw Mrs. Dobbins about veal. I got home about 5 P.M. & did chores. Some very heavy rains.

12. Thur. 12. E.B. & John dug in garden & I sorted over the wool & packed it in bags and did some other jobs. Union prayer meeting at night. The coming of Christ. Cloudy but no rain.

13. Fri. 13. Mama, Maybeth, Andrew, & Jane went with me to Barrie taking wool. I sold at 19 cts., 94 1/2 lbs, $18.95 c. stocking yarn off, 40 c. ($17.55 c.). I could not see J.J. Brown about the hay as he was in Toronto. Suit of clothes for Andrew, $6.50, for myself, $7.00, necktie, 25 c. ($13.75 c.). Plaster paris for Dr. Bremner, $1.40 c. We came home by the corner. John finished digging garden & did other jobs. E.B. drew 4 loads of gravel for Grandma R. Road work. Some rain, A.M. Fine, P.M.

14. Sat. 14. Andrew & E.B. getting stone out of the old barnyard at the corner. I went up & after getting the box of the buggy wheel fixed, I drove over to see Mr. & Mrs. Dixons and then put in the rest of the day burning up rubbish round the old barnyard. There has been a lot of it but it is getting cleared off now. John has been hoeing etc. at E.H. Strawbery calved, bull. Fine & pleasant.

15. Sun. 15. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. B. "They have no wine." Dr. B. "Whatsoever he saith do it." Mr. R. Dixon spoke a little too & I spoke on Ruth. Grandma R. & cousin Mary F. came down for the afternoon. I walked over to see old Mr. Tracy. He is very low. Sam & Edwin were there & old Mrs. McDonald & Mrs. McDougall. We had some scripture read and spoke on it. God bless thy word. I got home in time to go over to the house of meeting beyond Anten. Fine & pleasant.

16. Mon. 16. John hauling gravel for roadwork. E. B. up to corner with team to finish getting stone out of old barnyard. They got it done and the peice ploughed but it was a tough job. Money from J.P. Saw young Thorold and agreed to be at the meeting last of July. Fine.

17. Tue. 17 June 1890. The carpenters came early this morning and we got the timber put into shape for them to work and then began knocking down the old buildings ready for the new frame. It is a big job and a dirty one. I wrote to Woodbridge. Grandma has been sick. Very hot. Thunder showers at noon. Cooler, P.M.

18. Wed. 18. We worked away at the old buildings, tearing up the floors is a slow job. Dr. Bremner came down to get me to let him have the team and Democrat to take some of them into Barrie tomorow so we butchered Grandpa's calf after tea. A. Armstrong got Dick & buggy to go to town for a boring machine. Cool & clear.

19. Thur. 19. John & E.B. planting potatoes where they drowned out. I went to town with Dr. Bremners folks, taking the calf to Hubbart. It made $5.55 with skin and we had 1 qr. to use at home. I got home with the folks about 8 P.M. and after putting the horses into the stable I went over to Union prayer meeting. I got creamer, $1.25, kettle, $1.00, other expences, 75 c.

20. Fri. 20. S. Jacobs came and we made some more sleepers & timber forenoon & afternoon we got the roof off the South side and most of the [ ] down. Very hot at times.

21. Sat. 21. We got down the rest of the leanto and cleared away the debris, made the foundation and put the sills into place and then got some more sleepers at T.B.S.'s old barn. Fine summer weather.

22. Sun. 22. Sunday School & meeting as usual. I wrote to Grandpa & Grandma & W. Hall. We got word that Grandma was worse and also about Jeanie. I rested a little while and then went to Phelpston. Thank the Lord it is a little more encouraging. "Oh send forth Thy light & Thy truth." Fine but rather hot.

23. Mon. 23. P. Jacobs & Spencer Croley came and we got the rest of the roof off the old barn and afternoon Isaac Downey, Wesley Orchard & Wm. McDonald came & we got the south leanto up and the main plates shifted and purloins and rafters on by six oclock. I am sorry Armstrong has made the roof so flat. It would have been much better with more pitch. Fine but rather hot.

24. Tue. 24. John started ploughing fallow, No.1 N. and Andrew gang ploughed the place in the orchard where the parsnips seed did not grow and then harrowed it and potatoe ground. He went up to corner after taking harrows and some oats to Malcolms to be chopped & brought down the plough and big waggon wheel. Afternoon he & E.B. took Spencer Croley's cow up to "Lord Salisubry" & brought her back again. I ploughed while he was away and then we fed the team & got the waggon ready to haul shingles. Albert Orchard went down to D. [Maws] Mill & got 10,000 2nd class. E.B. peeled rafters and did some hoeing at the corner, P.M.

25. Wed. 25. John off to Pilkies Mill for shingles. Andrew ploughing fallow No.1 N. E.B. finished peeling rafters and then helped me to hoe in the orchard. John got home about 1 P.M. with only the six bunches which he left on the road last spring. Pilkie has no 2nds cut yet. John ploughed with Andrew the rest of the day. Bruce got $10.00 from me to go to Toronto. He will not be back till Fri. ev'g. Fine with cool N.W. wind.

26. Thur. 26. John ploughing fallow No.1 N. Andrew hoed mangles. I went down to Camerons Mill and got 700 ft. plank for horse stable. Afternoon Andrew ploughed & I hoed mangles. I ordered 700 ft. 18 ft. siding & 600 ft. 16 ft. from Mr. Budd. It is to be ready by Monday. Met at Committee meeting to arrange about 1st July Picnic for S.S. children. Very fine & cool N.W. wind.

27. Fri. 27. John & Andrew working fallow No.1 N. Archie McDougal came and helped me with the hoeing. Andrew & John began ploughing No.6 S., the old pasture feild. Very fine.

28. Sat. 28. I sharpened coulters and did other chores and got out some stumps in the old pasture feild where the boys are ploughing. Afternoon I went up to the corner to see if I could arrange with Armstrong to raise the other barn next week but he has to stay with Dr. Bremner another day so he cannot raise till the week after. Word from Woodbridge. Mother is better. Some light thunder showers.

29. Sun. 29. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mama went to spend the afternoon with Mrs. Dixon. I came down home and rested awhile afternoon and then went over for her, but left her till after the night meeting. I went according to promise to the Baptist church and spoke on the subject - "Religion not an Intellection but a life." James 1 ch. 27. Lord bless Thine own Word. Very fine & Hot.

30. Mon. 30. E.B. hoeing. John & Andrew ploughing No.6 S. for fallow. I went up to the corner and did some business there & then came home and skidded up some timber for the framers and run through the potatoes with cultivator. Mr. Dixon & the two Mrs. Dixons came. Very hot, threatens rain.

1890: July

1. Tue. 1st July. E.B. & Andrew took up team and lumber to fix seats in schoolhouse for S. of T. Entertainment. I took up 4 barrels with water for S.S. Picnic but rain came on at noon and again at 4 P.M. so we did not go but we all turned out to the entertainment in the evening which made us late home. Rain 6 A.M. & 12 P.M. & 4 P.M. Heavy thunder shower at night.

2. Wed. 2. John went up to corner to harrow fallow & plough. E.B. mowing thistles in back feild. Andrew hoeing carrots & parsnips. I went to Budds Mill at station and got a load of 18 ft. siding for barn - and Andrew went afternoon and got the rest. I mowed some tracks through grass to get to timber at T.B.S. old barn, & about 3 P.M. took Charly & buggy & took the young folks up to Picnic. On the whole it was fair turnout. Very hot & thundery A.M. Shower at noon but cleared off. Cool about 1.30 P.M.

3. Thur. 3rd July 1890. John ploughing fallow at corner. E.B. & Andrew getting picnic things home. I did chores and got ready for laying the foundation of new barn - afternoon I went to Camerons Mill and got the plank for barn floor & scantling for the unloader track. Cool & cloudy.

4. Fri. 4. Uncle Sam came down and we got working at the foundation of new barn getting out sleepers, overways, etc. There is a lot to do yet so I went down to get Wm. McDonald for tomorrow & at night went to Station & met Mr. & Mrs. Hall & Jessie. Janey B. came with them. Cool & pleasant. N.W. wind.

5. Sat. 5. John ploughing at corner. E.B., Wm. McDonald & Uncle Sam working at the foundation. I went to town with Democrat taking 3 lambs. Sold at $3.25 c. each. I got nails, hinges, tarpaper, wire for fence, etc. for barn, $21.35 at Hendersons. McAllisters, 1 keg 3 in., 1 shingles, 1 spikes, 25 4 in. & 25 wrought. I got gaiters for myself, $1.75, Hat, 40 c., meat, $3.35 c., zinc, sash, other expences, 75 c. I got home about 5 P.M. Agreed to take in the bull on Thursday. Fine & pleasant.

6. Sun. 6. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Hall spoke on the Christians possession & afternoon I went down to station and got Mr. Halls melodeon and then we drove out to Phelpston where we held an open air meeting. Took tea at T. Wilsons and had a good service in the Church at night. Praise the Lord. Cloudy & a few drops of rain.

7. Mon. 7. Uncle Sam came and we got the rest of the foundation laid and the sleepers ready and afternoon the neighbours gathered and we got the buildings up praise the Lord without accident. There was a thunderstorm about 3 A.M. and Wm. Addisons mare was killed by lightening and two posts of the barn slivered. Fine, but some wind gusts. Thunderstorm at 3 A.M.

8. Tue. 8. Andrew took dishes up to corner and stayed up there and worked at the fallow till 5 P.M. and then came down to take us up to a meeting which W. Marshall was to hold. John went up afternoon and ploughed awhile and then cut the meadow up there. E.B. & I chored & hoed potatoes, put on Paris green, etc. Very heavy thundershower about noon.

9. Wed. 9. John cutting meadow. Andrew and I cleared of stumps, etc. off fallow, No.6 N. and then he ploughed. E.B. and I hoeing. Mr. & Mrs. Hall came down & we drove up at night to another meeting. Fine & very cold. High N.W. wind.

10. Thur. 10. John off to town with the bull to Hubbart. Andrew ploughing fallow. E.B. hoeing in garden at corner. I took buggy & went to town & got 150 ft. of rope for hay fork & a bag of barley meal, 70 c. John got in all right & we both got back to the corner as soon as we could and got some hay turned. Union prayer meeting in Methodist church, Mr. Hall leading. Fine & rather cold.

11. Fri. 11. John ploughing fallow at corner. Andrew & I got chores done as soon as we could & then took both waggons up to the corner and we turned hay till noon & then G. Hindle came to help and we got in 10 loads before night. Christians meeting at night. Fine, rather hot.

12. Sat. 12 July 1890. I got up to the corner as soon as I could and we got all the hay into the barn & stable but a little in fence corners. E.B. went to T. Livingstones raising afternoon.

13. Sun. 13. S.S. & meeting as usual. Mr. Hall went down to conduct the funeral servies for old Mr. Tracey who died yesterday morning, 3 A.M. I spoke from John 14 c. Afternoon Mr. Hall, Jessie, Dr. Bremner, Miss Bremner & little Mary, N. Sheepwash, Mama & I went to Phelpston & held an open air meeting. We got back home about 7 P.M. leaving Mr. Hall to go to the Anten Mills meeting. Lord bless Thine own word. Fine but very hot.

14. Mon. 14. John cutting No.1 S. Andrew, E.B. & I went up to the corner and unloaded the 2 loads & got in the bit of fence corners that was left on Saturday. We got home about noon. G. Hindle came down with us to help a little and we put in the rest of the day hoeing, etc. Fine but very hot.

15. Tue. 15. Andrew finished cutting No.1 S. & began No. 2 S. John ploughing fallow No.6 S. G. Hindle & E.B. finishing up roots and putting Paris Green on potatoes. I mowed fence corners and did other chores and at night we got in 2 loads of hay. Fine & pleasant.

16. Wed. 16. Andrew finished cutting No.2 S. and began cutting the peice at T.B.S.s old place. John finished ploughing No. 6 S. and began to harrow. I went up to the corner and did some business there & then came home and we drew in from No. 1 S. E.B. & G. Hindle mowed thistles in back pasture forenoon. Cold N.W. wind. Fine.

17. Thur. 17. We got in 2 loads from No.1 S. before breakfast and then rain came on so I went to town taking 4 lambs to Hubbart. I got 3 pr. hinges for barn & 2 pulleys, if we do not want them to be returned, a barrel of salt, $1.60, oats, $1.15, Sash, 70 c. Came by the corner and brought down felt paper & chopp which I left on Monday. Home about 4 P.M. The boys mowed fence corner, chored, etc. Mr. Hall's last meeting at night in Baptist Church. God bless them all. Heavy rains, A.M. Finer, P.M. & cool at night.

18. Fri. 18. E.B. mowing fence corners. Andrew cutting with machine. John chored. I took Mr. Hall & family down to station and came back by the corner and did some chores there getting home about 10 A.M. and then we turned over the hay that was in No.1 S. and afternoon Andrew cut Grandpas hay and we got in all but rakings from No.1 S. Fine & cool N.W. wind.

19. Sat. 19. Angus McDougal came and helped me to make bridges into the new barn. John, E.B. & Andrew unloaded the two loads that were in & then turned hay in No.2 S. Afternoon Andrew raked up at T.B.S.s & we got some in there & then got 2 loads out of No.2 S. & took up to A. Armstrongs. Linda calved, heifer calf. Cold. High N.W. wind. Some drops of rain, A.M., finer, P.M.

20. Sun. 20. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested awhile, P.M. & then drove up to Phelpston taking Mr. Stokes along. We had a good meeting but late home. Good Lord bless Thine own Word & Work. Fine but cold N.W. wind.

21. Mon. 21 July 1890. G. Hindle came and we mowed the orchard at T.B.S.s and got in one load there and then got in some from No.2 S. using the horse fork for the first time. It works pretty well. After tea we got in 3 loads at T.B.S.s and got all that was cut on Friday raked up. I went up at night and wrote to Grandpa, sending $100.00 that I got from Grandma R. Cool N.W. wind. Warmer at night.

22. Tue. 22. We got drawing in with both teams, finished at T.B.S.s & Grandpas by noon. Afternoon we got in all from No.2 S. but raking. I sold them to Angus McDougal for $4.00. John took 1 load up to A.A. Armstrongs. Cool, A.M. Very hot, P.M. Like rain.

23. Wed. 23. Andrew cut a peice No.4 S. John took a load of hay up to A. Malcolms and when he came back we got in one load from No.4 S. E.B. raking & T. Hindle is here in place of George. He helped me to mow some fence corners, A.M. I wrote to Hubbart, Aunt Emma & J. Pitt. Afternoon we got in all that was fit in No.4 S. but it kept us late. Rather warm & threatens rain. Fresh S. & S.E. winds.

24. Thur. 24. We spent the forenoon clearing up debris in barn & fixing up harness pins, etc. in stable. Hubbart & Raikes came out & bought the bull. I had from Darby $50.00. I am rather sorry I sold just now but perhaps it is best. Mr. Knox led Union prayer meeting at night. Andrew cut a little more hay but rain came on again. John harrowed & ganged in No.1 N. Heavy thunder showers. Very warm.

25. Fri. 25. John up at corner ploughing fallow. Andrew ganging No.1 N. I started E.B. off to Barrie with the bull & then started T. Hindle howing turnips. I put in the forenoon salting cattle, turning hay, etc. Afternoon we got in 2 loads & then another thunder shower came on so we chored the rest of the day. Close, A.M. Fresh S. wind & then another heavy thunder shower.

26. Sat. 26. John at corner ploughing. Andrew harrowing No.6 S. E.B. ganging No.1 N. I cleared up cow stable & fixed a bridge to get into it. I hope the carpenters will be done tonight. Afternoon Andrew cut the last of No.5 S. and John came down and we got in one load of hay but we found that it wuold need to be turned. After tea John took the carpenters tool down to H. [ ] by the station. I settled with A. Armstrong. Cloudy but cool N.W. wind. Looks like fine weather again.

27. Sun.. 27. S.S. & meeting as usual. VI Hebrews. I rested afternoon & did the chores at night. The rest were mostly up to the meetings. H. Coles & Frances came down and Cecilia Bremner. Fine & pleasant.

28. Mon. 28 July 1890. Spencer Croley & T. Hindle came and we got hauling in hay from big meadow. Andrew cutting at Hindles. Not quite done by night. Fine, rather hot.

29. Tue. 29. Andrew finished cutting at Hindles and then raked up in big meadow. Wm. McDonald came and we got hauling in as fast as we could. E.B. in rather excited frame of mind. Wants to be away afternoon so I let him go and he came back again about 4 P.M. all right apparently. We got up to Hindles after tea and brought home 4 loads of hay. Very hot but fresh S.W. wind.

30. Wed. 30. Wm. McDonald & T. Hindle came and we got at the hay getting down 5 more loads. I took Maybeth & Miss Furguson down to the station and saw them off intending to meet Mr. Wm. Ashdowns family at Barrie on their way to Huntsville Muskoka. The good Lord be with them all sheild from evil & inspire to good. I got home as soon as possible and got rafters put in for overways in front of horse stable so as to have a place for cut stuff as rain came on about 11 A.M. We got overways in the east mow of new barn so as to save chaff when we thresh first. Hot & showery after 11 A.M.

31. Thur. 31. Very cloudy & thundery & rainy so we sorted nails and straightened things in the workshop, A.M. and got down one load of hay from Hindles. Before dinner it cleared off with a brisk wind about 10 oclock. Afternoon John & Andrew went up to corner & rigged up binder & began to cut barley by Presbyterian Church. E.B. & I got down the rest of the hay from Hindles and raked up. I have given rakings to A. McDugal. Union prayer meeting at night. Close & some thundershowers till 10 A.M. Cool, high N.W. wind after.

1890: August

1. Fri. 1 August 1890. E.B. & I cut fence corners & swalespots all day. John & Andrew finished the barley at the corner & began the wheat in No.2 E. Letters from Woodbridge. Fine harvest weather.

2. Sat. 2. E.B. took the other team up to the corner to help to cut & he stayed to help shock up. I finished mowing what fence corners we can get at now, A.M. & did some more chores - and after tea Annie helped me to haul in a bit that was left in No.5 S. Fine harvest weather.

3. Sun. 3. S.S. & meeting as usual. I rested awhile afternoon and drove up to Phelpston at night. H. Hindle went with me. Hot & thundery, light rain at night.

4. Mon. 4. John & Andrew went up to finish cutting at corner. E.B. & I skidded up some timber that was left from the building of the barn and made a fence from the new [bank] to the lane and then went up to Hindles and got a load of hay from swales & fence corners. We hurried up afternoon & got in the hay I gathered last Sat. just as a heavy thunderstorm came on. Blew down a lot of fence against the road. John & Andrew got home about 5 P.M. Hot & close, A.M. Heavy thunderstorm afternoon & again 7 P.M.

5. Tue. 5. August 1890. John, Andrew & E.B. hoed turnips awhile and afternoon went up to the corner & put up the shocks that were knocked down with the storm. I went to town taking calf to Hubbert, $4.00. Settled with him for bull, $8.00, 4 chickens, 60 c. I took back my rolls of tar paper brought out by mistake, $4.75 c., got chisel, auger & hammer. Brought out 300 lbs binding twine for A.R. and got to the corner about 5.30 P.M. calling on the way to see Mr. Dixon & took tea there. I staid at corner till night helping to put up shocks. Rainy till 8 A.M. Cleared off slowly. Breezy & cool, P.M.

6. Wed. 6. E.B. went up to corner with old team & harrowed fallow & ploughed some that was left. I drove up with buggy for dinner & after doing some business, I cleared out the barn taking down overways to make room for the wheat & we got in one load before tea & 4 after in - is pretty dry. John & Andrew cutting wheat No.3 S. Letter from Mr. Hall telling of the baby's death. Clear & pleasant, cool, N.W. wind.

7. Thur. 7. E.B.& I helped John to shock up down home finishing about 3 P.M. Andrew cutting No.6 & 5, big feild N. We left John to shock up what he could & E.B. & I went to corner & got in 5 more loads of wheat. Fine but rather hot.

8. Fri. 8. Angus McDugal came & we got drawing in wheat as soon as we could at the corner with all our force. Mr. Bremner came & helped me at 8 P.M. and Andrew went down to meet Aunt Emma & Violet at the station. They stayed at corner till night & I took them down to E.H. Rather hot but good harvest weather.

9. Sat. 9. I hurried up to corner & we finished hauling in the wheat & brought 2 loads of barley down here & afternoon we put in a lot of the wheat from No.3 S. & No. 6 N. It is barley [sic] dry enough. Cold. High N.W. wind.

10. Sun. 10. S.S. & meeting as usual. I spoke in Numbers 22 (Bals[ ]). Rested, P.M. and went over S.S. lesson at night altogether. Cold N.W. squalls with rain.

11. Mon. 11. John & E.B. at W. Orchards threshing, A.M. E.B. at J. Downeys, P.M. Andrew finished cutting wheat & barley down here & I shocked up. John gang ploughed No.1 N., P.M. Clear & cool. N.W. wind.

12. Tue. 12. A. McDougall came & he & John & E.B. hauled in wheat from No.3 S. Andrew & I went up to corner & got down the barley. I raked up while he was away with the first load and came down with him at noon and afternoon we hauled in with 2 teams finishing No.3 S. & getting quite a bit from No.6 N. It is a heavy crop of straw but light wheat. Fine harvest weather.

13. Wed. 13. We finished all the wheat but some loose stuff. The machine came late to thresh tomorrow. Fine but hot.

14. Thur. 14. We threshed till 5 P.M., longer than I intended to accomodate the threshers who had no other threshing to do today. About 70 bus. barley & 300 bus. wheat. Union prayer meeting Mr. Frost, 53 Isaiah. Fine but a few drops of rain fell, A.M.

15. Fri. 15. John & E.B. threshing at Phillips. Ploughrights. Andrew & I went up to the corner & he cut oats, No.1 E. I shocked a round & mowed some spots of what that had been missed & raked up some. I left Andrew up to finish cutting. Fine harvest weather.

16. Sat. 16 August 1890. John & Andrew at corner farm finished cutting and shocking oats & began spring wheat south of sideline. E.B. & I hoed turnips awhile & then got in the barley at T.B.S.s & 2 loads of loose wheat west of old barn. Fine but threatens rain. Rather hot.

17. Sun. 17. S.S. & meeting as usual (ten lepers & Naaman). I rested awhile & went to Phelpston at night. Rather more encouraging. Good Lord bless. Rainy, A.M. Fine, P.M.

18. Mon. 18. John & E.B. went up to corner & finished cutting spring wheat. John got home at teatime & run the binder into G'pas old barn. Andrew worked at fallows. I looked for white heifer till near noon & then took Francey up to get dinner at corner. I went over to E. Dixons & paid note, $213.35 c. on T.B.S.s place. I helped shock up spring wheat & did other chores & got home about 6 P.M. & took another look for the heifer. I expect she has calved in the bush. Wm. McDonald is mowing lodged spots in wheat & barley. Mrs. Johnson & Josie came. Fine but threatens rain.

19. Tue. 19. We got the loose wheat unloaded that we got in on Sat. ev'g & got in 1 more load of it & a load of rakings from No.3 S. and then a steady rain came on till noon when it faired a while. Wm. McDonald worked awhile at evetroughs. Afternoon he & E.B. went back with horse rake to try & pull the peas against the bush but another heavy shower came on. Francey & Mrs. Johnson went up to see Mr. Bremners folk. Found heafier. Chapple came & got 4 bags of wheat for A. Morren & we cleaned up 16 for grist. Rainy most of the day. Warm.

20. Wed. 20. John went to Tollendale with grist. Andrew working at fallows & Bruce awhile, P.M. I took Mrs. Johnson down to Dawsons, A.M. & afternoon hoed awhile & then E.B. & I got in two load of wheat rakings. Wm. McDonald took the peas against the bush to pull. Fine but rather hot.

21. Thur. 21. Heavy rains till 2 P.M. We just rested & chored. I took Aunt Emma & Vio to station at 4 P.M. & the boys helped to clean up seed wheat for Peter Knapp. After tea Andrew & E.B. worked at fallows & went up with waggon & gang plough to corner at night. I am not very well, so did not go to Union prayer meeting. I found the white heifer, Blanche, on Tuesday morning with her calf all right. Heavy rain till afternoon. Cleared up slowly.

22. Fri. 22. John went up to corner with Democrat taking horse rake as well to try on the peas but it rained till 9 A.M. E.B. went round the shocks setting up what had fallen & Andrew ganged barley ground against Pres. Church. E.B. & John pulled peas with sythes afternoon. I drove up A.M. & did some business & again P.M. Taking Francey to cook for the men. Heavy shower from 7 to 9. A.M. Fine after.

23. Sat. 23. A. Keely & J. Hindle came & got the peas all pulled by night, a poor crop, about 10 loads. I drove up at noon and got a scraper from Wm. Johnston & did some work on the fallow at the corner with Andrew & then sent him down to finish up the fallows here. Maybeth came home at noon looking much better. Thank the Lord. Fine but very cool.

[Note: At this point in the diary there are 6 pages of financial notations for 1888-1890; also several loosely inserted notes and receipts].