Bert Babcock's 1894 Diary

June 5, 1894 thru June 6, 1894

2011-10-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 5, 1894 --- Another rainy day, but Bert and Russell did more plowing and dragging on Milo Dye's place preparing fields for planting potatoes. Bert had earlier borrowed the marking tool for laying out the ground for proper spacing of the seed potato pieces. Bert did some marking in the afternoon, and spent some time cutting up the seed potatoes. Chores in the evening of course.

Wednesday, June 6, 1894 --- With help from the two Bardeen boys, Bert and Russell dropped and covered potato pieces on the land they had prepared at Milo Dye's place - Russell's father. Bert left in the afternoon to begin preparing ground on S. G. Avery's place for planting more potatoes.

Potatoes were a big crop in New York State around this time. It does seem a bit late to be planting the potatoes, but when you consider the wide variety of things that needed planting in the spring, and the fact that it all had to be done by hand or with horse drawn equipment, scheduling the various crops must have been quite a task... especially when you factor in all the rain that has been falling the past couple of weeks! Also, the hills around Naples, NY are at a pretty good altitude, with a surprisingly short growing season - late frost in the spring, and early frost in the fall!

June 3, 1894 thru June 4, 1894

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Sunday, June 3, 1894 --- Bert declares it a nice day (for a change) and he and his brother Herman went over to J.A.Clark's woods to look for hawks and crows, but "did not find any." Bert went over to visit E. Hayner, and then went back home to the Dye place where he works and lives. Rain again Sunday night.

Monday, June 4, 1894 --- Chores as usual in the morning, and some rain again. Bert and Russell did some plowing on Milo Dye's place in the morning, and in the afternoon, Bert plowed some more, while Russell dragged the plowed land from the morning's work. When Bert went to get the cows to bring them in for evening milking, they ran away from him, and he and Fanny "ran them to beat Grant". Another of his fairly regular expressions about something "to beat Grant". I remember him talking about snow flying to beat Grant back in February.

June 1, 1894 thru June 2, 1894

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Friday, June 1, 1894 --- Another rainy day - quite a stretch of rainy days. Another day of watching it rain. In the afternoon Russell and Bert hauled some fence posts, and went over to Milo Dye's place to pick stone off a field. Chores morning and evening as always.

Saturday, June 2, 1894 --- Another rainy day, with chores. Bert fixed his harness, and "sewed a line" for Russell. Bert went over to his brother Herman's place to spend the night.

May 30, 1894 thru May 31, 1894

2011-09-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 30, 1894 --- Chores as usual, and then spent a rainy day drawing loads of manure. Russell went over to "his folks" - Milo Dye's place - and finished plowing the field for corn. Bert "drawed dung" and watched it rain. "my head is still ailing"

Thursday, May 31, 1894 --- Another rainy day - chores - then he "turned the cows out" and watched it rain till eleven AM. Bert then "dug liveforever" till noon. (Live forever is a variety of Sedum which must have been a problem on the farm? -- The forever plant (Sedum purpureum), also known as the "live forever," is a showy evergreen plant of the Sedum genus, which is poisonous if ingested.) Bert had dinner around noon, and then spent the afternoon "tearing patent fence to pieces". He then seems to have sharpened at least some of the pieces to use for fence posts?

"my head continues to ail"

May 28, 1894 thru May 29, 1894

2011-09-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 28, 1894 --- Rained all forenoon. Bert "turned out the cows" and sat in the barn a while before going up to E. Hayners to borrow a "scrue driver". He used the screw driver to "turn a door around". In the afternoon, Bert got a load of hay from Milo Dye's place. They then drew two loads of stone, and a load of rotten fence rails. They then took Milo Dye a load of firewood. Snow in the afternoon. Bert is still sick.

Tuesday, May 19, 1894 --- Some rain today. Bert did chores as always, and then went over to E. Hayner's place to get Russell's potato marker..... a device drawn behind a horse to make marks that allow the proper spacing of the potato pieces when planting potatoes. Bert then went over to Milo Dye's place and plowed land for planting corn. One of the horses lost a shoe that had just been put on the day before. The plowed until "half past six". They had dinner at Milo's place, and then went back home to do the evening chores. Bert is still sick - "grunting and coughing".

May 26, 1894 thru May 27, 1894

2011-08-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

May 24, 1894 thru May 25, 1894

2011-08-25T17:38:00.001-07:00

Thursday, May 24, 1894 --- Another rainy day! Bert does the chores, and then makes 10 potato crates. Ten potato crates does not sound like very many, but remember there were no power tools, and they may have actually made their own boards from logs cut on the land? Bert then helped "set three hens". Setting hens was a process of finding "broody" hens ( hens interested in sitting on eggs to hatch them), and then placing fertilized eggs under them and waiting around 21 days! "Broody" hens will tend to remain on the nest instead of leaving after laying eggs. They also make a clucking noise instead of cackling?

Sometimes a hen will stop laying and instead will focus on the incubation of eggs, a state that is commonly known as going broody. A broody chicken will sit fast on the nest, and protest or peck in defense if disturbed or removed, and will rarely leave the nest to eat, drink, or dust bathe.

I love Bert's addition of sketches sometimes!

Bert then writes ----

"Rain, rain, rain, rain" and
"My head has hurt to beat Eli"

Friday, May 25, 1894 --- Another rainy day! Bert spends the morning digging out stones from the fields. He sits around the house and watches it rain till the middle of the afternoon, and then goes out to draw the stones he dug out.

"bought two tie pins at ten cents apiece"

I wonder if a peddler came by or if he went to Naples or Ingleside? My guess is that a peddler was in the area, since he does not mention any trip.

May 22, 1894 thru May 23, 1894

2011-08-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 22, 1894 --- Bert declares it a "fair day" without rain and after doing the chores, he helped "put up a grist" for Russell to take to Naples to be milled. "Putting up a grist" was cleaning up grain to get rid of chaff and other extraneous stuff before grinding the grain for flour or animal feed. Grist is the word used for the cleaned grain. Bert then "drawed stone" off one of the fields - probably using the stone boat they made the other day. He then fixed a fence on "the ten acres", and then did more stone removal! Bert reports some improvement in his health .... "this forenoon my head hurt to beat all, but this afternoon I have felt a little better".

Wednesday, May 23, 1894 --- A rainy day again, and Bert sat in the house and stood around the barn till noon. In the afternoon he made potato crates and went over to Milo Dye's place to haul a load of manure. Had supper and did the evening chores. "I am feeling a little better tonight."

May 20, 1894 thru May 21, 1894

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Sunday, May 20, 1894 --- Rains all day, but since it is Sunday, no work time lost. Bert sits around the house for the morning, and then around noon, he hitches up a buggy and goes to Ingleside to see the Doctor. He pays 30 cents for some medicine. He then comes home for dinner and then goes to visit E. Hayner. He then comes back home and helps with chores..... "still grunting", so after feeling a bit better yesterday, he is back to ill enough that he went to the Doctor.

Monday, May 21, 1894 --- It rains all day again, and Bert and Russell make a "scow". (note: Since they haul stones later in the day, I would guess that they made a flat bottomed wooden boat shaped implement to skid stones out of the fields. Stones are way too heavy to put very many into a wagon - too hard to lift that high, and the weight would likely break the wheels, etc., thus a flat skid like affair that could be just slid along on the ground. These were often called "stone boats" - see picture below - ends are curved up a bit to slide more easily over the ground, just like the curved end of a boat slides easily over the water.)
Bert did the evening chores, and Russell took some groceries over to his parents place.... probably things he got in Naples earlier. Bert reports he is "still grunting", so the medicine is not very fast acting?

May 18, 1894 thru May 19, 1894

2011-08-21T17:53:00.001-07:00

Friday, May 18, 1894 --- Bert reports a hot morning. He drew 10 loads of manure and fixed his buggy. "It rained this afternoon to beat grant". Another use of that "to beat Grant" phrase. He does write that "I am feeling a little better today". First report of not feeling bad in several weeks?

Saturday, May 19, 1894 ---- Bert reports standing around a lot due to some heavy rain! He does help butcher 6 hens and they cleaned seed barley and oats. This would be separating out weed seeds as much as possible. He went down to Milo Dye's place to get some eggs for Russell to take to Naples to sell or possibly barter? Then "I sit in the house" till chore time.

Note: After the reunion on August 13th, Dad and I drove by the location of Russell Dye's place, and Milo Dye's place.

Click here for a map of the area with little numbered flags at the locations - 19 = Milo Dye's place, and 22 = Russell Dye's place

Pictures of Russell Dye's home and barn below as they look today.

May 16, 1894 thru May 17, 1894

2011-08-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 16, 1894 --- Frost for the second night in a row! Bert is still "ailing and grunting", but he managed to cut some seed potatoes for planting, and covered some of the potatoes planted yesterday. He also helped draw five loads of manure. He mentions his headache again - again using the phrase "my head has ached to beat Grant".

Thursday, May 17, 1894 --- Bert and Russell finished plowing ground for planting barley, and he goes down to Sheldon Fisher's place and borrowed his drag. He and Russell dragged the potato patch at Mr. Avery's place three times, and then did the chores. Bert says "it thunders and lightens (sic) and threatons (sic) rane (sic)" Once again he reports still being sick.... "I am still grunting."

May 14, 1894 thru May 15, 1894

2011-08-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 14, 1894 --- Bert continues to fight his illness. He reports that his head "ached to beat Grant". I think I remember him using this phrase before, but I can't track down what this might refer to? Russ and Bert continued preparing fields for planting, and Russell went to his father's place to get seed potatoes.

Tuesday, May 15, 1894 --- Another day of headache, and Bert says he "barked and caughed (sic) all day". Bert marked a field for planting potatoes. (Probably digging shallow furrows to "drop" the potato pieces into at the proper distance apart) George Spiers and one of the Bardeen boys worked dropping the potato pieces. Bert and Russell cut more potatoes, and covered the potato pieces that were dropped earlier. Russell went back over to his father's place to get more potatoes. Bert reports that it went below freezing last night.

May 12, 1894 thru May 13, 1894

2011-08-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 12, 1894 --- Bert spent the morning cultivating the hops one way. I presume this involved sort of plowing the ground between the hop hills which are usually fairly far apart to let in light... often up to 8 feet apart. Russell rolled some of the oats planted this week on Milo Dye's land. They had lunch at Russell Dye's place, and then both dragged and planted oats for the afternoon - finishing planting all the oats. Bert ends with "i still continus caugh and grunt" (sic)

Sunday, May 13, 1894 --- Bert reports a headache all day, but as usual, even though it is Sunday, Bert keeps busy! Bert helps with the necessary chores, and then works on making a cover for his buggy (the reason for purchasing the thread a few days ago?). He also did something on his "cart" and took his "farewell ride in it". ( Bert seems to write "hite bed" on my cart - perhaps he raised the bed/floor?) After finishing the cover for the buggy, Bert and his brother Herman (my great grandfather) put the buggy together, and then Bert went visiting to S.C. Fisher's place, and over to Milo Dye's for dinner, before returning home to Russell Dye's place to help with the evening chores.

May 10, 1894 thru May 11, 1894

2011-08-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

May 8, 1894 thru May 9, 1894

2011-08-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

May 6, 1894 thru May 7, 1894

2011-08-01T19:22:00.001-07:00

Sunday, May 6, 1894 --- Bert helped with the chores, and then went to Ingleside to buy a spool of thread for five cents, and "ten cents worth of something else". (I'm guessing the "something else" may have been something of an alcoholic nature? I'm sort of surprised he didn't use his code here? Maybe something to treat his cold?) He visited the Hilers on the way back home, and then went back home to the Dyes to help with the chores. Looks like a day off meant not plowing, dragging, etc. but of course the animals must be cared for even on the Sabbath! He comments that it "blew lather to shave", and that "i am about sick with a cold".

Monday, May 7, 1894 --- "i plowed all day and got tired twice" "the wind blew forty miles a minute" Bert used these same two weather phrases back in January He went up to E. Hayners and got a bottle of medicine - not sure if the medicine was from E. Hayner, or if these are separate events? As always - helped with the chores.

May 4, 1894 thru May 5, 1894

2011-07-31T17:48:00.000-07:00

May 2, 1894 thru May 3, 1894

2011-07-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me ..... especially with input on Bert's coded entries?

Wednesday, May 2, 1894 --- Bert declares it "a cool nice day to drag", and indeed he spends the day dragging - about 7 acres in the forenoon. Russell does the sowing with the drill. In the afternoon both Russell and Bert dragged a field at S. C. Avery's place. The day ends with chores of course.

Thursday, May 3, 1894 --- A hot day, and Bert went to Milo Dye's place and got 15 bushels of seed oats to sow on the Avery place. Presumably Russell sowed these oats, and Bert spent the rest of the day dragging. Bert reports that he "commenced to grunt". I presume this to be a sign of some sort of medical problem. A medical dictionary defines grunting as abnormal, short, deep, hoarse sounds in exhalation that often accompany severe chest pain. The grunt occurs because the glottis briefly stops the flow of air, halting the movement of the lungs and their surrounding or supporting structures. Grunting is most often heard in a person who has pneumonia, pulmonary edema, or fractured or bruised ribs. Given his symptoms described over the next few days, I would guess he had pneumonia or a severe cold?

Bert's codes are a bit hard to decifer? He tends to spell badly anyway, and there may be some additional errors in his use of his code? Our earlier deciphering of 19.8.9.20 as s.h.i.t seemed to fit nicely in an entry about hauling manure, so a straight substitution code - A=1, b=2, etc. seems right.

18.21.19.13.15?.12.12, 13.15.5.15.4.25.5
rusmoll m oeo dye ???????

I assume this code translates to Russell Moses Dye - Bert's employer.

Bert then reports that R. Moses Dye took the old sow off. A sow is a female pig, and the second code here translates well --- 20.15 2.15.1.18 --- to boar. This would refer to taking the sow to visit a male pig at somebody else's farm for breeding purposes. The smaller three or four number code makes no sense to me -- 19.14.2.8 ---- snbh

Any help with reading these numbers or with decoding options will be appreciated!

April 31 thru May 1, 1894

2011-07-22T16:14:00.001-07:00

If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Monday, April 31, 1894 --- "A warm nice day". Russell and Zette with to Naples to shop and get the grain milled. Bert helped them load up the grain to take to the mill in Naples, and then he hitched up and got "ten loads of 19.8.9.20 manure" from Milo Dye's place.

Bert inserts the first of several "coded" entries here... 19.8.9.20. I have noticed a number of coded entries in the diary, but this is the first one I've run into as I go through the year blogging about his diary entries. I started with a simple number for letter of the alphabet substitution. For ease I started with 1 for A, 2 for B, 3 for C, etc. After a couple of minutes of reciting the alphabet and counting on my fingers I came up with it! (blogger's note - it took me about 5 minutes to stop laughing here) H = 8th letter, I - 9th letter..... S and T come right together also at number 19 and 20!

He then went to Mr. Avery's farm and got the spring drag and the drill. Mr. Avery lived in Ingleside, and was a blacksmith, and had probably done some repairs on these two essential pieces of farm equipment.

The drag would be pulled by horses over the plowed soil to break up the soil into finer pieces.
There were many types of drills that were invented and manufactured. Generally, the grain drill was pulled by horses and allowed a space for a rider. A grain box was used to hold a supply of seeds to be planted. The planting mechanism included tubes through which the grain fell into furrows made by discs or shoes attached to the bottom of the drill.
Tuesday, May 1, 1894 --- They prepared the north field at Milo Dye's place with the drag, and then sowed oats. Bert then notes that Elmer Bardeen arrived at Russell Dye's place on a bicycle. In those days it would have been one of those high wheel "penny farthing" style bicycles. They would have been quite rare at the time, especially in hilly country like the Italy Valley area south of Naples at the base of the Finger Lakes!

April 29 thru April 30, 1894

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April 26 thru April 27, 1894

2011-07-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

April 24 thru April 25, 1894

2011-02-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Monday, April 24, 1894 --- Chores as always, with rain all morning and some of the afternoon. Bert went up to E. Haynerr's, and helped "change" some oats. (not sure what that means?) Bert then took Ned down to Milo Dye's for him to go to L. D. Foxes funeral. I think Ned is one of the horses. Bert evidently stayed at Milo Dye's place, and "picked over seed potatoes" until Milo got back home. He then came back home to Russell Dye's place and he and Rus went down to Mr. Avery's place and got a load of oat straw.

Tuesday, April 25, 1894 ---- A nice bright sunny day, and Bert and Russell pick stone all morning and part of the afternoon. They then packed up 8 bushels of good potatoes, and Russell took them to Naples to sell. Bert set up hop poles till night, and then did the chores. (I almost thought chores weren't going to be mentioned today?)

Side note - I've gotten a great book on the history of growing hops in the US, and am very excited about it. I've just started reading it, but have already discovered that for a while, this part of New York State was the main hop growing region of the US. (Eastern finger lakes region east to the foot hills of the Catskills) I'll write more about this when I get some more information under my belt. Much thanks to my friend Marty who told me about this book, and also was the one who found this diary.

Title: Tinged with gold : hop culture in the United States / Michael A. Tomlan.

Published: Athens : University of Georgia Press, c1992.

April 22 thru April 23, 1894

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Sunday, April 22, 1894 -- It being Sunday, Bert takes a day off. He borrows a horse and buggy from his brother Herman, and goes to visit his father - John Babcock. He doesn't get there till around 1 PM, and he leaves around six o'clock. He says he didn't get home till 11 PM which is pretty late for those days. I'm thinking that John Babcock may live further away than I thought because even in a horse and buggy in the dark, 5 hours is quite a long time. Bert does not mention any particular problem with his travel. He probably walked back from Herman's after returning the horse and buggy? Still, at 3-4 miles an hour? and time to put away the horse, etc... it would seem John may have lived several miles away. I had thought he lived closer? Bert mentions that "Pa gave me a nice woolen horse blanket for a present today."

Monday, April 23, 1894 --- It is a rainy day, so Bert and Russell work in the barn cleaning oats. They then go out in the woods and cut thirty four fence posts 34
Mud

then
we
done
the
chores

I'd love to know why Bert often does these odd arrangements of his words! I couldn't get this editing program to repeat Bert's arrangement.... picture below.

April 20 thru April 21, 1894

2011-01-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

Friday, April 20, 1894 -- Bert continues to set hop poles at Milo Dye's place. He says that he set 78 poles in 10 and a half minutes. (I've got to learn more about this process because the hop poles I have read about are 10 - 12 feet tall, and fairly large, so setting them at a rate of one every 10 seconds would be quite a feat! - Any input from anyone reading this would be greatly appreciated. I have ordered a book about the history of hop growing in the US, so I'm hoping this will clear up this mystery.) In the afternoon Russell Dye set more poles, and Bert "punched holes" in the poles until five o'clock when there was a thunder storm!

Saturday, April 21, 1894 ---- Bert declares it a "fair" day. After doing the morning chores, Bert caught sheep for Russell to tag. Bert apparently herded the sheep into some sort of rack to hold them for placement of ear tags? Russell then took the sheep over to Milo Dye's place. Probably the tagging was to identify his sheep vs. his father's sheep? Bert took down the racks, and then picked stone all afternoon. He picked 8 loads of stone. He then did the chores, and afterward went over to Herman Babcock's, but evidently met him on the way, and they both returned to Russell Dye's place.

April 18 thru April 19, 1894

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Wednesday, April 18, 1894 --- Bert declares it a hot and dry day. Remember it is only a few days past a quite heavy snowfall! We crawled out of bed at seven o'clock this morning. Chores as always and then Bert goes to Milo Dye's place and "commenced setting hop poles"

Thursday, April 19, 1894 --- Chores as always, and then Russell and Bert hauled hop poles over to Milo Dye's place until it started raining around 11 AM. They quit for a while, and then drew more hop poles until around 3PM. Bert then set poles until around 5PM when it rained again. Bert says "I set 149 poles in twenty four minutes."

I'm not sure how setting poles that fast is possible unless they used a different method of growing hops than I've been able to research. Most hop poles are 10 to 15 feet tall, with wires or strings strung between the tops from which strings are hung for the hop vines to climb. A couple of pictures below. It would seem to me that setting one pole might take 24 minutes! The next day Bert says he set 78 poles in 10.5 minutes? Any feedback on hop farming in 1894 that might explain the process would be very helpful.

April 16 thru April 17, 1894

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April 14 thru April 15, 1894

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Another great shot of cutting firewood below.

Bert then cut and bucked some more wood for S. A. Lion, and took one of the horses -Ned - down to Russell. Chores in the evening of course. Warm enough to thaw all day.

Sunday, April 15, 1894 -- Chores even on Sunday of course - the animals don't take a day off! Bert started to go to church, but there was no meeting because "the preacher was snowed in and could not get here." He went to B.H. Potter's for dinner instead. Bert then notes that "Wheeling has come again today" - I have no idea who that is?

April 12 thru April 13, 1894

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Click here for a nice summary of shingle making from start to finish.

Bert then went to R.G. Phillips and got his sleighs for some reason. Then Bert notes that B. J. Potter came for supper and "a beggin for the church".

April 10 thru April 11, 1894

2011-01-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Tuesday, April 10, 1894 ---- The wind is in the south ( I note that Bert often mentions the wind, but does not always include the temperature?) Chores as always. He then cuts and trims Chestnut trees for posts, and "Dye" (Russell) cares for a sick horse. Russell goes to Naples for medicine for the horse, and Bert cuts firewood. Bert then notes that it snowed all afternoon from the east.

The American chestnut, formerly one of the dominant trees of the eastern United States, has been almost wiped out by chestnut blight; it was an important economic resource not only for the nuts which were sold across North America, even by streetside vendors, but also for timber and tannin. Around 1900, some Asian Chestnut trees were planted on Long Island in New York State, and within 40 years, the American Chestnut was wiped out in most of the US. An early example of invasive species! The culprit was not the Asian Chestnut of course, but rather a disease organism that the Asian Chestnut had adapted to, but most of our American Chestnuts could not deal with. Today there are a few American Chestnuts that are resistant to this blight, but most of what was once about 1/4 of our woodlands is now gone.

Wednesday, April 11, 1894 -- It snowed all day - hard enough to keep them in the barn and in the house for the morning. Bert did some more harness repair - fixing a "hitch strap". In the afternoon, Bert hitched up the team and cleared some road and went down to Milo Dye's place and hauled in wood which M.D.Fisher cut up for "wood" - lumber? I'm not sure how he would have cleared the road? They might have had a "snow roller" as shown below, but I doubt it?
Bert describes the snow as "knee deep tonight - that means two feet nine inches on the level where the wind did not blow" Bert must have been pretty tall? It is only two feet to my knee from the ground. Note that a couple of days ago Bert put his sleigh away for the season, and now there is almost 3 feet of snow!

April 8 thru April 9, 1894

2011-01-06T14:08:00.001-08:00

If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Sunday, April 8, 1894 -- A day of rest? Bert takes his "farewell sleigh ride for the season". He stores his cutter away for the season at brother Herman's place. (A bit early it turns out in a couple of days!) He then came back to Russell's place and hitched up his cart and went down to the Baptist church to meeting. He came back home for dinner, and then went back over to Herman's and borrowed his horse and buggy and went over to Mr. Hiler's to pick up Alida Hiler who is going to work for Herman for the summer. Alida is around 24 years old, one of 10 children of Ophelia and William Hiler of Prattsburgh, NY. She is a fairly close neighbor of Augustus and Mary Weld. Augustus Weld is the brother of my great great great grandmother - Julia (Lydia) Matilda Weld. More of those close connections between the two sides of my family tree! Herman came back home to help with the chores and then went to an evening service at the Baptist Church. "Went to church twice today"

Monday, April 9, 1894 -- "A nice warm day and it thawed all day". Bert and Russel Dye went over to Milo B. Dye's place (Russell's father) and cleaned up 37 bushels of oats for seed. They then went out in the woods on Russell's place and cut 91 fence posts. Bert borrowed a "hay knife" from "Eygener"???

April 6 thru April 7, 1894

2011-01-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday, April 7, 1894 --- Chores as always, and another snowy day. Bert "drawed" a load of manure, and he and Russell cut a load of firewood for Stanley Lion (Lyon?). In the afternoon, Bert fixed a bridle and "sewed a line to gather" and

made a pair
of spread
straps
and
sit
in
the
house

It snowed from the East all day!

I laid out the above as Bert did in his handwritten account - no idea why he did this? Anyone with a knowledge of farm leather work, harness repair, etc. that can fill me in on "sewed a line to gather" and "spread straps" is encouraged to enlighten me!

And Herman came over to get Bert to go over to Mr. Hiler's to get his hired girl.

April 4 thru April 5, 1894

2010-12-31T16:42:00.001-08:00

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Wednesday, April 4, 1894 - A short entry, but what is there to talk about when it was just the usual chores, and then "husked corn all day". Not sure if they might have had some sort of mechanical device? At best he might have had something like one of the two items shown below which would help strip the outer leaves (husks) from the ears of corn a bit faster. Of course this corn has dried all winter, so the husks do come off a bit easier than husking the fresh sweet corn from the farm market in the fall as we do now. The corn is usually husked and picked in one operation as shown in the video below.Video of the 2009 Nebraska Hand Corn Husking Competition below. After viewing this 5 minute video, imagine doing this all day! I love the fact that the video shows it snowing just as it does tomorrow when they are plowing. Today it is raining which can't be a lot more hospitable!

Thursday, April 5, 1894 - The beginning of spring plowing. Bert plowed all day, and Russel - his boss - plowed for the afternoon. This would have been a long slow process, using a horse drawn plow guided along and kept in the ground properly by sheer physical labor, with lots of extra jolts when they would hit any of the stones or rocks that they might have missed the other day!
Video of horse drawn plowing below.

They must have plowed for a long day because they did not get the chores done until 9PM! And it was cold enough that it snowed some during the day. The picture above is not far off from what the area around Naples, Italy, Ingleside would have looked like.... and still does. Very hilly, and high enough elevation to have a quite short growing season! Today the hills are dotted with huge wind turbines.

April 2 thru April 3, 1894

2010-12-30T07:57:00.000-08:00

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Monday, April 2nd, 1894 --- Bert starts work for Russell M. Dye today for the third year. He works only 8 months of the year. This seems to have been a common practice. Farmers needed extra help, but only during the Spring, Summer, and Fall. My great grandfather Bart Olney worked on a similar arrangement in 1886. The main difference was that he was only 16 at the time, and all the money when to his father Henry. Bert Babcock makes $17.50 per month. I find it interesting that he only makes $1.50 more than 16 year old Bart made 8 years earlier. Bert is 27. While by today's standards $1.50 isn't much, it is 10% more than Bart made. We don't really know what other benefits were included, but Bert certainly got room and board, and probably laundry as well.

While Bert has been helping out some over the winter, real work seems to start in earnest with the advent of getting paid. They drew 13 loads of manure from the barnyard out to the fields for fertilizer, They also collected and drew away a load of stones, plus moved 10 big rocks out of the fields. (In post glacier upstate NY, every spring reveals a great many rocks and stones that have moved to the surface during the alternate freezing and thawing of the winter and spring.) And of course as always chores are part of the day. That probably would have included feeding the livestock, milking the cows, cleaning out stalls, collecting eggs, etc. All the stuff that just has to be done everyday no matter what the weather, or day of the week..... no holidays either!

I've probably mentioned this before, but Russel M. Dye is the brother of my great grandmother on my father's side of the family! Bert is the brother of my great grandfather on my mother's side. While this connection between the two sides of my family seems pretty cool, the Naples, Italy, Ingleside area of New York State was a pretty small community with not a lot of outside contact. The families in the area have shared friendships, church affiliation, marriage, and their economic life for many generations!

Tuesday, April 3, 1896 --- More chores of course, and 11 more loads of manure spread on the fields. Russel and his wife Zette (Rosetta) go to a "hen pie social" in the evening at B.D. Potter's place, and Bert stays home to "keep fire". "Pie Socials" are still somewhat common at rural churches. "Hen Pie Social" might refer to a gathering with sort of a chicken pot pie theme?

March 31 thru April 1, 1894

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March 29 thru 30, 1894

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March 27 thru 28, 1894

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March 25 thru 26, 1894

2010-12-11T17:35:00.001-08:00

March 23 thru 24, 1894

2010-12-10T04:47:00.001-08:00

March 21 thru 22, 1894

2010-05-08T18:38:00.001-07:00

March 19 thru 20, 1894

2010-05-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

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Monday, March 19, 1894 --- "Mud, mud, mud, mud, warm and muddy" Leman and Bert did the chores, and then loaded up two loads of hay to take to Prattsburgh - probably for John? Leman got "hung up in the mud three times" but Bert managed to not get stuck. It took 4 hours to get to Prattsburgh because of the mud. They got home around 4 PM, and had dinner. After dinner they loaded up two more loads of hay to take to Prattsburgh the next day. Bert then took Herman's mail over to his place.

Tuesday, March 20, 1894 --- They did the chores for John, and then they took more hay to Prattsburgh. They each took 12 bales in the morning and 12 more in the afternoon. Still lots of mud, but it seems to have gone better?

March 17 thru 18, 1894

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March 15 thru 16, 1894

2010-04-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

March 13 thru 14, 1894

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March 11 thru 12, 1894

2010-03-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

March 9 thru 10, 1894

2010-03-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

March 7 thru 8, 1894

2010-03-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

March 5 thru 6, 1894

2010-03-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

March 3 thru 4, 1894

2010-03-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

March 1 thru 2, 1894

2010-03-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday, March 1, 1894 --- it thawed all last night and the sun came up bright this morning and it thawed like fun all day. Bert got up at 5AM, and went up the hill and "done my chores". ( Not sure which place these chores were at? Probably Russell Dye's) He then went over to Atlanta and got 5 barrels of salt for Russell Dye. (8 years ago, Henry C. Olney was referring to modern day Atlanta as "Bloods". Bert now calls it Atlanta?) Bert dropped off two barrels of the salt at S. C. Avery's, and took the other three on to Russell Dye's place. He then went back and got the two barrels and brought them on the rest of the way. (No idea why --- possibly the five barrels were too heavy for a hill?) He then did the chores - evidently at Russell Dye's?, and then went to spend the night at Milo Dye's place. "and it thaws yet"

Friday, March 2, 1894 --- the sun came up bright, but it clouded up and snowed a little. It thawed all day. Bert trimmed some chestnut logs and hauled a load of wood for Milo Dye. Bert then went "up on the hill" and did the chores, and then returned to Milo Dye's for the night.

February 27 thru 28, 1894

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Tuesday, February 27, 1894 --- Warm enough to thaw today. Bert does the chores - probably at Russell Dye's? - and then goes to Alvie Fisher's place. (Probably Alva Fisher?) He goes to see Winnie Fisher and Herman Babcock draw logs. (Winnie Fisher is Alva Fisher's younger brother - Winnie appears to be his actual name - the name appears in the 1900 census records. Winnie is 23 years old in 1894) Bert and Winnie take two loads of logs to the mill. Winnie and Bert then went "home" to do the chores, and then they went over to Herman's for the night.

Wednesday, February 28, 1894 --- "a nice pleasant day the sun shone bright and it thawed lather to shave" Then Bert went to Prattsburgh and got the rest of his buggy he bought recently, and also purchased 20 yards of cloth to cover it with, and two cups to "clean teeth in" -- one for himself and one for Zette. The cups cost 30 cents each. He then did the chores. Based on his financial records in the back of the diary, it appears he is making $5.00 per month working for Russell Dye?

February 25 thru 26, 1894

2010-02-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.
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Sunday, February 25, 1894 --- "cold enough to shave a hog this morning and the wind is in the south and the snow was flying to beat grant" (the reference to shaving a hog might have come from the fact that cold weather was necessary for butchering pigs in those days to quickly cool the meat. Shaving the hog was part of the process. The meat would cook better with the skin on, but the hair burning would ruin the flavor!) (The reference to "flying to beat Grant" may have been a reference to the campaign slogan from the 1872 presidential election between Horace Greeley and Ulysses S. Grant ---- "Anything to beat Grant")

Bert does not mention a specific temperature today. Bert did the chores at Russell Dye's that morning. After breakfast Bert and Herman went over to Mr. Hiler's. They came home and got dinner. Bert then went back to Russell's to do the evening chores. He then went back to Herman's for the night. (This is as good a place as any to say I don't really understand exactly what Bert's life is all about at this point. He travels back and forth between John Babcock's - his father-, Herman Babcock's - his brother, and Russell Dye's whom he seems to work for? He has also visited and stayed overnight at Milo Dye's - Russell's father. I don't know if Leman has his own place, or if he lives all the time with his father John. Bert keeps at least some of his clothes at Russell Dye's place, and take his meals wherever he happens to be?)

Monday, February 26, 1894 --- Bert does the chores at Russell Dye's, and then goes over to William (?) Hiler's place and picks up Alida Hiler who is going to work for Herman for a week. (according to 1880 census records, Alida is 26 years old in 1894. Bert then goes back to Russell Dye's and hitches up a bob sleigh to haul two loads of firewood to Milo B. Dye. He then takes the sleigh back to Russell Dye's, does the chores, and then returns to Milo Dye's to spend the night.

February 23 thru 24, 1894

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February 21 thru 22, 1894

2010-02-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

February 19 thru 20, 1894

2010-02-19T18:34:00.000-08:00

February 17 thru 18, 1894

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February 15 thru 16, 1894

2010-02-15T03:00:00.000-08:00

February 13 thru 14, 1894

2010-02-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.
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Tuesday, February 13, 1894 --- "twelve above zero and it snowed rip at a shave". Leman and Bert did the morning chores, and then Bert went up to his brother Herman's place. The snow was knee deep. Herman and Winnie hitched up the horses, and the three of them went to Prattsburgh to a town meeting. Bert bought himself a new "top" buggy, and Herman evidently drove it home, or perhaps hitched it up to the back of their rig on the way home? Bert stayed overnight at Herman's. Winnie (Fisher) is Herman's brother-in-law - brother of his wife Anna.
A top buggy - not sure if Bert's was this fancy, but lots of buggies, wagons, sleighs, etc were made in the upstate NY area. "The 1890s produced some of the most elegant vehicles ever seen on local roads. This beautiful top buggy was made in Penn Yan and advertised for sale locally and regionally. The Whitfield factory where it was manufactured is still standing on East Elm Street in Penn Yan. Not everyone could afford a vehicle as sophisticated as this one, and of course its cargo space was limited. Literally dozens of specialized carriages, buggies and wagons were turned out in local factories. A thriving forging business grew up in the village of Dundee to make parts for the several carriage factories there. At least two of the water-powered mills on the Keuka Lake Outlet produced some of the millions of spokes needed for all these wooden wheels, in fact eventually all the parts were made in one of these mills, all except for the iron tires."

Bert then makes an entry in some sort of code? eht teon si end eht tsrif fo naj 5981 I'm thinking this is a simple "spell it backwards" code perhaps with some errors? (the note is end the first of jan 1895) Any input on this will be appreciated. Bert will be doing a number of codes as the year goes along, including letter and number codes.

Wednesday, February 14, 1894 --- Bert and Leman loaded up some of the farm implements on Leman's sleigh - a drill and a roller. They load two flat plows, and the two drags and some smaller items on Bert's sleigh, and then take them over to John Babcock's new place he bought from Charley Corey. "a nice bright warm day"

February 11 thru 12, 1894

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February 9 thru 10, 1894

2010-02-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday, February 10. 1894 --- Bert and Leman did the morning chores and the three of them then picked over potatoes till noon. (Bert must have been optimistic yesterday when he mention finishing picking over the potatoes!) Pa (John) and Leman went to Italy to "caucus". ( I presume some sort of local political meeting?) Bert stayed home and picked over more potatoes till evening chore time and then did the chores. He went up to Russel Dye's to stay all night.

"I got two dollars and fifty cents" --- written upside down and at a 45 degree angle!

February 7 thru 8, 1894

2010-02-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

February 5 thru 6, 1894

2010-02-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

February 3 thru 4, 1894

2010-02-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

February 1 thru 2, 1894

2010-02-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

"The old bear saw his shadow" - Don's note.... I found a very few other references to this phrase - evidently a New York State version of the groundhog story and 6 more weeks of winter? The 2nd of February (Candlemas day) is half way between the winter and spring solstices.

January 30 thru 31, 1894

2010-01-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 31, 1894 --- They do the morning chores, and then have to shovel out the road for the first time this winter. Leman and Bert then went to Naples with two loads of the potatoes they sorted yesterday. "Grandmother died tonight" Bert has lost his mother and his grandmother this month! John has lost his wife and his mother! At this point I don't know her name?

January 28 thru 29, 1894

2010-01-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

January 26 thru 27, 1894

2010-01-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

January 24 thru 25, 1894

2010-01-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

January 22 thru 23, 1894

2010-01-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

January 20 thru 21, 1894

2010-01-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 20, 1894 --- "The wind blew forty miles momet" I'm not at all sure what that means, other than it was probably very windy? Leman and Bert haul two more loads of hay each to Prattsburgh.

Sunday, January 21, 1894 --- "the wind blew lather to shave", and it rained, then hailed, and then snowed! A pretty bad patch of weather! Bert goes over to Russell Dye's place, and then down to L.S.(?) Horton's, and then back home. So far Bert has made no mention of church activities on Sundays, or any other day?

January 18 thru 19, 1894

2010-01-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January, 18, 1894 --- "The wind blew a gale from the south all day and it thawed a little". Leman and Bert each took a load of hay to Prattsburgh for "pa" - John Babcock. They then did the evening chores, and then loaded up two loads of hay to take to Prattsburgh tomorrow. It rained a little at night. Above freezing all day. Note Bert's sort of artistic layout of the last line. (He will be doing that quite a bit.)

Friday, January 19, 1894 --- Leman and Bert do the chores as usual, and in addition each take two loads of hay to Prattsburgh

January 16 thru 17, 1894

2010-01-16T03:00:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, January 16, 1894 --- "So foggy you could see a little bit." ( a perfect example of Bert's sense of humor and interesting ability to "turn a phrase".) Leman and Bert do the morning chores, and then Bert cleans out the colt's stable. Leman does the butter churning, and then goes down to the hollow to "git" the horses shod. Bert and John clean up some oats and put up a "grist". (A grist is a quantity of grain that has been cleaned -chaff and hulls removed - for grinding for either cattle feed, or flour for household use.) Then Bert cleaned out the "bull ranch". (I assume this is another example of Bert's sense of humor - using the expansive term "ranch" for what was probably a fairly small barn stall for the bull used to breed the cows.) Charley Corey came by to get his bull and his "farrow" (sic) cow. (I'm assuming this is one of Bert's frequent mis-spellings - fallow would refer to a cow that had not been bred yet?) They then put up a load of potatoes that night. The fog has held on all day.

Wednesday, January 17, 1894 --- Leman and Bert go to Naples. Bert takes the grist to the mill to be ground, and Leman takes forty bushels and 10 pounds of potatoes (2200 pounds - over a ton) and sold them for 45 cents a bushel..... a little over $18. Bert spends 10 cents on beef.

January 14 thru 15, 1894

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January 12 thru 13, 1894

2010-01-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

January 10 thru 11, 1894

2010-01-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 10, 1894 --- Another fairly typical day. Bert and Leman do the chores in the morning, and then go to the woods and cut some more firewood. They also split the wood, and corded it up - three cords. (A full cord is a large amount of wood. It measures 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by eight feet long (4' x 4' x 8') and has a volume of 128 cubic feet.)

Bert and Leman do the evening chores. John Babcock went to the "hollow" to get kerosene... not sure if Bert is referring to Ingleside? Ingleside was known as Riker's Hollow previously. I'm guessing he bought kerosene from James Avery in Ingleside?

Thursday, January 11, 1894 --- They do the morning chores as usual, and then sit in the house a little while. (I'm not at all sure why Bert mentions sitting in the house so often. They seem to have a different work ethic than my great great grandfather Henry C. Olney - a neighbor of theirs. Or maybe Henry just never mentioned rest periods in the same way that he never much mentioned doing the daily morning and evening chores?) They then went back to the woods and cut and split more firewood. (Note this would have been done with axe and two man crosscut saw.... no power chainsaws in those days!) They then hitch up the horses, and "drawed" a couple of loads of firewood back to the house. They then did the evening chores. Bert notes that it snowed, and "the wind is a rising" tonight.

January 8 thru 9, 1894

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January 6 thru 7, 1894

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January 4 thru 5, 1894

2010-01-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

Bert goes to Herman's later.

January 2 thru 3, 1894

2010-01-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

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Tuesday, January 2, 1894 --- Bert comments that it is a fine day, but he is not feeling to well, and spends some time sitting around the house. He helps with the chores and churns some butter. He also splits some wood and puts it in the wood house. He also helps with the evening chores. Bert mentions that pa (John Babcock) goes over to visit Charley Corey to discuss buying a farm.

And in another example of his sense of humor about illness, Bert comments that "i am injoying a season of the belly ache"

Wednesday, January 3, 1894 --- Another fine day, and the sun shines bright all day. He helps with the chores as usual, and he cleaned out the hog pen. He also went into the woods and cut down five trees, and left one standing. (Possibly he was thinning the woods for fire wood, and leaving some to grow bigger without competition from the neighbor trees.) He then trimmed branches on four of the five trees he cut down, and prepared them to saw into firewood. Bert and Leman do the evening chores. Leman is his brother. He has another brother Herman Babcock. Bert concludes by saying he is feeling better tonight.

January 1, 1894

2010-01-01T02:00:00.000-08:00

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Monday, January 1, 1894 --- Like pretty much all farm diaries of the era, Bert includes mention of the weather pretty much every day. In fact this diary includes "Wea." and "Ther" on either side of the date printed at the top of each page. Bert notes that it is 10 below zero, but he considers it a "fine day". You'll notice that Bert does not use capital letters much. He is at home today, and helps pa (John Babcock) with the chores, including drawing water to wash with. My guess is that drawing water would have meant bringing buckets of water from a nearby creek or spring? The water would have then been heated on the wood stove. Wash usually refers to what we would call doing the laundry, and my guess is that is the case here because Bert notes that "anna came down to do the wash." We do not yet know who Anna is. Anna comes to do the wash because Bert's mother Eliza is very ill. "Dr. Preston came up to see ma."

He does some wood splitting and puts the wood into the wood house --- usually some sort of covered shed type building attached to or very near the back door of the house. He also helps with the evening chores. Bert mentions the chores most every day. Chores would have been the day to day required jobs to keep a farm and family life going. Feeding and milking the cows, feeding and watering the horses, chickens, pigs, and any other farm animals. Gathering eggs, cleaning out the manure, etc. Also included would be hauling in water, bring in firewood, etc. for the household needs.

Bert received a gift of a pocket ink stand from his father.

And in what we will see is sort of a typical wry sense of humor - especially about his own health - Bert notes that "i am injoying the colic" Spelling is not one of Bert's strong writing skills, but his views on life will prove most interesting.

Plan's for Bert Babcock's Diary

2009-12-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

In the summer of 2009, a friend of mine (Marty Schlabach) told me about a diary available on E-bay. He knew I was interested in Naples, NY, and had been working on publishing my great great grandfather's 1886 diary of life in rural upstate New York - specifically, Naples, NY and surrounding area. This new diary was from 1894, and from the description on E-bay my father and I determined that the writer was my maternal great uncle - Herbert "Bert" Babcock. Bert was the brother of my grandmother's father.

I plan to do a similar project with this diary. I plan to post pictures of the original pages from Bert's diary, along with my own comments and research. The writing in the diary, like Henry's, is all very clear, and the diary is very complete. There seems to be an entry for every day. Bert seems to give somewhat less detail about day to day life, but does make a lot of sort of wry comments. The one family story that I had prior to obtaining this diary is that "Uncle Bert used to like to say that he liked to bump his shin because it felt so good when it got done hurting!"

Bert never specifically identifies himself in the diary - no name written in the front, etc. - but when I read the January 1st entry I knew that I had Bert's diary in my hands! Bert says "I am injoying (sic) the colic."

For me, the other great thing about this diary beyond the fact that it is written by my great uncle, is that Bert is working on the farm of Russell Dye. Russell Dye is the brother of my paternal great grandmother! So this diary is a direct connection to both sides of my immediate family.

And in another cosmic "small world" story, the second to last entry in Henry's diary talks about Bert's father - John Babcock - coming over to negotiate about buying a horse. Two of my great great grandfathers were horse trading on December 30, 1886!

I'm also thinking that I will Twitter some of Bert's comments because a lot of them are really neat little gems! Each entry will be two days as that is how the diary is laid out. I will try to have a new entry appear every two days as the year goes along.