April 10 thru April 11, 1894

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

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

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.

Friday, April 6, 1894 --- Cold and snowy, and the usual chores. Russell and Bert plow all morning, and husk corn all afternoon. It "snowed about all the time".

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

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

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

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.

Saturday March 31, 1894 - Leman and Bert do the morning chores while Olivia and Pa make breakfast. John, Leman and Bert go over to Italy with the horses and sleighs and load up some hay. John and Leman take the hay home, and Bert goes over to Herman's. Bert ate dinner there, and helped saw some firewood. Winnie went down to Italy to swap horses, and Bert stayed the night at Herman's.

Sunday, April 1, 1894 - Bert comments that it is April Fool's Day, and that he did not get fooled all day! Bert stayed at Herman's all day, but went over to Milo Dye's around 4PM. Bert says he went to "hayness" for a while in the evening. Maybe Haynes's place? Not sure who that is?

Bert comments that he lent Herman $50.

Not sure what the little drawings of cubes are about?

March 29 thru 30, 1894

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.

Thursday - They move more stuff to the new place today, and spend the night there for the first time. Bert loads up some more "truck", and then leads Fanny over to the new place. I assume this is one of their horses, but no idea why he would not have ridden her over? Pa (John Babcock), "Pie Face", and Leman moved more stuff over to the new place, and Horton "fetched Olivia and some other truck." I have no idea who "Pie Face" is? Or who Horton is?

Friday - Another of Bert's great phrases - "the wind was in the south this morning and it blew lather to shave" (I'm thinking maybe referring to blowing hard enough to blow everything away - like shaving your beard?) He and Leman did the chores as always, and then went to Italy (nearby community) to get some hay. They stop in Jerusalem (another small community in the area) on the way home. I have no idea what he means about it being his "last night in Jerusalem"?