William M. Ballou Diary
Jan 14
Foggy and spits of snow all day pretty cool wind in the north east all day
Jan 15
Foggy and misted all day and rained night froze up in the night and made it all ice
J 16
Wind blew in the morning but very pleasant in the afternoon. Slippery
Jan 17
Foggy and rained Wm and myself went to Alvah Leymans Albert and Ella came in the evening
Jan 18
I went to mothers Martha came up here [faded] but windy
Jan 19
Very pleasant went over to Henry Foxes Mr Winchester and wife and Albert and Ella went came home and made our sausages
Jan 20th
Baked and William went to the village and got some spice carried some eggs
Jan 21
Made some apple sauce and pickled my cabbage
Jan 22
Cleared out my pantry and mopped my floors and ironed my dress Sidney Riches folks came and Albert and Ella in the evening
Friday, January 1, 1869.
Snowed all day wind in the east Wm read Uncle Toms Cabin I sewed all day snow fell eighteen inches
Saturday 2
I ironed in the forenoon Wm ploughed the road and went to the village in the afternoon and got a pound of coffee and also soda
Sunday 3
Am not feeling very well have got cold melted some sugar and ate on snow Wm read and had a nap on the bed and I had one on the lounge
Monday, January 4, 1869.
Foggy in the morning cleared off Wm shoveled out the road Albert and father put their oxen together and ploughed snow I pushed sewed in the evening
Tuesday 5
It thawed in the morning Wm washed the harness and greased it I sewed and scoured the plate for the harness father went to the village and got the papers
Wednesday 6
Wm helped do the chores and carry water for the cattle. father went to the village and got me some palm leaf and a broom I made some yeast and hulled some corn
Thursday, January 7, 1869.
It is warm and pleasant Wm and father went to town meeting in the afternoon and Wm and myself went to a surprise party on the crossing to Joshua Coles.
Friday 8
Cloudy Wm has helped father fix his lead pipe and chopped some wood & have been sweeping and mopping and sewed some this afternoon and in the evening
Saturday 9
Ironed this afternoon fixed some jell in the forenoon William chopped wood and harnessed the colt he and father went out this afternoon
Sunday, January 10, 1869.
Sarah and myself went over to Davids and brought over my clothes is a pleasant day. Kathe did not go to Davids
Monday 11
lamp wick
one thimble
ball of candlewicking
Kerosene
salt
paid
Tuesday 12
Buttons
shoe thread
Lime
frock
Wednesday, January 13, 1869.
molasses
sugar
nutmeg
Thursday 14
Tobacco for Barnard
Early new potatoes
lemons
hayseed plow paint
lyme
Monday [February] 22
Eggs 2 ½ day .75
" 4 " 1.20
" 3 " .78
" 4 " 1.00
" 4 "
Sunday, March 14, 1869.
sent four boxes of sugar to Boston
Thursday [March] 25
sent two boxes of butter and one of sugar to Boston
Saturday, April 10, 1869.
sent three boxes of butter to Boston
one 20 lb box
Monday, August 23, 1869.
Henry Bawker took four lambs at 4.50cts and one for 5.50 & paid me 5.00 toward them. he ows me 14.50 for the rest of them
Wednesday [October] 6
Got a victor second hand and stove of Sidney Alvord for 15.00 and pipe 2.17cts
Friday [October] 8
Let Schuyler Ward have six bushels and a half of apples 50cts per bushel
3.25
Sunday, October 10, 1869.
Got one bushel of early new potatoes of Albert Fox for two dollars
Monday 11
Let Sidney Alvord have one bushel of [?] seeds for 80cts and 1¼ bus for 50cts per bushel
Monday [October] 18
carried Streeter and Bishop 12 heads of cabbage for 1.25 per head
Monday, October 25, 1869.
Got two pigs of Charles Ware for 3.50 apiece Bought a cow of Alvah Leyman for 55.00 put 25 dollars down and gave a note for the rest got 3 bushels oats & peas for the hogs
Tuesday [November] 2
drawed my cider apples to the mill and brought home two barrels of cider with the mare
Monday, November 15, 1869.
Carried out the butter to Fairbanks and Ware for 38 cts per pound 134 lbs in all
carried Frank Bishop 3 heads of cabbage 25 cts
Tuesday 16
kill two year old heiffer weight dressed 645 lbs hide 92 lbs tallow 35 lbs
Frank Crosbys wife died
Wednesday 17
We cut it up and I had half of the hieffer
Thursday, November 18, 1869.
is the national Thanksgiving We tied up the tallow and he carried home his half of the meat
Friday 19
Went to the village carried box of butter weight 22¾ lbs Charles had it for thirty eight cts per pound got a meat barrel of [?] came with [?]
Thursday [December] 2
Orren Ware paid me for the butter 50.90 cts and I settled the book account 14.72cts I think it was.
I [?] the Moore's cow to Charles
Tuesday [December] 7
Mr Ware 134 gal
Monday [December] 20
Wm and Mr Chandler went down and helped Albert kill his hogs Father came over got the oxen and drawed some wood I baked six pies
Tuesday, December 21, 1869.
Albert went to Brattleboro and carried his hog Wm drawed wood Mr Ware and wife and Mr Leymans and Father and Mother came here a visiting Snowed in the evening
Wednesday 22
Wm went to the woods and got a big log and went down to Thaziles with the Moores cow it rained quite hard all day I stired some cream
Thursday 23
Father came over and took topsy home Wm drawed wood all day We went to the festival in the evening carried Billy over to Fathers
Friday, December 24, 1869.
Father came and took billy home and got topsy and I went home with him and got Hatie to come and brought us home I knit all day
Memoranda.
Had over one hundred bushel of apples and fifty bushels of good corn four bushels of peas ten bushels of buckwheat 30 bushels of oats & a peck of beans
Thaziles Alvord .50
January 1st 1870
Baked in the fore noon and moped the floors in the afternoon Wm chopped wood at the door Father and mother went to the village and got me some blankets
Memoranda.
J 2nd Sunday
It snowed in the morning and commenced raining about noon Wm lay on the floor and had a nap I read Mrs Wares Household paper
Jan 3
Did the chores and put down a box of butter Wm went to the village and carried Mieles lard to him got some tea and Katie a pair of shoes and chopped sausage meal in the evening
Jan 4th
Churned and sprinkled my clothes father came over to draw some hay Wm chopped at the door Alvah Leyman came here and spent the evening Father drawed three loads of hay
Memoranda.
Jan 5th
Did up my chores father came over and brought me some squash Wm [?] over my pie meat and has gone down to father Ballous this afternoon Mr Ware and wife went to Alberts visiting called for me but I could not go
Jan 6
Father came over and done the chores I baked six pies and loaf bread worked some butter sewed on my drawers in the evening boiled some beets for pickles put Katie to bed at 7 oclock
Jan 7
Did up chores moped the floors and sewed in the afternoon ironed in the evening and sewed some father came and done the burn choke handle back on the oven
Memoranda.
[margin]
Wm got fifteen pounds of sugar and half
Jan 8
Ironed in the forenoon sewed in the afternoon Wm came home from Munroe about half past three Mothers boarder left school closed this afternoon finished my drawers and mended
Jan 9
quite cold did up my chores Wm and I had a sugar eat I read news papers Wm laid down on the floor and had a nap brought in five eggs and went out
Jan 10
Wm got some corn Did my chores and cut me out a pair of chemise and carried them down to Haties and got them stiched Minnie came home with us
Memoranda.
Jan 11th
Did my chores and braided two hats trimed some leaf. Wm went over and got the saw to fathers and sawed some wood Albert came up here and brought the meat home
Jan 12
Washed Minnie did the dishes and helped me I braided two hats in the evening it has been a very rainy day Wm went down to Alberts to see if he was going to Rufuses
Jan 13
I baked in the forenoon Minnie mopped I rung out the clothes and braided three hats Minnie washed all my dishes down
Memoranda.
churned
Jan 14
Minnie washed the breakfast dishes & did the milk pans and pails made some beet pickle baked some meat went down to Rufus Bawkers in the evening. Father come over and went to the [?]
Minnie washed the dishes I worked some butter Wm carried eleven lbs to Uncle Hosea Minnie and I braided.
Jan 16
Minnie washed the breakfast dishes I the milk things and we read it is all ice out doors after supper Wm went and carried out Minnie home it is splendid
Cash Account. January.
¼ of allspice
¼ " cinnamon
¼ " cloves
extract
coffee
thread
Cash Account. February.
[numerical entries for "Eggs—Sold" and "Dozen"]
Cash Account. March.
For work on high way
To two days
on bridge
on road
Memoranda.
¼ lb of saltpetre
2 butter boxes
½ bushel salt
1.4 fine salt
Jan 1st
Pleasant in the morning clouded up in the afternoon snowed in the evening
Jan 2nd
Rained most all day cleared away in the evening
Jan 3rd
Cloudy but not very cold
J 4th
Pleasant in the morning Cloudy and squally in the afternoon
Jan 5
Squally and windy and quite cold
Jan 6
Snowed all day wind in the south west
Jan 7
quite pleasant but the wind blew some blew
Streeter is owing me for 9 heads of cabbage
Jan 8th
Snowed all day cleared away about sundown
Jan 9
very cold and squally
Jan 10
Snowed all day wind in the south west
Jan 11
Pleasant but cool
J 12
Rained
13
Rained in the forenoon and snowed at night
DATABASE CONTENT
| (15276) | DL1648.002 | Diaries |
Tags: Animals, Business, Chores, Clothing, Crops (Other), Death (Home Front), Family, Farming, Food, Food Preservation, Gender Relations, Home, Hygiene, Marriages, Money, Nature, Newspapers, Payment, Reading, School/Education, Supplies, Thanksgiving, Weather, Work
People - Records: 1
- (5300) [writer] ~ Ballou, William Mason
SOURCES
William M. Ballou Diary, DL1648.002, Nau Collection
