Mar 8 – Pleasant. Went over to burg with Jo Lee. Mark and Jesse Lee[28] called here. Doc Wightman got one bushel potatoes.
Mar 9 – Foggy morning. Drawed some wood.
Mar 10 – Started for Marshall[29] left home about half past four AM. Train run the station. Snowed and blowed like fun. Went to Concord.[30] Fare 1.35. Went to Johns stayed all night.
Mar 11 – Went over to Kirkwoods.[31] Fare 75¢. Stayed all night. Cold day 2 below zero in morning.
Mar 12 – Pleasant morning. Irene[32] and I went over to uncle Jasons[33] found uncle quite smart.
Mar 13 – Went over to Jonesville[34] with Steven.[35] Good sleighing.
Mar 14 – Cold and blustering. Jesse sick.[36] Went up to Stevens and over to Bissils[37] in Evening. Snowed some.
Mar 15 – Pleasant in morning. Went down to Jess went over to Mr Underhills. Filed saw for Steven. Took tea at under Hills. Went over to Bissels stayed all night.
Mar 16 – Cold morning. Kirkwoods woods folks came over to Bissels. I went over to Stevens and Jess. Stayed with Jess all night.
Mar 17 – Cold morning. Made a fire for Uncle Jason. Left Uncle Jasons about noon. Went over to Concord got to Concord about four PM.
Mar 18 – Left Concord 9 AM for Concord station. Left for home about one got home about three P.M.
Mar 19 – Went down to Catharines. Snowed like fun. Found them all well.
Mar 20 – Came home. Jess Lee married[38] this morning. Mr Greenleaf[39] died to day about noon.
Mar 21 – At home all day. Cold. Mr Greenleaf buried.
Mar 22 – Went up to Wesleys. Very snowey day. Made Axhelve for Chub.
Mar 23 – Mended Birges chairs. Pleasant day. Mrs Brown[40] and Julia,[41] Mrs Plank here visiting. Brown and Plank here in Evening.
Mar 24 – Went over to burg. Sarah went over. Hank Wells called here to get rope, he broke down got very muddy.
Mar 25 – Went over to burg. Saw Bristol & L. T. Earl.[42] Talked some of making a trade.
Mar 26 – At home not much done to day.
Mar 27 – Went over to burg in morning. Bot Broom 40 bot Jim some cloth for pants. Filed Wes saw. All the Planks over in Evening. Nancy & Hannah went up to Allens.
Mar 28 – Pleasant Mercury stands at 60. At home all day.
Mar 29 – Trimed apple trees some. Cleaned out back house. Went down to A Browns got hams. Went over to burg. Got Hannahs shoes tapt 65¢. Rainy night Pixly & Grannis at burg.
Mar 30 – Rainy morning. Went up to L. T. Earls. Cold and muddy.
Mar 31 – Finished trimming orchard. Ethan and girls went down to Catharines. Jo Lee came up. I filed his saw.
Apr 1 – Snows and blows like fun. Went up in woods got 3 pails sap.
Apr 2 – At home all forenoon. Went to burg in afternoon.
Apr 3 – Drawed rails in forenoon. Went to burg in afternoon. Saw L. T. Earl and Hellen Blake. Made trade for Bristols place.
Apr 4 – Went down to Catharines with Bill[43] and sleigh. Sap run some.
Apr 5 – Pleasant morning. Round home all day Except when I was to town meeting.
Apr 6 – Went down to Catharines. Helped Mark shugar of. Lasher came back.
Apr 7 – At Catharines shugared of. Mrs Carleton & Jenny came over to eat shugar.
Apr 8 – Went to Kalamazoo got some clover and timothy seed ___ 75¢. Pleasant day. Got money for Mr Bristol 600. Dollars. He paid me 4.78.82.
Apr 9 – Drawed brush out of orchard.
Apr 10 – Pleasant. Picked up old fence bottom and stuff on side hill and moved some stone. Brot apples out cellar.
Apr 11 – Pleasant morning. Found one of my sheep dead. Pulled the wool of her.
Apr 12 – Pleasant morning. School commenced to day. Cleaned out cellar.
Apr 13 – Drawed some stone. Sarah and Sucy Brown went over to Planks. Birge burnt potatoetops in East lot.
Apr 14 – Finished moving stone. Laid up some fence. Sarah and Brown went up to Jesse Earls.[44] Carried my pole and whiffletrees[45] over to burg.
Apr 15 – Pleasant morning. Brown and Sarah went over to burg. Mrs Gaffing came here stayed all night.
Apr 16 – Went down to Catharines with Gaffing. Mary Brown Died this morning. Rained some.
Apr 17 – Sarah went over to burg. I drawed some manure.
Apr 18 – Rainy day. Charley Lee here to Breakfast. Harry Streator here. Mary Brown Buried to day. Rainy night some thunder.
Apr 19 – Paid Lucy[46] 2.60. Dollars. Got some scions[47] out of Catharines orchard.
Apr 20 – Worked round home. Rainy. Ole Bull at Kalamazoo this Evening.
Apr 21 – Moved some fence round barn yard. Mr Woodden Died this morning.
Apr 22 – Split out some fence posts. Went over to burg got ten lbs fence nails one lb ___. Mr Woodden buried to day.
Apr 23 – Got out manure. Paid M. O. Streator[48] $133.00. one Hundred & thirty three Dollars for J. O. Keith.[49] Had a shugar party.
Apr 24 – Fixed some fence. Split out some fence posts.
Apr 25 – Carried Sarah over to church. Mr Bristol called here in morning.
Apr 26 – Sowed my clover seed. Rained some afternoon.
Apr 27 – Worked round yard got out some manure &c.[50]
Apr 28 – Went over and got Jane Hoag brot her here. Moved some fence round barn yard. Got out some manure.
Apr 29 – Got out some manure. Birge plowing the hill. Had Jim and Bill.[51]
Apr 30 – Lois came home. Went over to Burg got my pump. Carried five bushels potatoes 35¢ pr bushels.
——-
[28] Jesse Earl Lee, the son of Charles & Juliana (Davis) Lee, and brother of Charles Jedediah Lee (see January 16 footnote)
[29] Marshall, Michigan
[30] Concord, Michigan
[31] John & Irena (Wolcott) Kirkwood lived in Scipio, Michigan, about 10 miles south of Concord, Michigan
[32] Irena and Luke were first cousins, the grandchildren of Jesse Jr. & Katherine (Beal) Willcutt
[33] Irena’s father, Jason Beal Wolcott
[34] Jonesville, Michigan
[35] Most likely Irena’s brother, Stephen Hoxie Wolcott
[36] Most likely Irena’s brother, Jesse Wolcott
[37] Irena’s older sister, Waity Catherine Wolcott and her husband, John Bissell
[38] Jesse Earl Lee married Julia Toupence in Galesburg, Michigan
[39] A search of FindAGrave.com reveals that Elder William J. Greenleaf died March 20, 1869 and was buried in the Galesburg City Cemetery
[40] Matilda (Allen) Brown, the wife of Ambrose Brown (see January 25th footnote)
[41] Matilda’s sister, Julia Allen
[42] Lyman T. Earl, neighbor and “shirttail relative;” brother of Jesse Earl
[43] Believe this is his horse
[44] Neighbor and “shirttail relative;” brother of Lyman T. Earl
[45] The pivoted horizontal crossbar to which the harness traces of a draft animal are attached and which is in turn attached to a vehicle or an implement
[46] His niece, Lucy Irene Lee, the daughter of his sister Catharine
[47] A young shoot or twig of a plant, especially one cut for grafting or rooting
[48] A neighbor, Marius O. Streator
[49] His nephew, James “Oscar” Keith
[50] Et cetera
[51] Believe these are his horses
Letters & Diary Entries From the 1860s through the 1890s 