Apr 1 – Went over to burg in afternoon to town meeting. Mrs Betts went over. Fine day. Hannah went down to A. Browns.
Apr 2 – Made soap in forenoon. Burnt brush in afternoon. Very nice day. Went up to mill. Got load bark.
Apr 3 – Pleasant morning. Made soap in forenoon. Chored round in afternoon. Went up to mill. Put in guide. Got some posts. Fine day.
Apr 4 – Worked round. Went up to mill. Put in guide. Got some posts. Went down to Katharines.
Apr 5 – Mended Browns drag. Jo York, Hellen[62] and Katharine came up here. Very fine day. Perry A Pier died this Friday night.
Apr 6 – Went over to burg in morning. Got two 2/” Dollars for Alfleda four 4/” for Sarah. Doc Burrows paid me $19.50¢ for county order. Went over to burg at noon. Alfleda went to Waverly. Sarah and Mrs Betts went over to burg.
Apr 7 – Fine day. Carried Claud home just at night. Mrs Nancy B. Betts of Galesburg came home with me. Rev Platt Betts Lady formaly of Omro Wisconsin.[63]
Apr 8 – Pleasant morning. Made guides for Theodore[64] in morning. Went down to M O. Streators got four bushels wheat paid him ten Dollars. Rained in night.
Apr 9 – Rainy morning. Went to Comstock to mill. Rained. Carried four 4 bushels wheat 5½ five and half corn.
Apr 10 – Drawed brush in west lot. Hannah and Nancy came over in morning. Mrs Brown and Jule[65] came up here. Got Whiffletrees mended. Nell Tomlinson married to day.[66]
Apr 11 – Worked round yard and garden. Carried Nancy home at night. Extracted two teeth for Mr George Ralph he paid me two one Dollar.
Apr 12 – Killed my pigs. A Brown helped me. Fine day. Cut up the pigs. Will Wagner here. Jim and Abby had a flare up.
Apr 13 – Went over to burg in morning. Carried Hanks barrels over. Made some soap. Salted my pork. Went over to burg in Evening after Hank and Nancy. They came over stayed all night.
Apr 14 – Hank and Nancy here. Henry came down. I carried Hannah down to Katharines in afternoon. Rained all the while I was gone. Carried Nancy and Claud home in Evening.
Apr 15 – Got out manure. Very fine day. G. A. Lockhart and Will started for Kansas. Lou Bristol[67] went with them. Mrs Randal and Mrs Wagner here in Evening.
Apr 16 – Got out manure. Nice day. Mrs Wagner went home. Mr Browns folks went over to burg in Evening. Jim went over after medicine.
Apr 17 – Pleasant day. Mr Daniels called here to see Ethan. Finished getting our manure. Mr C. S. Haskins brot trees and Raspberries paid him $1.65.
Apr 18 – Set out trees. Barber came over. We plowed gardens. Warm day. Mrs Forbush and Mrs Blake came over here in afternoon.
Apr 19 – Worked round garden. Set out rasberry bushes.
Apr 20 – Cleaned out yard. Cultivated garden. Dug out Elder roots. Mercury 85 Abz 80 Abz.
Apr 21 – Carried Mrs Betts over to burg. Warm morning. Went down to Katharines in afternoon. Nancy here. Hank and Claud went up to Armes.
Apr 22 – Cloudy looks like rain. Jim plowed in forenoon. Rained in afternoon. No plow.
Apr 23 – Rainy. Went over to burg in morning. Bot springs for wagon seat 2.25. Bot oil and lead 65¢. Bot one bottle Kenady 1.25. Warm.
Apr 24 – Warm. Some rain. Worked round. Painted wheelbarrow. Rany.
Apr 25 – Worked in shop some. Tinkered round house and garden.
Apr 26 – Not much done to day. Worked round choring &c. Wet.
Apr 27 – Some rainy. Drawed out Buckwheat straw. Put it on hill South East of barn.
Apr 28 – Cloudy and some rainy. At Home all day. No one here. All well as usual. No bellyache. All able to eat Heggs[?] &c.
Apr 29 – Charles Lee[68] and Alvin came up in morning. Extracted tooth for Charles. Alvin got one helve. Jim got Tom Brown and plows in forenoon. Brown planted potatoes down North.
Apr 30 – Went down to Charles Lees got 4½ bushels potatoes ½ bushel beets ½ bushel turnips. Got some sage roots of old Mrs King. Dick Barber got two bushels corn he paid one Dollar. Will Brown got Eight bushels corn.
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[62] His niece, and Katharine’s daughter, Helen (Bradley) York
[63] Presume he is being funny or sarcastic in regard to his mother-in-law. Rev. Platt Betts was her second husband; he died December 29, 1861
[64] Believe he is referring to his neighbor and “shirttail relative,” Theodore Earl,
[65] Matilda Brown’s sister, Julia Allen
[66] Nellie was the daughter of Luke’s niece and her husband, Marion (Sprague) & George Tomlinson; she married Walter Gillette
[67] Louis Bristol was Ambrose Brown’s grand-nephew
[68] His paternal first cousin, the son of Charles & Juliana (Davis) Lee
Letters & Diary Entries From the 1860s through the 1890s 