1881 DIARY OF CHARLES LUKE KEITH JR.[1]
Jan 1 – Went over to Burg[2] in morning Evening. Bot sack Buckwheat flour.
Jan 2 – Went down to Marts[3] in afternoon. Not so very cold. Ed Hoges came over to see Pete.[4]
Jan 3 – Carried Sarah[5] down to Mrs Browns[6] to help Butcher, they no Butcher some. I went down just at night got 4 four bushels wheat.
Jan 4 – Received a letter from Mrs Whitmore of Cal-a. Carried Sarah down to Mrs Browns, they Butchered. Carried wheat to mill. Mrs Betts[7] went over to Nancys[8] to see Doctor, she saw him some.
Jan 5 – Jim[9] commenced work for Harry Streator.[10] He took Pete with him. Went over to Burg in afternoon to see Nancy. Old Mrs Ralph came here. Extracted two teeth for Mr Ralph.
Jan 6 – Went over to Burg. Got county order. Not much done only chores.
Jan 7 – Cold and some Blustring. Drawed six loads wood and chored round. Alfleda[11] sick unto life, me spec so sum.
Jan 8 – Mercury one below zero at seven Am. Not much done but chores. Went over to Burg in Evening got oil. Nancy some better.
Jan 9 – At home all day. Mercury 4 below zero in morning. Very good sleighing about 4 inches snow. Alfleda sick. Hannah[12] over to Nancys.
Jan 10 – Drawed two loads wood in forenoon. Mercury 18 B. Went over to burg in afternoon. Old Mrs Stannard buried to day. Dee Dee Harris[13] left on night train for Phoenix.[14]
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[1] Known better, and referred to, as Luke
[2] Galesburg, Michigan
[3] Martin Milham, husband of Lucy Lee, daughter of his sister, Catherine (Keith) Bradley Lee
[4] Believe Pete might be his horse
[5] His third wife, Sarah (Crawford) Keith
[6] Matilda (Allen) Brown, his daughter Nancy’s mother-in-law
[7] His mother-in-law, Nancy (Comfort) Crawford Betts
[8] His daughter, Nancy (Keith) Brown
[9] His youngest son, James Keith
[10] Neighbor, Henry “Harry” Streator
[11] Alfleda (Starr) Keith, widow of his brother, Harvey Keith. Harvey died in 1851 and the 1880 census shows Alfleda living with Luke and his family
[12] His daughter, Hannah Keith
[13] Future husband of his daughter, Louese Keith
[14] Phoenix, Michigan, where the Harris family had a general store
Letters & Diary Entries From the 1860s through the 1890s 