Feb 1 – 19 Abz in morning. No work but chores. Emmet Crawford here. Filed saw for Mr Caywood.
Feb 2 – Cut and drawed wood. Not very cold. Emmet went home on Evening train.
Feb 3 – 19 Abz wind N.E. At home no one here Except those that was here.
Feb 4 – 21 in morning wind N.E. Bushed one roller to Mrs Browns Wringer. Not much cold, rainy day, rained all night.
Feb 5 – 36 Abz morning wind S.W., raining, very icy. Worked on Wringer.
Feb 6 – Choring in the biz niz now days. Finished Wringer.
Feb 7 – Work in shop some. Went over to burg in forenoon git sack flour.
Feb 8 – 19 Abz. Worked in shop some. Cut some wood. Not much sleighing.
Feb 9 – No work but chores. Thawing some. D[38] came down to day.
Feb 10 – 9 Abz. Went over to burg in morning after Hanks folks. D came over with me.
Feb 11 – D went back to day. I cut some wood drawed one load in afternoon. Rainy afternoon and Evening.
Feb 12 – Chored around some. Rainy day, very icy.
Feb 13 – Took Ethan to Kalamazoo. He went to Chicago to see a Doctor.[39] Snowed like fun[40] when I came home. Clarra[41] came home with me. Mart[42] went up to Wickwires to thrash.
Feb 14 – Not very cold. At home. Clara Milham here. No work but chores. Mary Starring Chase died this morning.[43]
Feb 15 – Worked in shop some on Ethans knife. Herb Earl came down here.
Feb 16 – 21 Abz. Worked on Ethans Knife some. Took Sally[44] and Mrs Elder Betts[45] down to Mrs Browns.[46]
Feb 17 – 40 Abz. At home. Not very cold, rather sloppy, snow going very fast.
Feb 18 – 42 Abz in Evening. Took Mrs Betts over to burg. Saw E. T. Mills. Went down to foundry to get them to come and get the patterns.
Feb 19 – Took Sarah[47] over to burg in morning went over with the buggy. Strait came over got the Patterns. I made cover to Nancys flour barrel. Clara came back with me. Put Ethans knife together. Rainy night. No go after Sarah. Snows and blows.
Feb 20 – 15 Abz. Took Clara up to Jim Milhams[48] in morning. Cold wind. Went over to burg. Carried Nancys cover to flour barrel.
Feb 21 – 19 Abz. Worked round Barn. Made sleigh rack. Hat and Libby Taylor here in afternoon.
Feb 22 – Went up in woods cut wood. Snowed like fun. Clara came back from Jims.
Feb 23 –11 Abz. Chored round sawed some wood. Made step for Nancy. Went over to burg in afternoon to see the wind mill company. No get any money. Nancy and children[49] went down to Mrs Browns.
Feb 24 – 15 Abz in morning snowed and blowed some. Clara here. Lucy and George[50] came up in Evening after Clara. Not very cold mercury 26 ½ past 7 seven in Evening.
Feb 25 – 26 Abz in morning. Went over to burg in morning bot sack patent roller Flour. Bessie came home with me. I chored round, sawed some wood. Snowed like fun in afternoon. Hannah went over to Burg. Bessie went home.
Feb 26 – 20 Abz no work to day. Got some hard cold. Filed crosscut saw for Will Brown. Mrs Pixley Judson Died to day.[51]
Feb 27 – No work but chores. Cold hangs on yet. Filed saw for Will Brown. Hannah over to Nancys, came home in Evening.
Feb 28 – 4 below this morning. Not very well. Windy. Cut splitum some wood not much. Some ledle better. Martin Turner[52] came here stayed all night. He had been to Charles Whitcombs Birth day party. Cold day.
Feb 29 – 4 below. Martin here all day until most night. He went home on Evening Train. Henry Crawford[53] came on Michigan City freight in Evening. Jim drawed Hannah cord of wood.
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[38] His son-in-law, Louese’s husband, Daniel D. Harris Jr., otherwise known as D. or D.D.
[39] In Ethan’s 1884 diary he complains of his stomach and on February 2nd he wrote: “Ma received a letter from Uncle Hiram. He wants me to come and try their Magnetic Healer. Aunt Kate wrote wrote also. They made me a very kind offer would be to all their expense.” He stayed until May 1st when he returned home. It isn’t clear from his diary whether the treatments helped him
[40] Luke uses this phrase quite often. The Oxford Dictionary gives its meaning as “vigorously or quickly”
[41] Clara Milham, the oldest child of Martin & Lucy (Lee) Milham
[42] Martin Milham, the husband of Lucy (Lee) Milham, who was the daughter of Luke’s sister, Catherine (Keith) Bradley Lee
[43] Mary was the wife of Julius Chase who was Henry Brown’s first cousin. Michigan death records confirm that she died on February 14, 1884 in Kalamazoo and FindAGrave.com shows she is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Kalamazoo
[44] Nickname for his wife Sarah
[45] His mother-in-law, Nancy (Comfort) Crawford Betts, whose late second husband, Platt Betts, had been an elder in their local church
[46] Matilda (Allen) Brown, neighbor and mother of Henry and Willis Brown
[47] His wife, Sarah (Crawford) Keith
[48] Neighbor, and half-brother of Martin Milham
[49] His grandchildren, Claude, Lela and Bess Brown
[50] George Milham, oldest son of Martin & Lucy (Lee) Milham
[51] Michigan death records confirm that Polly Ann (Johnson) Judson died on February 26, 1884 and FindAGrave.com shows she is buried in the Galesburg City Cemetery, Galesburg, Michigan
[52] His maternal first cousin
[53] Sarah’s brother
Letters & Diary Entries From the 1860s through the 1890s 