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1887 DIARY OF CHARLES LUKE KEITH JR.[1]
Jan 1 – Mercury 2 Abz.[2] Jim[3] went to Kalamazoo after Sarah.[4] Very cold day good sleighing. I not very well.
Jan 2 – Mercury 22 below zero. At home all day. Ethan and Hannah[5] went down to Marts.[6]
Jan 3 – Mercury 5 Abz. Went over to burg.[7] Went to Mr Ralphs. Bot violin strings 50¢. Hannah went up to cals[?].
Jan 4 – Mercury 5 below. Made wood box. Charley Rowland here in afternoon.
Jan 5 – Mercury 19 Abz. Pleasant. Hannah went over to Mr Ralphs. Lois[8] came over. Lizzie Crawford[9] came to H A Browns[10] to day from Chicago.
Jan 6 – Went down to Mrs Streators[11] took Hannah down there. Cold stormy day. Bes[12] here. Went down to Mrs Browns.[13]
Jan 7 – Mercury 15 below. Jim and Henry Webster went to scotts[14] to sell his Buggy. He no see Webster not much.
Jan 8 – Jim went to Kalamazoo took stove down to H A Browns. Cold day. Bessy here. Mr Clapp Died to night.[15]
Jan 9 – Jim and Henry Webster went up to Scots. Stor[m]ing day snowed all day. Some folks out to church.
Jan 10 – Mercury 8 Abz. No work to day. Cold day. Ethan went to Kalamazoo.
Jan 11 – Mercury 10 below cold and blustrous quite a blizzard. Theodore[16] called in in fore noon. Cold blustring day. Mr E. M. Clapp buried to day. Ethan came home.
Jan 12 – Mercury 26 Abz in morning. Jim went up to scotts to take Harness to Webster.
Jan 13 – Mercury 33 Abz. Went over to burg in forenoon got Ethans shoes mended. Not so very cold some rain this Evening.
Jan 14 – At home. Not much work. Liz Crawford came.
Jan 15 – Went over to burg got my boots tapt 60¢. Henry Crawford[17] came from Jackson.
Jan 16 – Henry and Lizzie here. Hannah at home. George Blake and wife[18] here in Evening.
Jan 17 – Mercury 26 Abz stormy been mooch wind, snow flies, very much bluster. Henry went back to Jackson.
Jan 18 – Mercury 10 below. Cleaned up wheat. Very cold blustring day. Lizzie here. Lots snow hard sleighing. Gallusha braking road.
Jan 19 – Old Mr Schroder Died this morning.[19] Cap Rowlands sister Buried to day.[20] Went over to Mill took 5½ bushels wheat. Jerusha Rowland.
Jan 20 – Went over to burg in morning after grist. Ethan went over in afternoon. Bill[21] got down in snow drift broke harness.
Jan 21 – Went over in afternoon got harness mended. Old Mr Schroder buried to day. Jim and Lizzie went over to a dance.
Jan 22 – At home. No work to day. Not very well. Snow melting very fast.
Jan 23 – Mercury 53 Abz. Rainy day, very sloppy, snow running very fast.
Jan 24 – Hannah and Lizzy went to Kalamazoo.
Jan 25 – Went over to burg bot medicine 1.00. Not very well.
Jan 26 – Ethan went over to Burg. Paid Beckwith 1.00 one dollar for medicine Jo Smith chopping to day.
Jan 27 – Went over to burg in morning bot some lard and pork. Jo chopping. Lizzie came back to day.
Jan 28 – Jo chopping. Not very cold.
Jan 29 – Wright & Jim drew wood in afternoon. Nice day. Mr Flanders[22] got ax helves. Mrs Brown and Lizzie here.
Jan 30 – Mercury 19 Abz snows and blows like the mischief. No one here but Lizzie.
Jan 31 – No work. Not very well.
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[1] Charles Luke Keith Jr., known better, and referred to, as Luke
[2] Above zero
[3] His son, James Clinton Keith
[4] His wife, Sarah (Crawford) Keith
[5] His son and daughter, Ethan Bradley Keith and Hannah Jerusha Keith
[6] His late niece Lucy (Lee) Milham’s husband, Martin Milham. Lucy was the daughter of his sister, Catherine (Keith) Bradley Lee
[7] Galesburg, Michigan
[8] His daughter, Lois (Keith) Clark Skinner
[9] Believe he is referring to Melissa Crawford, his wife Sarah’s niece. Melissa was referred to as Lizzie and was the daughter of Robert and Louisa (McCann) Crawford
[10] His son-in-law, Henry Ambrose Brown
[11] Neighbor, Laura Ann (Rawson) Streator
[12] His granddaughter, Bess Brown
[13] Henry Brown’s mother, Matilda (Allen) Brown
[14] Scotts, Michigan
[15] FindAGrave.com shows that Edwin M. Clapp died January 8, 1887 and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Galesburg, Michigan
[16] Theodore Earl, neighbor and “shirttail relative”
[17] His brother-in-law, Henry Clay Crawford
[18] Believe he is referring to George & Mary (Forbush) Blake
[19] Michigan death records reveal that William Schroder died in Comstock on January 19, 1887 and Oak Grove Cemetery records show his name as Wilhalm Schroder
[20] Oak Grove Cemetery records show that Jerusha Rowland died in 1887 and is buried in Lot 164; also buried in Lot 164 are Ezra C. (2-21-1824 – 11-25-1908) and Daniel T. (1825-1885). Since her brother Daniel was listed as “insane” in the 1880 census, it is assumed that her brother Ezra is the one referred to as Cap
[21] His horse
[22] His neighbor, Joseph Flanders
Letters & Diary Entries From the 1860s through the 1890s 