Diary of Jeremiah White Graves, Volume 3, Book 4

1873 Nov 13 Carried My wife up to Jere s etc this day Very Cold & windy Thursday Our folks got some wood Hauled Some Corn not much Ben works Very well wind blew from N West day

14th. Will Harrow in Some Wheat this morning Cut down Corn & expect to help Mr Wooding Shuck Corn to day - I am going to Mt Airy

15. Hauled Corn off Branch till a little after Our folks all stop getting up Corn Kit & Mary went to Mr Joel Hubbards balance done nothing Very pretty day moderate weather

16 Moderat Sunday at home all day

17th Clouded up last night Wind blew hard & Turned Cold & began to rain in the night & this day wind from the North & Very Cold disagreeable day raining all day till about 2 oclock began to snow till about night ground covered quite cold

18th. Turned more moderate ground covered— our folks Hauling wood old Barn & Log for Shuck House etc etc weather moderate this evening

19th. Went up to Richard Whiteheads & Brot Nannie My Wife home rained Some but not much quite Cool they put up Shuck Pen to day cloudy & like for falling weather,

20th I went up to Mr Lanes to See to measuring Corn our folks getting Boards for Shucks Pen Mary Pulling Corn quite cool all day

21st Cloudy & like for falling weather quite cool this morning our folks Hauling & Pulling corn this Side Spring Branch

22. Pulling & Hauling Corn finished Shuck House except making door yesterday pretty day

23. Cloudy all day & drop rain a little Weather moderate began to Rain in night

24th Striped some Tobacco & Pulled of Corn in evening Sent Milton in evening to Dr Haleys after toll Wheat & got 2 Bushels for Thrashing

1873 Nov 25 Mattherly & Jacob P Graves Started after toll Wheat this morning Mattherly Come back to night with 11¾ Bushels, Jacob has not come yet. Pulled off Corn all that was halled up to night Turned right cool this evening & wind blew hard

26 Pulling & Hauling Corn to day fine day I pulled nearly all day myself

27 Waggon & Cart went after corn at at Wm Vaughans for Hunts Estate Debt Mary & Sarah pulling Corn. Bot Vaughan Corn to pay the Debt got Nearly 9½ Barrels Corn of him

28 Pulling & Hauling up Corn & finished about night Snowed some to day cleared of & pretty night & clear

29 Sent to Mill Yates Mill 2½ Bushels for myself pt new & part old, Kit Borrowed of ½ Barrel to Eat new sent some wheat for Kit & 2 Bushels for Martin Smith, & got it to night made Door to Shuck House clear pretty day got Some Wood Star had a Calf & it was ^Killed by the other cattle Molley Shoulder Soar, Wrote to Pride Hunt

30th Tolerable day stayed at home

Monday 1st Decr. Shucked Corn & Housed it

Dec 2nd Had a Small shucking invited 10 12 hands nobody come but Edmond Martin Wm L Powers Mr Wooding Sent 1 hand Stayed till night then he went home to feed

3rd Housing Corn this morning cloudy & likely for falling moderate weather

4th. Rained last night some shuck some corn last night shucking this morning wind blows but Still moderate weather cloudy finished shucking & Housing corn Kit made 20 Bbls good Corn & lacked ⁴ Tubs full of short corn of paying me what they owed me & had eat up them selves. put up shucks last night very hurt Crop

1873 Decr 5th Getting wood gone to Martins to Hall Logs for Home Rain'g this morning Some

-6th Hauling Logs at old Martins for House

7 Sunday Raining & fresing nearly all day

8 Kit & his Gang gone to Martin Smiths to Raise House Cloudy all day & cool

9th Still Cloudy & Cool Milton going to Mill this morning I will Send Corn & Wheat for Chop for my cows

10th. Hauling wood till 12 oclock & after Mary Washed & skined little Calf that Died Kit & Sarah fixed up Cow shelter for Milk Cows can after 12 oclock he did but little for me I went up on the River to See Edmond Dews to get to live with me next year, he is to come to See me next Monday or Tuesday, this has been a very pretty day indeed

11 Kit & Sarah stoped work here & Milton Kit did not do muck[much] the 10th. & this morning brot axes & some thingsⁱⁿ & went had his Acc^t called over & acknowledged all right & went off & first thing I Knew here come a waggon in evening loaded up & started about dark I asked Mary our Cook If she was going She Said she did not Know, She went off directly she milked & Carr^d Geo whose time is not out till X all started off in the night. Mary worked till last night 11th.

12th. pretty weather nobody here but Nannie & ^me

13. Raining this morning some I went to Strait Stone in the Rain & Come back in it & cleared off after I got back very few there, - turned Cooler & Cleared off this evening

14th Went to meeting Sunday not many there

15th Edmond Dews came here Soon we went over the plantation & we agreed for him to live with me next year 1874 from Christmas to Christmas to work on Shares I am to give him half he makes ^{except chaff & straw} Seed taken out first or Sew

as much as we sewed 1873 to tend below the House again Corn & Oats & tend fresh ground next to Martin Smiths & above granary Make a lot as large as he Can, clear as much as he can agreeable to our agreement -- etc etc carried my Waggon & Cart & Commencing moving right away pretty weather

16 Edmond & Martin Come Ed.- moving

17 Ed & Martin gone after another load for Ed. - Lowry here to day cutting wood for me all day Beautiful day

18th Beutifully day Ed Dews moving

19th Beautiful day Ed has moved weather Warm. Hauling up fodder to day Mima helping & Hauling & Packing away Blade fodder Hauling wood in evening Turned windy & cool

20th. Finished Hauling up fodder out of field to day etc Fixing his House & Daubing it old Mrs Betsy Lain Died yesterday

22nd Sent to Millers Mill to day Martin Smith went with Dews Son Jim, Carried corn for Ed & wheat Carried 2 Bushels wheat for me & Martin Carried Some Corn for himself, Carried Turkeys 3 to Mr Creasey- Sold them for $1.00 a ps & some Eggs Sold for 20 Cents a Doz. Crawley at Millers Mill

23 Snowed last night 3 inches Deep quite Cool Ed Cutting Shucks this evening not very Cold Turmed Cows Steers & mules in Stork field yesterday before the Snow, every thing in there

24th - Ed went to Mill after his flour & mine & & stayed till dark because it was not ground got mine & his got some 17½ lb Iron & left it there. Moderate day Snow melted smartly

25 Cloudy & likely for falling weather Ed Says he is going ^{to haul} Some wood to day cloudy all day & weather moderate

26 Cloudy & moderate day

27 Raining Mrs Crews got my Cart & steers to day to Hauling Shucks 72 day

28th Decr Sunday 1873 Clear & Cold to day yesterday it rained Snowed 2 or 3 times & turned cool in evening

29th Moderate damp day Ed gone with wagg on after Balance of his things. I Went to Banks

30th Blew up Very Cool this morning wind blowing & very cool clear & cold Ed come back 11 or 12 oclock to day very cold

31st Tolerable good day Ed fixing to Kill my Hogs Hauling wood etc etc I went to Mr Moses but did not See him to day

1894 Janry 1 Killed 6 Hogs weighing 786 this morning Cloudy all day & Cool Ed Dew Lowry Edmd Tucker & Robt Helped me this morning

2nd This morning raining soon stoped Ed worked in Granary awhile & then went to Cutting in new new ground weather moderate Lowry cut wood til night after we finished salting our Pork

3rd Ed Hauling rails for cow rack & Pig Pen made ^{Rained last night all night nearly} cow rack I went down to see [mams?] field Lovelace about his Son living here he is to Come tomorrow

4th. Cutting Sunday to Come here Monday morning

5 did come but could not agree asked to much

6 & 7 raining all the time Ed Mima & James striping my Tobacco in barn back of Garden & old Prize barn

8 Cutting & Hauling wood Ed & son Son Jim Clear pretty morning I have been Sick all taken Sunday night 4 with something like Bilious Colico or some thing else & I thought I Should Die that night such severe pains & PukinKing up every thing I Swall= =owed till after midnight but I am still now very bad off yet very pretty day

9th Cutting & Hauling wood to day pretty day

10th Cutting & Hauling wood I am Still Sick but better than I have been Sent my serringe the large one for Bro Yates to fix for me & send five Dollars to Bro Reeves in full of $12 my Sub