Jeremiah White Graves Diaries

1859 Janry 4th Fixed Gate here. Halling & Cutting wood, Henry went to Worsham Mill for Slab plank to fix House for Rhoda, etc quite a cold windy day -

5th Henry went to Yates Mill Carried a Log for Hd^ds staves got Tobin Shod before, carried an ax to upset but did not bring it back. Mr Chumbly finished shingles enough for Smoke House fixed Table in House Jerry Smith & & little Henry Cutting wood Claiborne Malling wood. fine day, Henry in evening went to Run water or hill side Ditches in far Lot,- Mrs Hunt stayed, here last night & sent my Cow Home to day -

6th Halling Leaves & stoping Gullies in far Lot all this day - & raking out Hill Side Ditches, fine day

7th Sent Henry to worsham saw mill for stab plant for clems House, Balance Malling & cutting wood in pines by or opposite overseers House - — Sent to Bro. Hunts for Stray Bull for our cows.

8th I went to meeting - Henry Halling wood & went after Rhoda & Charles Allen, overseer & Claiborne little Henry etc making bridges to Spring & Hall wood etc — finished

9 went to meeting - cloudy & tremendous cold yesterday & to day -

10 I went to Riceville settled with Mr anderson ^{I owe him $1597} Halled & cut wood till evening & then fixed for burning plant Bed -

11 Burning plant Bed here on Road Cothran cutting Halling Rails & stocks to mill grubing Halling wood etc

21st Janry¹⁸⁵⁹ Kate & Mr Dallas gone up To Fannies Mr Dallas gone on to Mount Calvery to Bro Masons meeting & I sent Bro. Mason $20 Collected of Bro Hunt by Mr Dallas - In the evening I went to See Bro. Hunt who is sick, & while there it began to lighten I started for home rode very fast Just as I got to my stable it began to Rain & the wind blew & caught me in stable & such a Tornado I never Saw, blew off the Top of our chimny Fodder Stack of Tops & blew one Blade Stack all over the field & some in the woods & nearly all of fence from last years ground on by spring next to House blew Top off Rhodas House part of Henrys & clems 6 or 8 Trees in yard blowed down & shingles off Kitchen & Granary & some boards off stable, one Barn of clements & all of Mr Kelleys Oats stacks down, & like to have Turn Ours over Charles allen got caught Coming from Spring lost his Piggin one shoe & his Hat, & he said the wind liked to have carried him away - all of Our hands from aspen Grove & overseer & nearly all of Bro Hunts helping us fix up the fence cover the houses are here to day & will not get done I fear but Thanks be to God none of our lives are lost,-

22nd Fencing pulling up fodder stack etc etc all day had about 25 hands covered houses etc

23rd cool day -

24 went to aspen Grove, our folks cutting up Trees in yard Halling wood etc Mr Chumb went to Mount Airy to day

1859 Janry 25th Sent Henry to Mill to Yates for Meal, from Aspen Grove Carried a log from here to be sawed into scantling 3 by 3 balance Cutting & Hewing Logs & malling wood, clem shrubing etc etc fine weather

26th have this morning to Send to Mill for Chumbly, ^{bad management to send to mill every day}Cutting & Hewing Sills for Negro House & Barn this day - weather moderate,-

27th Raining Took down Lugs here, & finished striping Tobacco,-

28th Overseer & 3 hands gone to aspen Grove to Strip Tobacco to day -. Carr^d 5 Bags & 1 Midling Pork,- - Raining this morning a little, Carr^d Rhodas shoes to mend,- & Milly Anns, striped down there 2 days

29th I come back in evening quite unwell

30. cloudy & like for Rain or Snow,

31st Sent Henry this morning with a little walnut Log 2 Bushels Corn to Worshams Mill for Plank & Meal, & get scantling bark edge etc Balance finishing Hewing Sills & Cutting wood & Halling

Feby 1st 2nd & 3rd Halling wood Rails & fencing out Side Fence next to Capt Whiteheads - This day Jacob is taking down his Good Tobacco & putting it in Hh^d for Lynchg I have been in house nearly all this week with bad cold & sick - -

4th Mr Chumbly Jacob & Claiborne fixing to prize Tobacco Henry halling wood balance cutting & Stacking wood on Road -- cloudy & cool

4 Jacob Packing down his Tobacco this morning. Cutting wood & Halling wood & Rails weather tolerable at this time,

1859 Feby 22nd Smith & Clem Shrubing I am going to Aspen Grove

23rd Clem Planting I. potatoe, overseer & working on Logs Sent to Mill this morning claiborne & little Henry Beding for corn planted out some Peach Trees, — etc

24 I went to aspen Grove to day & to Sarah J McCullocks ^{[? Cr ]J W Graves Esq Esq}Halling Logs & Plowing for Corn, [?] JW Graves

25. Raining & Hailing this morning making a long Ladder, Harrow & spining & making a Baskets till 12 or 1 Oclock & then went to halling Logs for Barn etc

26. Raining & Hailing this morning but cleared off after a while & they went to Halling Logs for Barn, & my wife Started to the CH to see Jerry

27th I went to see Doct Johns tolerable good day.

28 Halling Logs this morning for Barn moderate weather yet Jacob here yet went to allen Scruggs yesterday & got him to take back the Horse he bought by giving him $3 done so tho it was Sunday halling wood & leaves

March 1st Mr Robey Came here to work in Black Smith Shop Mr Chumbly with him Haling out manure till 12 Oclock & then leaves in field clem little Henry ^{& Smith}Cutting down corn stalks where we are going sew Oats

March 2nd Mr Roby & overseer in Shop Henry & Claiborne Halling leaves & Oats balance finished Cutting down corn stalks etc,- our coal will only last 1 day more Fine weather at this time, Kate here

3rd Mr Roby & overseer in Shop balance Thrashing Out Oats to sew. Raining all day. quite Cold, began last night,

1859 March 3rd Sent to Mill for overseer Brought Turn meal for us left his there we Thrashed Out one stack Oats

4th Mr Roby quit on acc^t of no coal about 3 Oclock Halling leaves wood Claiborne malling Covered Potatoe Patch halled leaves in Big lot & Corn field, I went down to Yates Mr Lewis’s & aspen Grove, fine windy day My Boar gone Two or Three weeks –

5. Winding & Cleaning Oats to Sew. Henry laying off Corn Land claiborne beding Fencing etc etc Mr ^W Chumbly & Balance This day Swapted off Rose with Tom Owen for a Jenny named Jane & her Jenny Colt. Jenny about 4 yrs old little Colt about 4 or 5 months old,– jenny is a female donkey

6th. Beautiful day & all gone to Edge Hill to meeting but myself,- weather moderate

7th Jonathan Dawson came here very tight last night & stayed all night, very sick from it - This morning about light it commenced raining all morning till 12 then we were Shelling Corn & fixing plows & Harrow to Plank Corn, in evening pulled down & Halled old shop to burn etc etc etc Jacob left this evening with Mr Moses,

8 Nanny & Kate Sallie & negro Catham went to Doct Thompsons got some teeth drawn & ^wewere fixing overseers Garden etc till night

9th Finished overseers Truck Patch this morning Squared barn Logs & Plowing for Oats in big Lot fine weather

10th Plowing for Oats & fencing Began this morning to Sew Oats, Jacob commenced Plowing this morning. Here fine weather I went yesterday to Aspen Grove gave out