Cyrus H. Adams Work on farm in the year 1853
july
8 one
days work hoing corn
11 one days work hoing
13 one 1/2 days work hoing
14 one days work hoing
15 one days work hoing
Aug.
10 one days work a cutting wry and otes
Sep
22 one days work a cutting corn
22 Ruel B one days, a, cutting corn
23 one days work a cutting corn
24 one days work a cutting corn
Oct,
21 1/2 days work a diggin potatoes
22 1 days work a diggin potatoes
------------------------------------------------------
6 days
work a plenting corn
2 days work a plenting potatoes
S(?) Greeley Work on the farm
3 oxon
4 1/2 work on the house
Cyrus begins his daybook on Friday, July 8, 1853. He was 26 years old and probably recently
married to Lucinda Huntoon. On this first page of his
daybook, Cyrus simply says “Work on Farm” without naming the owner of the farm,
as he does in later entries.
Ruel B. is probably the R. Buckman mentioned on page 2. Ruel Buckman, S. Greeley and (on page 2) Lyman Buckman apparently worked alongside Cyrus.
The line crossing the page probably indicates the start
of a new calendar year. The work
performed – planting corn and potatoes – also suggest spring of the new year of
1854.
Page 2 1853
H.
C. Denny Work on farm in the year 1853
july
11 R Buckman one day
work hoing
11 L Buckman one day
work hoing
Aug
10 one day work a cutting wry and otes
oct
21,
22 Liman Spooner 1/2 1 days diggin potatoes
22 one days work a diggin potatoes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
1/2 L Buckman
3 Buel Buckman
5 Horse
1 Mr Buckman
5 oxon
Horse to go to
Sherbern 2
to Gaysville 2
to Sharon 1
to Bridgewater 1
(in lower
right corner: 5 x 75 = 375 6 x 75 = 450)
Doton’s 1855 map shows H. Dana
on road #27, on the east bank of Stony Brook. Henry C. Dana was married to Sally Adams, the sister of Cyrus’s father
Joseph Adams. Sally was born Sept. 19,
1790, was married on Feb. 23, 1817, and died at the age of 89 on Aug. 7, 1880.
R Buckman and L Buckman: The
first is probably Ruel Anson Buckman,
who was born in Barnard VT about 1836 and who died in Bridgewater on April 25,
1898. He married Julia Ann Chamberlain
in Bridgewater on Nov. 16, 1873. L Buckman is probably Lyman S. Buckman,
who was born in Barnard about 1838 and who was married first to Ruth A. Buckman (married surname) and second to Mary Fisher. He served in Company E of the 4th Vermont Regiment during the Civil War and was wounded on May 5, 1864.
Page 3 1853?
C,
H, Adams)
Seede found
on farm
3 Bushel of potatoes
1/2 Bushel of potatoes
1/2 Bushel of rye
H, Hinkley,
Seede found
on farm
6 Bushel of potatoes
1
1/2 Bushel of rye
1/2 Bushel of ingawheat
Doton’s 1855 map shows H. Hinkley on road #37, on the east side of Stony Brook.
This page lists payments made to Cyrus. There is probably a good story behind the
phrase “Seede found on farm.” What kind of seed? Corn? How was it “found”?
Indian wheat, or Fagopyrum tartaricum, is a grain similar to buckwheat, but
smaller. Flour made from Indian wheat
was not considered “fine flour.”
Page 4 1853? 1854?
Work
for Mr Padock,
1/2 days work a choping logs 37
1 days work a choping logs 50
Rec 3 E
Work
for Mr. H. C. Denny
1
days work a boarding the hop house 90
1
days work a boarding the hop house 90
1
days work a boarding the hop house 90
1
days work a boarding the hop house 90
1
days work a picking hops 75
1
days work a picking hops 75
1 days work a picking hops 75
1
days work a picking hops 75
1
days work a picking hops 75
Josheph Adams born 1854
Charles
A. Adams born 1857
Cyrus
H Adams
ABCDEFGHIJLMNOP
RSUVW
Near
the top of the page, the abbreviation “Rec” is
written and then crossed out. On the same
lime Cyrus wrote frontwards and backwards capital
E’s, perhaps for practice. and perhaps a continuation
of the alphabet at the bottom of this page.
“H.C.
Denny” is almost certainly Henry C. Dana, who married Eli Adams’s daughter
Sally (the sister of Cyrus’s father Joseph, and therefore Cyrus’s aunt) in
Springfield, VT, on Feb. 23, 1817. This
suggests that the Danas moved to Stockbridge from Springfield in the 1830s,
when Joseph & Polly Adams moved. Henry C. Dana died on Jan. 13, 1864, at the age of 72. Henry C. Dana (but not Sally) is buried in
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Stockbridge. Sally died on Aug. 7, 1880, at the age of 90.
At
the bottom of the page Cyrus records the births of his two children. Joseph was
born on May 9 1853, and Charles was born on July 16, 1857. Joseph’s middle name was Edwin, and Charles’s
was probably Albert. Cyrus records
Joseph’s birth as being in 1854, but other records, and Joseph’s gravestone, show
that he was born in 1853.
Joseph
has no middle initial here, although it appears that Cyrus left room for a middle initial. Actually, it appears that Cyrus let his pen touch the paper, then
stopped short of actually writing the initial. Probably he wasn’t quite sure
how to form a capital E. The frontwards and backwards E’s higher on the page are very
likely Cyrus’s visualization of the two possibilities. Unable to decide, he apparently left the
space blank. The practice alphabet at
the bottom of the page, with a correctly formed E, may have been written later.
Page 5 1855
Comence Work for W. M. Bennet
the first day of may 1855
for thirteen dolars a month
--------------------
Re
of Mr H. C Denny
8 bushels of aples at 12 1/2 cts a bushel 1.00
6
1/4 of Cloth at 50 cts a yards 3.62
1/2
3 hens at one 1.00
3 gallons of apple sass .75
1 ten gallons Cag .75
1 bushel of corn 1.25
1 fork .10
The “Cag” mentioned here is a
10-gallon keg. It seems that Cyrus
mistrusted words beginning with the letter k; on page 8 he writes about “ceeping sheepe.”
Doton’s 1855 map shows a W.
Bennett on road #36 in the southeastern part of Stockbridge, close to the
Barnard line.
Page 6 1853-1854
Work
for, Abel Adams
12 one days work on the Road .75
13 one days work on the Road .75
14 one days work a thrashing .50
16 one half days work on the Road .37
17 one days work on the Road .75
Oct
7 one days work on the Road .50
nov
21 one 1/2 days work on the Road .25
22 one days work on the Road .50
23 one days work on the Road .50
24 one days work on the Road .50
25 1/2 days work on the Road .25
26 1/2 days work on the Road .25
2 days work on the Road 1.00
January
12 1 days work a giting hay .50
13 1 days work a giting hay .50
14 1 days work a giting hay .50
27 1 days work a cuting logs .50
31 1 days work a choping wood .50
Feb
1 days 1/2 days work a cuting logs .75
4 1 dgy work a choping wood .50
10.62
This
page appears to cover the end of 1853 and the beginning of 1854, and thus
contains entries earlier than those on page 5, probably because Cyrus sometimes
devoted a page to a single client. Abel
Adams is probably Cyrus’s older brother, born Sept. 6, 1821, and died Sept, 13,
1898.
Page 7 1853-1854
Re
of Abel Adams
23
Pounds of Meat at 1.03
Took
a cow at two dollars a year 2.00
had one paire of taps .25
one Shovel .75
had one paire of taps .25
one bushel of rye 1.00
receive cash 4.00
horse and sled to go to Bethel .50
1
Bushel of pototates .25
1/2
Bushel of pototates .12
Recive cash 3.50
had 1 pair of taps .25
1
Pig 2.00
1/2
Bushel of pototates .17
Receive chek 1.00
18
Pounds of muten .63
horse and sled to go to Bethel .50
1/2
Bushel of potaters .25
1/2
Bushel of potaters .25
4 Pound of wool at 35 1.25
35 cents a Pound 19.95
x4 140
Nov
1
Paid
for ceeping sheepe
to William M. Bennett 2.00
one sheep horse to straford 2.00
This
page records payments received for the work on page 6.
“had one paire of taps” – the taps
are metal taps for the heels of boots. What is curious is the word “had,” which makes it sound as though Cyrus
gave the taps to Abel Adams. On page 11
Cyrus wrote, “had to the store $2.94.”
“4
Pound of wool at 35 1.25” – below this
Cyrus performs the multiplication problem to show that 4 x 35 = 140, but the
original sum of 1.25 still stands in the column at the right of the page.
“Paid
for ceeping sheepe to
William M. Bennett 2.00” – apparently Mr. Bennett was grazing sheep belonging
to Cyrus. Note Cyrus’s avoidance of the
initial “k” in “ceeping.”
“one sheep horse to straford” -
Strafford is northeast of Barnard, and about 22 miles from Stockbridge. The charge for the trip (2.00) suggests that
it took two days.
Page 8 1854-1855?
Work
for A Adams
1/2
days work on piling logs .25
July
14 1 days work on
the Road .75
1
1/2 days work sovling manure .75
Dec
2
days work piling logs 1.00
Nov
Paid for ceeping sheep
to William M. Bennell 2.93
5.68
“Work
for A Adams” – presumably Abel Adams.
The
word “a” in front of a verb form ending in “-ing” is
an abbreviation of the Old English (?) preposition “an,” meaning “in the
process of” or “on.” This “a” and “an”
are not related to the modern indefinite particles (a rock, an hour).
It
is interesting that Cyrus’s ear seemed to know that “a” meant “on,” for he
writes here “1/2 days work on piling logs.” In most similar entries he uses “a”: “a fixin fence,” “a suggarin.”
“Nov
Paid for ceeping sheep to William M. Bennell” – it appears that Cyrus paid Mr. Bennett. Cyrus may have added the column of numbers on
this page at some later time without noticing that $2.93 should have been subtracted.
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery,
Stockbridge: Nancy W., wife of Wm. M. Bennett, died July 26, 1875, age 52. [Note in Gladys Adams’s copy of Cyrus’s
journal.]
Jamuary
7
days works a dawing lumber over the
hill
1
days works a went with shingles
1/2
days works went with shingles
1 days works went with shingles
1
days work went and drove
the sheepe to fays
Note Cyrus’s spelling of the month.
The Beers 1869 business directory of Gaysville lists
“K.L. Fay.”
Page 9 1856
Dec
1856 (smudged out, and
written more or less over it:) W Blanchard
1
days work a spliting ash .50
1
days work a spliting ash .50
1
days work a Butchering .50
horse to go to Bethel .25
horse to go to Bethel .25
horse to go to Bethel .25
Help
him load bark .16
1/2
horse to go to Gayseville .16
1/2
Jan
2 horse to go to Gaysevill .16
1/2
horse to go to Gaysevill .16
1/2
(None)
Page 10 1856? 1857?
Re
of W. Blanchard
Receive
cash 1.00
Receive
cash .50
Receive
Pork .50
horse shod .50
-------------------
S
C Woodord
3 terkeys 1.82
26
lbs apes 1.56
fethers .36
terkey
The final four items on this page do not line up well
with the three sums at right. It seems
most likely that what is missing is the value of the final “terkey.” The “apes” are apples.
(Doton’s 1855 map lists an S.
Blanchard and an A. Woodward.)
Page 11 1856? 1857?
Re
of Mr John Slack
1
bushel of corn 1.25
Ingy wheete 12 puorts .31
1/2
corn (3 lbs of sugar .31) .62
coton cloth .64
1
bushel corn 1.00
1
bushel corn 1.00
21[?] lbs of flour 1.00
20
lbs of flour 1.00
1
bushel of corn 1.00
pork 2.00
shues (smudged out, and
followed by:) indiaruder shues .60
1
cake of Soap .10
1
pare of boots 3.00
8
1/2 lbs of flour
4
lbs of sugar .36
1
bag of salt .33
1
bushel Corn 1.00
1
bag of flour
1
Cake of soap .10
fork .10
Had
to the store 2.94
1 Shue .75
“1/2
corn (3 lbs of sugar .31) – what appear to be parentheses here are brackets
that Cyrus uses as a caret. The “ingy wheete 12 puorts” and the 3 pounds of sugar are each valued at .31,
and the total at right for these two items is .62. There is no value for the “1/2 corn.”
“Ingy wheete 12 puorts” – Cyrus did not use the letter q, but used p in its place.
“indiaruder shues”
– The first India rubber shoes were made about 1820, but were expensive and
tended to stick together, or melt altogether, in warm weather. Charles Goodyear’s invention of the process
of vulcanization (heating a mixture of sulfur and rubber) in 1844 solved the
problem. Earlier, boots and shoes were
greased during winter to make them somewhat waterproof.
“1 Shue” – apparently a single shoe, since Cyrus wrote
above “1 pare of boots.”
“Had
to the store” – Apparently means that Cyrus paid a standing bill.
Page 12 1856? 1857?
Sr to Mr John S Slack
3
days Work a giting out
Manure 1.50
1
H thousand Shingle 2.00
2
H thousand Shingle 4.00
3
Sap thousand Shingle 4.50
7
H thousand Shingle 14.00
4
H thousand Shingle 8.00
1
days Work .50
3
H thousand Shingle 6.00
4
1/2 days Work 2.25
4
days Work 2.00
3
days Work 2.00
1/2
days Work .33
The “H” used here is a
block-print H not seen elsewhere in the daybook; it is not the flowery capital
that Cyrus typically uses. “H” stands
for heartwood, the center of a tree trunk from which the better shingles are made. “Sap” indicates the sapwood, which yielded
less desirable shingles. If Cyrus is
being paid 50 cents a day, then the $14.00 payment in the fifth entry above
represents 28 days’ work. In this time
he made 7,000 shingles or about 250 shingles per day. The labor value of one shingle is thus about
two-tenths of one cent.
In the five entries for
shingles recorded on this page, Cyrus made a total of 20,000 shingles for a
total payment of $36.50, or 73 days at 50 cents per day. The 73 days may well cover more than one
calendar year.
Page 13 1856? 1857?
Re
of Mr John S Slack
Woolen yarn .83
Woolen cloth 2.50
18
lbs pork 2.25
1
lbs of sulpher .07
1
cake of soap .10
1 coam .18
half pint of rum .06
1
peck of meal .25
2
lbs of sugar .18
1/2
lbs of creamtarter .17
indigo .08
1
bushel of corn 1.00
pork head and feete .75
5
lbs of flour
had to the store 1.51
4
3/4 lbs of pork .59
Shues 1.42
half pint of rum .06
1
cake of soap .10
thred .04
yarn .20
(None)
Page 14 1857? 1858?
Work
for Mr A Packard
8
days Work a suggar 4.00
1
days Work a fixin fence .75
1
days Work a fixin fence .75
4
days Work on farm 3.00
5
1/2 days Work on farm 4.12
4
1/2 days Work on farm 3.37
2
days Work on farm 1.50
Doton’s 1855 map shows a J.
Packard on road #27 in the southeastern part of Stockbridge. Beer’s 1869 Atlas shows an A. Packard on road
#27, beside Stony Brook, but north of the earlier location for J. Packard, and
another entry for A. Packard on road #26. Road #26 runs east from Stony Brook, and the second A. Packard site is
actually across the line in Barnard. Presumably these entries both indicate Alexander Packard, whose entries
in the daybook are numerous.
Alexander
Packard died Oct. 19, 1885, age 65. Mary
M. Harrington his wife died May 10, 1887, age 67. & Little Mamie. Mt.
Pleasant Cemetery, Stockbridge. [Note in Gladys Adams’s copy of Cyrus’s
journal.]
Page 15 1857? 1858?
Re
of Mr A Packard
2
Pounds butter .36
3
Pounds butter .54
3
1/2 Pounds butter .63
1
1/2 Pound Poark .18
1/2
bushel of Corn .60
1/2
bushel of corn
2 half bag of flour 1.05 (??)
Throughout
the daybook, Cyrus is frequently paid in pork, nearly always spelled “poark.” The entry on
this page, made in 1857 or 1858, prices pork at 12 cents a pound. By 1866 (page 42) the price has risen to 16
cents a pound. With some variation (22
cents on page 44; 12 cents, also on page 44) there is little change until 1874
(page 75) when the price rises to 18 cents a pound.
The
price of flour elsewhere in Cyrus’s daybook is $2.25 a bag and $1.65 a bag,
although the weight of the bag is not given. In this entry, the “2” is struck through, and the value is very
uncertain – 1.05? 1.5?
Page 16 1857? 1858?
Work
for Mr A Packard
8
days Work a suggarin 4.00
1
days Work on fence .75
1
days Work on fence .75
4
days Work on farm 3.00
5
days Work on farm 3.75
4
1/2 days Work on farm 3.37
2
days Work on farm 1.50
July
2/3
days Work on fence .50
1
days Work a hoin .75
1
days Work a hoin .75
2
days Work a haying 2.00
Aug
4
days Work a haying 4.00
5
1/2 days Work a haying 5.50
3
days Work a haying 3.00
The first entries on this page are a copy of the entries
on page 14, with one change: “5 1/2 days Work on farm $4.12” has been changed
to “5 days Work on farm $3.75.” Perhaps
Cyrus rewrote this list just to make this change.
Page 17 1857? 1858?
Receive
of A Packard
2
pounds of buter .36
3 of buter .54
3
1/2 of buter .63
1
1/2 of pork .18
1/2
bushel of meal .60
1/2
bushel of meal .60
1/2
bag of flour 1.05 (??)
5
pounds of buter
Went
to Gaysville .84
with horse
1
bag of flour 2.25
The first items on this page are almost a copy of page
15. “1/2 bushel of Corn” has become “1/2
bushel of meal,” and the price of the second half bushel has been added. It appears that, having corrected the entries
for the work performed, Cyrus decided to re-enter the payment received as well.
Page 18 1858? 1859?
Work Mr H C Denney
1
days Work a Picking hops .75
1
days Work a Picking hops .75
1 days Work a Picking hops .75
1
days Work a Picking hops .75
1
days Work a Picking hops .75
1
days Work a Bailing hops .75
1
days Work a framing .50
1
days Work a fix house and ploud .50
1/2
days Work a ploud .25
1
days Work a framing .50
1
days Work a framing .50
1
days Work a for Chester Chopping .50
1
days Work on fraim .50
1
days Work fix wagon fills .50
1/2
days Work fix wagon fills .25
1
days Work on fraim .50
1
days Work a cuting logs .50
1
days Work a cuting logs .50
1
days Work a sawing in the mill .50
“fix wagon fills” – These are thills, the long shafts projecting from the front of a
wagon. The horse is fastened between the
two thills.
Page 19 1858? 1859?
Receive
of H C Denny
1
peck of Apples .06
1/2
bushel of Apples .12
1/2
1/2
bushel of Apples .12
1/2
1/2
bushel of Apples .12
1/2
17
1/2 bushel of Apples 4.38
Sheep 1.36
10
pound of Muton [“.48” apparently
smudged out] .45
had the oxon 1/2 day draw wood .25
had the oxon 1 day draw wood .50
had the oxan 1/2 day draw wood .25
(none)
Page 20 1859
1859
Work
of Miss N B Gray
1
days Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
2/3
day Work on the Mill .75 .50
2/3
day Work on the Mill .50
2/3
day Work on the Mill .50
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .75
1
day Work on the Mill .50
1
day Work on the Mill .50
1
day Work a digin potatoes .50
1
day Work on the Mill .50
1
day Work on the Mill .50
2
bushel of potatoes .40
1/2
day Work on shed .25
1/2
day and 1/2 the night .50
1
day and 1/2 the night .75
What
mill? A sawmill? Who is Miss N.B. Gray?
Page 21 1859
1859
Receive
of Mrs, N, B, Geay
1 Barel of flour
6
days Work a digin potatoes 3.00
---------------
Receive
of Chancy Boutell
5
1/2 pound of buter
5
1/4 pound of beef 1.20
2
1/2 pound of buter
3 pound of buter
five puorts of corn
Doton’s 1855 map of Stockbridge
shows a C. Boutwell on Road #35 in the southeast
corner of Stockbridge.
Note the “p” for “q” in “quorts.”
Page 22 1860
1860
Work
for Tomas Hercy
and Miss Gray
2/3
days work a fixing carage to mill .37
------------------
Work
for Chancy Boutell
1
days work a choping wood .60
1
days work a framing .60
1
days work on house .75
1
days work on house .75
(none)
Page 23 1860
in, 1860
Receive
of S C Woodard
1
days work self and oxon
2/3
days work self and oxon
1
days work Self and oxon
1
days work Self and oxon
1/2
days work Self and oxon
1
days work Self and oxon
1/2
days work a sawing
(none)
Page 24 1860-1861
in 1860 1861
Work
for S C Woodard
1
days work a plenting
1
days work a plenting
1
days work a giting out manure
1
days work a plenting corn
1/2
days work a plenting corn
1
days work a plenting potatoes and ploughing
1
days work a fixing fence
Here, as on some other pages, Cyrus records work done for
a client in more than one year. On this
page, he indicates both years. It is possible to guess, from the slightly
different penmanship and ink color, that the first three entries are in 1860,
and the remaining four are in 1861.
Page 25 1861?
Work
for H C Denny PROBABLY 1860 OR
1861
1
days Work a fixing Room .75
1
days Work a fixing Room .75
4
days Work a Making Cubard 3.00
2 days Work a fixing Room 1.50
1/2
days Work a fixing Room .37
2/3
days Work a fixing Mill .50
1
days Work a fixing Mill Wheel .75
1
days Work a Spliting Shingles .75
1
days Work a Shingle house .75
--------------------------------------------
1
days Work on Milldam 1.00
1
days Work a fixing Barn and S .75
-------------------
Re
of H C Denny
1 puorts of Bild Cider .25
10
gallons of Cider
8
yards of Coton Cloths .80
Chester
1
pound of Candles .16
1
hen .25
1 Chese
Doton’s 1855 map of Stockbridge
shows “H Dana” on the right bank of Stony Brook, and, a few hundred yards to
the south, “S.M.” for saw mill. This may
be the where Cyrus was working.
Boiled cider is made in a fashion similar to maple
syrup. Freshly pressed apple juice is
boiled in a large pan. When it begins to
boil, scum that forms at the surface is skimmed off. The juice is boiled down to about one-tenth
of its original volume, at which point it tends to foam up and boil over. It can be stored in a bottle for up to a year
without refrigeration. It was used as a
sweetener and as the main ingredient of boiled cider pie.
[‘CHESTER’
IS MENTIONED ON PAGE 18. FIRST OR LAST
NAME?]
Page 26
1861
Re
of John Godkins
1/2
days work, oxom .25
1/2
days work oxon .25
----------------------
Work
of Mr John, Godkins
1 adys work a choping .50
1 adys work a choping .50
1 adys work a choping .50
The last three entries on this page may be from
1862. All three were probably written at
the same time – note the spelling of “days.”
Beers’ 1869 atlas shows J. Godkins in southeastern Stockbridge at the junction of road #36 and road #37, on the
east side of Stony Brook.
Page 27 1862
Re
of Chancy and David Boutwell
16
Pounds of Poark 2.00
4
1/2 Pounds of Poark .58
9
1/2 Pounds of Pork 1.18
6
1/2 Pounds of Poark .65
9
1/2 Pounds of Poark 1.15
6
1/2 Pounds of Poark .81
60
Pounds of Sugar .60
Work
for Chancy Boutwell in 1862
May
14 1 day a Mending fence .75
29 1 day a Mending fence plenting .75
June
18
1
day a Shingling on barn .75
August
2
days a work a haying 2.11 (??)
1
days work a haying 1.17
1/2
days work a mowing .50
1
days work a haying 1.17
Sep
the 6
1/2
days Work thrashing .37
According to Child’s 1884 Gazette (?), David Boutwell was 78 years old and lived on Road #35 with his
son Chauncey. Doton’s 1855 map shows D. Boutwell on road #37 in the
southeastern part of Stockbridge, and Beers’ 1869 Atlas shows D. Boutwell on road #35. The 1869 map shows several other Boutwell scattered around the southeastern part of Stockbridge.
Notes from Gladys Adams; Chauncey Boutwell,
Dec. 12, 1830 - Sept. 18, 1919. Lovina S. Woodard his wife June 8, 1836 - Feb. 22, 1901.. David Boutwell died Feb. 1, 1892, age 87 y. 6 m. 28 d. Mary Woodard his wife died Nov. 7, 1891, age 86 y7 8 m. 17 d.
Page 28 1862
Work
on Scool House in 1862
Aprel
18 day a plaing boarde for winder .75
19 day a plaing boards for winder .75
21 day a plaing and puting in winders fraim .75
22 day a puting in doar fraim wins .75
23 day a joint boards .75
24 day a banking up and Laying floar .75
---------------------
Receive
of Miss Larned for work on Scool House
Aprel 21 day of Buter .30
May
5 day 5 pounds of Buter .70
20 day 3 pounds of Buter .37
Oct
30 day 4 pounds of Buter .72
Beers’ 1869 map divides the town of Stockbridge into 17
districts, each of which has its own school. Cyrus was likely working on School #10 or School #15, in adjacent
districts in the southeast corner of Stockbridge. School #10 is on Doton’s 1855 map (labeled simply “S.H.”), but School #15 is not, and apparently had not
been built in 1855. So it may be School
#15 that Cyrus was helping to build in 1862.
“day a plaing boarde for winder” = “plaing”
probably = “planing.”
Cyrus is obviously involved in building a
schoolhouse. The Doton 1855 map shows a L. Lurnatd (spelled thus) living on
Stony Brook, near School #10 and School #15. (The 1869 Beers map shows that A. Packard now lives in the same spot.)
Page 29 1862
Work
on Scool House in 1862
S
C Woodard | | 1/2 | | |
W Geen |
L
Blanchard | |
J
White 1/2 1/2 Horse 1/2 1/2
S
Blanchard nails 8 work 1/2
Apparently
Cyrus kept track of the days of work done by other men on the schoolhouse - or
perhaps he did the work himself and was paid by these men. More likely the men did the work - why else
credit J.White with two half days, rather than one
whole day, and why else indicate that J. White supplied a horse for those two
half days? The work may have been
voluntary, and this may explain the differences time spent working. S. Blanchard apparently worked a half day but
supplied 8 (pounds?) of nails.
Levi
H. Blanchard died Feb. 13, 1904, age 70 y. 11 m. 3 d.
Sarah Angell wife of Levi H. Blanchard died March 31, 1873, age 50. John White co. H. 16th Vt. Vol. Sept. 11,
1823 - Jan. 4, 1902. (flag) Solomon Blanchard died 3.10.1882, age 66. Louisa U. (?) his wife died Feb. 19, 1876,
age 59. [Note in Gladys Adams’s copy of
Cyrus’s journal.]
Page 30 1862
Re
of J Godkins in 1862
hay hand sled load ||
back load |||||||||| 3.50
horse go to Royalton 1.00
oxon wet to Tagard .50
-------------------------
Work
of J Godkins in 1862
1
day a pllow ing .75
1
day work .75
1
day work on barn .75
1/2
day work on barn .37
1
day work on Cuting logs [note use of caret] .85
1/2
day work on Cuting logs .50
1/2
day work on house .42
1
day work on house .85
The
heading on this page, “Re(ceived)
of,” would more accurately be, “Work for.”
A
handy sled was a general-purpose sled open at the back but enclosed on the
front and on both sides – essentially a large box with the back panel
removed. It was typically 6 to 8 feet
long and wide enough to be drawn by two horses. Cyrus records a total of 12 trips with the “hand sled” carrying hay.
Page 31 1862
Re
of David Boutell in 1862
1
Bee hive 1.25
1
Bee hive 1.25
year 1863
Bul .48
5
Bushel of potatoes 1.25
3
Bushel of potatoes .50
---------------------------
Work
of David Boutell in 1862
1/2
days Work a patching roof .25
1
days a hoing potatoes .75
2
1/2 days a work a haying 3.00
2
days a work a haying 2.50
year 1863
2/3
days work barn .65
Aug,
12, 13, 14, 15,
4
days work a haying 6.00
year 1864
1
days work a Shinglin 1.00
1
days work a Shinglin 1.00
(The first entry under 1863 for David Boutwell appears to be “Bul” or “Buf”
– the final letter is ambiguous. It is
probably the beginning of the word “bushel.”
Page 32 1862
Work
for Lonly and Brown 1862 [apparently = Lonty]
4
1/2 [rubbed out]
5
days work on Barm fraime 4.17
4
1/2 days work on Barm fraime 3.57
2
1/2 days work boarding Barn 2.8
1
days work a Shingle .75
1
days work a Shingle and boarding .75
1
1/2 day work a Shingle 1.00
1 dgy work a Shingle .66
-------------------------
Re
of Mr Smith 1862
for Lonty and Brown
one bag of flour 1.65
one bushel of meal 1.00
one Scythe Snartk .70
Culver
Goods 3.34
Scythe
of Rus .92
Anerea .20
“one Scythe Snartk” - “Snartk” is “snath,” meaning handle; in other words, a scythe handle
lacking a blade. Since the “r” sound is
silent in many words as they were pronounced in New England at the time, Cyrus
logically assumed that there was an r after the a in “snath.” He also sometimes confused the similar forms
of the letters h and k, so what he intended was “snarth.” On page 36, he writes “thrashing” as “thrasking.”
On
the 1869 Beers map of Gaysville: “Culver G.N. Livery, Meat Market, General Mdse.”
“Scythe
of Rus” – perhaps the J. J. Russ mentioned on page
33.
Anerea – unknown.
Page 33 1863?
Work
for John Brown PROBABLY 1862 OR
1863
on Barn
1
day work a Shingling .75
1/2
day work a Shingling .37
1/2
day work a Shingling .37
2/3
day work a Shingling .50
1
day work a Shingling .75
1
day work a on barn .75
-----------------------
Re
of John Brown
had to J J Russ
goods .75
1 Cout 3.00
Perhaps Cyrus received these last two items from John
Brown and used them to pay a debt he owed to J.J.Russ.
Doton’s 1855 map shows a J.
Brown and a J.W. Brown on road #20 in the western part of Stockbridge, somewhat
outside of the area where Cyrus usually worked.
Page 34 1863
Work
for Nelson Tagard, 1863
1
days Work a sawing ash staves .66
1
1/2 days Work a sawing ash staves .93
1
days Work a sawing bark .66
1
days Work a giting bark .66
2
days Work a Teaming giting staves 1.33
March 1 days on staves .75
April
3
days on Staves 2.25
3
days on Staves 2.25
3
days on Staves 2.25
1
days on Staves .75
2
days on Staves 1.50
1
days Work a Cuing logs .75
4
days Work on Staves 5.00
Novemver, the year 1863
3
days Work on 2.50
1
1/2 days on Staves 1.25
2
1/2 days on Staves 2.14
The
year 1864
3
1/2 days on Staves 3.50
3
days on Staves 3.00
days boss wood 1.00
Beers’ 1869 map shows an N. Taggart off of road #26 in
southeastern Stockbridge. Several other Taggarts are located elsewhere in southeastern Stockbridge.
The ash staves are for barrels; the other good wood for
barrels is white oak. Ash was also used
for butter tubs. The last line probably
means “days bass wood” (i.e., basswood, also used for barrels.) Basswood is light, easy to carve or work,
nearly white. The heartwood is not
resistant to rot, so many basswood trees are hollow.
Page 35 1863
Rec of Nelson Tagard 1863
Cash 1.00
1
bushel of Meal 1.00
Cash 2.00
Cash 1.00
1
bushel of potatoes .33
Cash 1.00
Cash 3.25
1
bushel of potatoes .33
Cash 5.00
8
Bushel of potatoes 2.66
1/2
bushel of rye
1 Inga wheete
Nov,
the, 26, the, 1863,
paid taxes to B--- Cousins 3.54
Cash 4.00
Cash 3.60
Ax 1.50
The 1869 Beers map of Gaysville shows a B. Cozzen. This is the
only time that Cyrus records the payment of taxes, and it is not clear what
type of property he is paying taxes on.
The last entries on page 34, “The year 1864,” may be the
last entries in the daybook until late in 1866. The entries on page 36, “Work for Mr Rowe,”
could be from 1866, but are probably from late 1863. “1 days work a thrasking”
(threshing) suggests late summer or early fall.
For whatever reason, Cyrus made no entries in his daybook
for about two and one-half years. Family
tradition says that he fought briefly in the Civil War, that he was discharged
in Virginia, and that the only thing he brought back from the war was a pocket
knife that he found on a battlefield. The Civil War ended in April 1865, and Cyrus’s brief service may have
occurred between early 1864 and April 1865.
The next several pages cover the years 1866 and
1867. Whatever the cause of the hiatus,
it appears that Cyrus was back at work late in 1866, and that he began
dedicating one page to one or more clients, with the result that entries for
1866 and 1867 are not in chronological sequence.
Page 36 1867
Work
for Mr Rowe
1/3
days work a choping .25
1/3
days work a choping .30
1
days work a thrasking .66
1
days work a choping .75
-------------------------
Dr
Alex Packard in 1867
May
2 1/2 days Making Shingles .50
3 1 days Work 1.00
4 1 days in shuger place 1.00
6 2/3 days Making Shingles .75
7 1 days -- -- -- 1.00
8 1 days -- -- -- 1.00
9 1 days -- -- -- 1.00
10 2/3 days Scrape up manure 1.00 .75
11 1 days picking stone 1.00
23 1 days tinkering 1.00
“Dr
Alex Packard in 1867” – this is the first entry where Cyrus uses “Dr” (for
“Debtor” – i.e., the person who owes me payment), and on page 38 he first uses
“Cr” (for “Creditor” – i.e., the person to whom I owe payment).
The May 4 entry - “1 days in shuger place” - is pretty late in the sugar-making season. The fact that it is only one day suggests
that Cyrus was cleaning up the sugar house.
“1
days tinkering” – A tinker was, until well into the 20th century, an
itinerant mender of pots and pans, and the verb tinker suggests doing small
pieces of work, probably involving metal (hinges, wire, etc.)
Page 37 1867
Receive
of M Rowe
12
Pounds of poark 1.20
1/3
days work self and oxon .40
------------------
Alex
Packard in 1867
May
11 23 lbs Meel at 3
1/4 .75
23 52=10 Meel
23 13 1/2 flour
Page 38 1867
Work
for Mr Thratker
June
the 24
1 days worke a hoing hops 1.25
25) 1 days works a washing Sheep
and hoing carn 1.25
------------------------
Dr
E Packard
May
2 1/2 day work .50
3 1 days work 1.00
4 1 days work 1.00
Albert Adams Cr.
oxon one hour ang half
poud potatoes patch
18
1/2
6
111
“Work for Mr Thratker” – Cyrus’s confusion
of the letters h and k may be at work here. The name is likely Thatcher.
But
there is a degree of sophistication in the arithmetic at the bottom of the
page. The “111” is written over another
number, probably “108.” If so, he knew
in advance that six times one-half is three, and knew he would add the three. Then he performed 6x18 without carrying the
four (or at least without writing it down), wrote that product (108), added the
three, and rewrote the answer as 111.
Page 39 1867?
Re
of Mr Thratker
Cash 2.00
E
Packard Cr
-----------------
Dr
Albert Adams
mending fence 1.00
boy drive teem .25
The “boy” is probably Joseph, who was born in 1853. If the year of this entry is 1867, Joseph was
about 14, and Charles was about 10. This
is the first mention in the daybook of work done by either of Cyrus’s two sons.
Page 40 1867?
Work
for C Spooner
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1/3 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1 -- -- on house 1.00
1/2 -- -- on house .50
Charles Spooner died Nov. 14, 1847, age 83. Charity wife of Charles Spooner died Aug. 23,
1824, age 51. Buried Mt. Pleasant,
Stockbridge [Note in Gladys Adams’s copy
of Cyrus’s journal.] But they would have died before this daybook entry --??
Page 41 1867?
Re
of C Spooner
1
days Work on shed 1.00
1 yowe sheep 3.00
3
Lambs 6.00
1
fork and peace of Chain 1.64
1
duck 1.00
3
cask 3.50
“1 yowe sheep” is a ewe. In his collection of essays entitled “One
Man’s Meat” (1945), E.B. White mentions that “ewe” is pronounced “yowe” by old-timers in the Maine town where he lives.
--------------------------
Work
for John White
2
days Making Shingles 2.50
1/3
days thrashing J. Angel .50
2
days diging potatoes 2.50
1
days Making Shingles 1.25
1
days Making Shingles 1.25
1
days N Tagard 1.25
for Room 1.00
Mt. Pleas. Cem.
Stockbridge. John White, Co. H, 16th Vt.
Vol. Sept. 11, 1823 - Jan. 4, 1902. Marinda E. his wife Born March 13,
1824, died Nov. 10, 1896. [Note in
Gladys Adams’s copy of Cyrus’s journal.]
Beers’ 1869 atlas shows a J. White on road #37 in the
southeastern corner of Stockbridge.
Who
is N. Tagard?
Who
is J. Angel? (Angell?)
Page 42 1866
Dpt to C. Boutell in 1866
12
1/4 poark At 22 cents pound 2.69
51
Sugar tub and all
------------
Dpt to J Russ
Sled Runers 3.00
Nine
Pounds of Poark 1.44
Eight 1.28
paid Henry Willis [for what? Willis not mentioned elsewhere]2.50
Six
pounds of pork
1.00
“51 Sugar tub and all” – Apparently this means 51 pounds
of maple sugar – a tremendous amount.
“Nine Pounds of Poark” – Cyrus
struck out the “a” in this word, as though someone looking over his shoulder
had pointed out the error, and he spelled the word correctly three lines
below. But on page 44 he again writes “poark.”
Page 43 1866
Cr
to C Boutell in 1866
------------------------
Work
for J Russ
two days self and oxon 4.00
three days half self 3.50
Page 44 1866?
Dpt to D Boutell
22
1/2 poark hog head at 12 cents pound 2.75
8
1/2 poark at 22 cents pounds 1.87
Receive cash 3.00
Receive
cash 3.00
7
pounds of poark at 12 cts pou 1.54
Receive
cash 5.00
Weiving 1.50
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note
that the hog head weighs 22.5lb and is worth only 12 cents/lb, while “poark” is worth 22 cents/lb. Also: 22.5 x 12 = 2.70, not 2.75.
“Weiving” probably = “weaving,” but just what did Cyrus
receive? A rug?
Page 45 1866-1867
Cr
to D Boutell
1
1/2 Work a haying 3.00
3 dans Work a diging potatoes 3.75
paid cash 6.00
------------------------
Dec
the year 1876
Work
for Mr Lock
Dec
the 6 drawd wood 1.00
Feb
the 23 drawd wood 2.00
Ploud his ground .50
3.50
“Dec
the year 1876” – if this entry was actually made in 1876, it appears about 40
pages early in the daybook, since the first page that may have been written in
1876 is page 84, very near the end of the daybook, and after Cyrus had moved to
Bridgewater. Probably Cyrus simply
transposed numbers, and meant “1867.”
Also, Dec. 6, 1876 was a Wednesday, and the following
Feb. 23 was a Sunday. Except on two
occasions, Cyrus never recorded work on a Sunday. But Dec. 6, 1866 was a Thursday, and the
following Feb. 23 was a Saturday – both days of the week on which Cyrus often
worked. Since the previous 3 pages all
record work done in 1866, this page probably records the end of 1866 and the
beginning of 1867.
Hist. Spr.
Vt. Daniel Locke, Elethia Durent married June 24, 1827. Elithea wife of Daniel Locke died July 1, 1855, age
45. [Note in Gladys Adams’s copy of
Cyrus’s journal.]
Doton’s 1855 map shows a D.
Locke on road #24.
“Ploud his ground” = ground =
field.
Page 46 1867
John Godkins Dr to Cyrus H. Ada [note use of
caret]
1
weeks work on house 7.50
4
1/2 days work on house 5.60
3
1/2 days work on house 3.32
2
days work on house 2.50
1/2
days work on house .62
2
days work on house 2.50
1
days -- -- -- 1.25
1
days -- -- -- 1.25
1
days -- -- -- 1.25
1
days -- -- -- 1.25
1
days -- -- -- 1.25
1 1/2 days -- -- -- 1.25
1
days -- -- -- 1.00
1
days -- -- -- 1.00
Beers’ 1869 atlas shows a J. Godkins at the intersection of road #36 and road #37 on the east side of Stony
Brook. There is no house at this
location on Doton’s 1855 map, so Cyrus may have been
helping Mr. Godkins build his house.
This page records a total of 27 days work on the house,
at a rate that is usually $1.25 per day – but 3 1/2 days in the second line
amounts only to $3.32, or about 95 cents a day. Cyrus’s total income on this page is $31.54.
Page 47 1867
John Godkins - Cr
cash 2.00
By Rash Receive cash 5.00
By oxon to draw two loads of hay 1.25
By oxon to draw wood 1/2 day .62
-- -- -- -- 1/2 day .62
-- -- -- -- 2/3 day .62
-- -- -- -- 1/2 day .62
-- -- -- -- 2/3 day .75
cash 3.00
cas Order 3.00
The struck-through “Rash” was
apparently an absent-minded “R(eceive c)ash,” and was too long to smudge out.
At the bottom of the page,
Cyrus begins to write “cash,” then strikes it out and writes “Order.” Presumably this is a money order or a bank
check.
Page 48 1867
Dr
Charles Simons
Aprel
15 one day worke 1.50
16 ato hour worke 1.50
18 one day work 1.50
20 one day work 1.50
23
24 two 1/4 Coards of
wood 2.25
25 one days work 1.50
26 one days work 1.50
27 half days work .75
30 one days work 1.50
May)
1 one days work 1.50
13 two thid days
work on fence 1.00
14 half days work on fence .50
15 half days work on fence .50
17 one days work on fence 1.50
“ato hour worke” – This probably means “eight hours
work.”
“two thid days work on fence” – In “thid,” Cyrus is probably
spelling this word approximately as he pronounced it – without the r.
Page 49 1867
Charles
Simons Cr
Aprel
13 one hundre pounds
hay .60
16 one hundrs pounds hgy .60
20 13 of flour 1.00
25 25 pounds of rye Meel 1.00
3 1/2 pounds of flour
28 25 pounds of Meel .75
Meel for cow .36
Cash 1.00
“one hundrs pounds hgy” – Since both a and g are formed similarly, Cyrus
confuses them and writes “hgy,” just as he writes “dgy” for “day” on page 6, page 32 and page 70.
Page 50 1867
Dr
Alex Packard 1867
May
2 1/2 days Making Shingles .50
3 1 days Work 1.00
4 1 days shugar place 1.00
6 2/3 days Making shingles .75
7 1 days 1.00
8 1 days 1.00
9 1 days 1.00
10 2/3 days scrape up manure .75
11 1 days picking stone 1.00
23 1 days Work on farm 1.00
24 1 days Work on farm 1.00
25 1 days Work on farm 1.00
27 1 days Work on farm 1.00
28 1 days Work on farm 1.00
29 1 days Work on farm 1.00
30 1 days Work on farm 1.00
31 1 days Work on farm 1.00
June
3) 1 days work on farm 1.00
4 1 days work to Luses 1.00
5 1 days work to Luses 1.00
10 1/2 days work on farm .50
11 1 days work on farm 1.00
[According
to the Stockbridge website, Luce is a family name in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.]
Page 51 1867
Alex
Packard 1867 Cr
May
11 23 lbs Meal
23 46 lbs 10 ounces Meal
23 13 1/2 lbs flour
21 1/2 days self and catle 1.00
30 26 - 6 Meal
June
1 5 papers garden Seeds .25
6 1 fix groune to Luses 2.00
7 1/2 days 1.00
flour 4
pounds
Saleratus 2
pounds .20
Meel 16 1/2 | 7
flour 6 | 6 | 16
14 ploud garden 2.00
1/2 bushel potatoes .20
ax and helve 1.37
July
1 Sheering 8 Sheep 1.50
Sythe 1.85
Nov
19 Mutton 14 pouds .84
21 2 Sheep 3.00
1 rooster .50
Cash paid for sols .60
Saleratus is the old name for baking powder (sodium
bicarbonate).
A
helve is the handle for an ax.
Sythe = scythe
“Cash
paid for sols.” These are probably boot
soles.
Page 52 1867
Dr
Alex Packard
12 1 day work on farm 1.00
13 1 day work on farm 1.00
14 help wash Sheep
17 1 day work on farm 1.00
18 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
19 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
20 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
24 1/2 day -- -- -- .50
26 1/2 day -- -- -- .50
27 1/2 days making fenc .50
28 3/4 days -- -- -- .75
July
2 1 days work on farm 1.00
3 1 days -- -- -- 1.00
4 1 days -- -- -- 1.00
9 1 days 1.00
10 1/2 days -- -- -- .50
11 1 days -- -- -- 1.00
12 1 days making Cart tung
and patchen barn 1.00
Oct
2 1/2 days oats, and thrashing Ingawheat .50
3 1/2 day
thrashing Ingawheat .50
Page 53 1867
Dr
Alex Packard
2 1/2 days diging potatoes
31 1 days maiking shingles 1.00
Nov
1 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
2 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
4 1 day making
Shingles 1.00
5 1/3 day
7 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
8 1 day 1.00
9 1 day 1.00
11 1 day 1.00
12 1 day 1.00
13 1 day 1.00
14 1 day 1.00
15 1 day 1.00
16 1 day 1.00
18 1 day 1.00
20 1 day 1.00
21 1 day 1.00
22 1/2 day .50
25 1 day 1.00
26 1/2 days .50
27 1 days in garden 1.00
“1 days in garden” – Cyrus may be cleaning up the garden
– removing bean poles and the like – after the harvest.
Page 54 1867-1868
Dr
Alex Packard
Dec
2 1 day help kill hog
6 1 day Shingles 1.00
7 1 day Shingles 1.00
9 1 day -- .50
10 1 day
11
12
13 4 day on Sled
“4 days on Sled” – perhaps hauling hay. See the entries on page 30.
March
23 1/2 day fixing tub .50
24 1 day choping wood in s 1.00
25 1 day sugar place 1.00
26 1 day -- -- 1.00
27 1 day in sugar place 1.50
28 1 1/2 day in sugar place 1.00
29 1 day in sugar place 1.00
30 1 day 1.00
31 1 dan 1.00
Aprel
1 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
2 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
3 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
4 1 day -- -- -- 1.00
On this page Cyrus works 13 days in a row, from March 23
to April 4, and including Sunday, March 29. This is one of only two occasions when he works on a Sunday, but all of
the work (including “fixing tub” and “chopping wood”) was clearly done at the
“sugar place.” The brevity of the
sugaring season is probably the reason that he worked even on a Sunday.
On March 28 Cyrus records “1 1/2 day in sugar place,”
probably meaning that he worked 12 hours or more. But in the column at right he credits his
earnings ($1.50) to the wrong day.
Page 55 1867-1868
Alex
Packard Cr
Nov
26 1/3 day Pratt and oxon 1.00
flour 22 1/2
Dec
6 Poark 18 1/2
pounds at 6 1.11
14 flour 14 = 6
two hours
Pratt and oxon .50
Jan
1 Poark 4 pounds
Salt
2 1/2 day went and got hay 1.00
3 3 hours hay .50
14 1/2 day - -- --
5 3/4 Pounds Salt Meat .57
9-10 Pounds of Meal
4 flour Pounds flour
3 3/4 Pounds flour with Pail
4 - 2 Pounds Meat
4 Pounds Meat
4 1/4 Pounds Meat
3 Pounds Meat
24 Pounds of flour
3 Pounds Meat
13 = 3/4 Pounds of flour
“1/3 days Pratt and oxon” –
Pratt appears to be someone who worked for Cyrus.
“5 3/4 Pounds Salt Meat” – the precise quantities of
meat, flour, and meal on this page suggest that most families must have had a
dependable scale handy on which to weigh these items.
Page 56 1868?
Dpt to N Lamb
two axes 1.25
fifty (smudged out) cash .50
cash 2.00
beef 8.64
Corn
bushel half in the year
cash 2.00
Corn
in the years 1,50
“half in the year” and “Corn in
the years” – “year” = “ear.”
There are 12 Lambs in the Bridgewater Hill Cemetery, but
none is an N. Lamb. The name Lamb does
not appear on either of the Stockbridge maps.
Page 58 1868?
Dpt of H Hubar
flour one barrel 8.25
two hundred of meal 3.70
one ax helve .35
one ax 1.25
three hundred of meal 5.25
flour one barrel 8.00
H. Hubbard may have lived in Bridgewater. In the Baker Hill Cemetery: Henry H. Hubbard Feb. 6,
1840 Aug. 17, 1922
Page 62 1868
1868 Chancy Boutell Cr
Aprel the 14
17
1/2 poark at 16 1/2 a pound 2.92
“17 1/2 poark at 16 1//2 a
pound” – The multiplication should yield 2.8875, but Cyrus makes it 2.92, which
would be the right answer is the price were 16 2/3 cents a pound (i.e.,
one-sixth of a dollar).
Page 64 1869
may Nancy Denney 1869 Dr.
one
9 one days work on fence 1.00
14 one 1/2 days work on fence .50
“one days work on fence” – May 9, 1869, was a Sunday. This is one of only two occasions when Cyrus
worked on a Sunday. The other is on page
54, during the sugaring season.
“one 1/2 days work on fence” – Cyrus means one-half day, not
one and a half days.
Nancy
Denney may be a daughter or daughter-in-law of Henry C. Dana.
Page 66 1872
Work
on A P farm 1872
May
the 20
1/2
day picking Stone
1/2
day Joseph picking Stone
1/2
day Joseph hill plow
1/2
day got out manure picking Stone
1/2
day Joseph -- -- -- -- --
one hundred Meal 1.65
1 days spre Manure and fence
and ploud
1/2
days diging stones
1
day picking stones and Cuting spruce for fence
1/2
day cuting Spruces for fence on hil
2/3
day ploud to flints
1/2
day Joseph fix fence
1
day harroing with steears
one hundred Meal
June
the 1
1
day on the hill
1
day harrowing with Steers both Pare
1/2
day -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
1
day -- -- -- -- steers fence stuff
1
day Steers fence stuff
2
day Making fence
2
day plenting potatoes on hill
Pages 66 through 71 record work on Alex Packard’s farm in
the spring, summer, and fall of 1872. There are occasional references to work done elsewhere (“2/3 days ploud to flints,” above), but the rest of the work was
probably done at the Packard farm, and includes work done by Cyrus, Joseph and
Charles. Cyrus has done so much work for
Alex Packard that he uses the initials “A P” for his name.
Note that Cyrus makes a distinction between “picking
stones” and “digging stones.” Also, it
appears that Cyrus owns two pairs of oxen (“Steers both Pare”). In the entry
“1/2 day cutting Spruces for fence on hil,” “hill” is
spelled with one l because Cyrus had reached the edge of the page.
“2/3 days ploud to flints” –
Beers’ 1869 map shows a G. Flint on the Stony Brook Road about a half-mile
south of what is now Route 107. For some
reason Cyrus never capitalizes this surname.
Page 67 1872
A
P Work on farme
May
the 20
1/2
day self and Cattle dowing Stone
Charles
flint 2 hous plowing
1
day Charles flint plowing
1/2
day hill plow
1/2
day Catls dowing and Stone
manure
1/2
day ploud garden
1/2
day Catle
1
day drawing Stones and ploud on the hill
2/3
day Catle ploud to flints
1/2
day fix fence
Juen the 1
1
day on the hill poud
1
day ploud adove the road
1/2
day work on the r r road
1/2
day flint shovling manure
1/2
day Self and teem drawing manure
1/2
day penting corn
3
days oxon
1/2
day fixing ground
1/3
day -- -- --
July part of day work Lonso Packard fixing fence
part of day work fixing fence and
putering it mounted not put much
“1/2 day fixing
ground” – ground = field.
“It
mounted not much” – Today we would say, “It didn’t amount to much,” using the
auxiliary verb “did.” Cyrus was using an
old but apparently still acceptable construction. The introduction of “do” and “did” as
auxiliary verbs in English took place largely in the seventeenth century, but
was still the subject of academic debate and disapproval in the eighteenth century. Apparently the older negative form without
the auxiliary “do” or “did” still survived in Vermont in 1872.
Page 68 1872
Work
on A P farme
1/2
day work on the road
1/2
day -- -- -- --
1
day harroing with steeare dlh y [????]
1/2
day flint plenting corn
1/2
day plenting corn
2
days Work fixing potatoes groun
and plenting pototoes
2
days -- -- -- -- -- --
2
days -- -- -- -- -- --
1
day steears work harroing
1
day Charles plenting pototae
July
1/2
day Carles hode corn
1/2
day Joseph hode corn
1/2
day Waldo Perkins hode corn
1
day mowing and got in some hay
and harroing corn foder ground
1/2
day polding cultivater out corn
1/2
day mowing
1/2
day harring
1
day mowing and giting in hay
1/2
day waldo Perkins mowing
1
day mowing
1/2
day mowing Joseph
1
day mowing and spred hay Charles
“1 day harroing with steeare dlh y” – “dlh y” may be an abbreviation – but for what? One possibility: “dlh”
is actually “bth” (with Cyrus reversing the b and
omitting the crossbar on the t, as he often did) and means “both.” The “y” stands for “yokes.” Since these four letters are crowded against
the right side of the page, the whole entry may mean “1 day harrowing with steeare both yokes,” just as on page 66 above he wrote, “1
day harrowing with Steers both Pare.”
“1/2 day polding cultivater out corn” – “polding”
might be “pulling”
Page 69 1872?
A.
P. Work on farm
1/2
day drawing manure on to the corn foder ground
1/2
day cultervating out corn with horse
1
day Lonso Packard moad (illegible words struck through) and tinked with A.P.
some got in some hay
1/2
day mowing
August
the 1
1
1/4 Started Packard
1
day David Packard (name circled) haying
1
day haying
1 day haying
1
day haying
1/2
(?) day got hay
1
day g haying
1
day Waldo Perkins haying
1
day haying
1/3
day haying
1
day haying
David Packard died Dec. 16, 1889, age 56. [Note in Gladys Adams’s copy of Cyrus’s
journal.] His name is probably circled
here to indicate that this work was not done for Alex Packard.
“corn foder ground” = corn field
Page 70 1872
Work
on A P farme
1/2
day Cultivating and howing potatoes
1/2
day Charles led horse and hoed on the hill
1/2
day haying
1/2
day Joseph haying
1/2
day Charles haying
1/2 day August the
1
1 dgy haying
2
day haying
3 dgy haying Joseph
4
day haying Charles
1
day haying
1
day haying Joseph
1
day haying Charles
1
day haying cut hay J
1
day haying cut hay C
1
day haying
1
day haying Joseph
1
day haying Charles
1
day haying
1
day haying Joseph
1
day haying Charles
September
2/3
day cuting oats
2/3
day cuting oats Joseph
“1
day haying cut hay J” – The strike-throughs may mean that Joseph and Charles were “haying” – i.e., spreading hay to make it
dry faster, or loading it onto a wagon – but not mowing by hand with a
scythe. In the summer of 1872, Joseph
was about 19 and Charles was about 15.
Page 71 1872
Work
on A P farme
1
day Cuting wheat and thrashed
1
day Joseph and charles
1/2
day mowing rowing
1/2
day Joseph and Charles
2
day diging potatoes
2
day Joseph -- --
2
day Charles -- --
1/2
day Joseph diging potatoes
The
entry “2 day Joseph” is the last entry in the daybook for Joseph. In 1872 he would have been about 19, and he
may have begun an independent life after this.
“mowing rowing” – “rowing” is “rowen,”
a regional New England word meaning the second crop of hay in a season.
Page 72 1874
Work
for George Hacket
help saw 500 feet boards .50
Sept
7 work on road till 4 clock 2.00
Charles and Drawd out 2.00
12 Cuting timbr half day [see brackets in
original] 1.25
G.
Hackett is on the 1869 Beers map in extreme south-central Stockbridge, on
Fletcher Brook off of road #38.
It
appears that Cyrus and Charles worked as a team building a shed for Mr.
Hackett. The first day’s entry for work
on the shed is apparently the entry for Sept. 12, above. Cyrus used a bracket as a caret to join the
two lines in the Sept. 12 entry, so that the entry means “(We were) cutting timbr half day and Charles Drawd (the timber) out.”
When
they both worked a full day, the pay was 2.50 for both of them. But when Charles worked a half day, his pay
was .50, so perhaps the arrangement was to pay Cyrus 1.50 per day and Charles
1.00 per day. See below, p. 73, Nov. 11,
where Cyrus works a full day and Charles a half day for a total of 2.00.
By
late October the weather would be getting cold. Much of the work was in acquiring the right lumber for the shed. Finally, on Nov. 2, Cyrus writes “helep place sills both of us and work on the ground of
Shed.” A few days later on Nov. 5 he
notes “Raised the Shed,” meaning that the frame is up. Two days later: “went to the Mill boarded one
side of Shed.” The shed was presumably
finished on Nov. 28, “on shed half day both.”
Cyrus’s
labor charges for the shed total about $55.85. The items he received in pament from Mr.
Hackett add up to only a little over $30, but some items in Cyrus’s list have
no value assigned to them, and there may have been other payments that were not
recorded.
14 -- -- -- -- -- 1.25
Oct
9 half a day Cuting timbr 1.25
10 -- -- -- -- -- 1.25
12 one day -- -- 2.50
13 Charles went to the Mill .50
14 with logs .50
15 -- -- -- -- -- .50
16 -- -- -- -- -- .50
17 Cuting timber
half 1.25
19 on fraime of shed
one day
Charles went to the Mill got
timber and
work on fraime 2.50
20 Charles went to the Mill
half day .50
21 we drawd over two
loads of logs .25
27 drawd logs to the
Mill and
got timber and woos 1.35 [??]
28 -- -- -- -- -- 1.50
29 -- -- -- -- -- 1.50
Page 73 1874
Work
for G Hacket
31 half day on fraime .75
Nov
2 helep place sills both of us
and work on the ground of Shed 2.50
3 went to the mill with logs
work on Shed 2.50
4 work on Shed half day 1.25
5 -- -- -- { Raised the Shed } 2.50
7 went to the Mill boarded one
side of Shed 2.50
9 work boarding
Charles went
to the Mill got boards 2.50
10 boarding Shed and Cut timber
for poast and sleeprs 2.50
11 went to the Mill with logs
and work on Shed Charles half day 2.00
12 we work on Shed 2.50
13 went to the Mill adn got
out stick of timber 2.00
14 half day on Shed 1.25
16 we work on Shed boarding 2.50
17 half day on Shed 1.25
18 half day on Shed 1.25
19 half day on Shed 1.25
“stick of timber” – a long,
single post, beam or rafter; part of the frame of the shed.
Page 74 1874
Work
for G Hacket
Nov
26 two thirds day drawing logs
and boards 1.00
27 on shed half day both 1.75
28 on shed half day both 1.75
Page 75 1874
Receive
of G Hacket
one barrel of flour 11.25
half -- -- --
find salt
flour 2.50
Meal .80
one brrel of flour 7.00
half pound tea .40
two pounds Saleratus .20
sugar
poark at 18 cents pound 2.16
Garglen Oil .50
Carseen .30
broom .32
Matches .32
Beef 1.70
four 3.55
“find salt” – fine salt, as opposed to coarse salt.
“Garglen Oil” – Gargling Oil
seems to have been a liniment used on horses. A popular brand was Merchants Gargling Oil, which was a mixture of 13
fl. oz. crude petroleum, 6 fl. oz. ammonia water, 16
fl. oz. soft soap, 16 fl. oz. benzene, 2 fl. oz. crude oil amber, 1 fl. oz.
tincture of iodine, and 5 pints of water.
“Carseen” – kerosene, a new
type of oil for lanterns in the 1870’s, and widely used in rural America until
the 1930’s or later. On this page Cyrus
also received matches (value 32 cents). On page 79 below, he receives “one lamp chimley.”
Page 76 1875?
Mr W O (??) Baker Cr
pound 2 ounces buter .23
receive (smudged out) oxon 1.50
ox boes 1.25
received cash 10.00
7
sugar .70
This seems to be the first entry after Cyrus and him family moved from Notown to
Bridgewater. The year of this entry is
1875 or later. Cyrus is probably living
in Dailey Hollow, where he was also living near the end of his life. An undated map from around the time of his
move shows a W. Baker in Dailey Hollow. There are 17 Bakers buried in the Baker H ill Cemetery in Bridgewater,
including Walter Baker born Mar. 9, 1847 Died Oct. 29, 1919. The names on the
following pages – Williams, Gillette, Chase, Briggs –
are the names of families in Bridgewater.
Note that Cyrus writes “Mr W O Baker Cr” - Creditor - but whether Cyrus write Cr or
Dr (Debtor) it seems in all cases that he is listing money owed to him for work
done. Perhaps Cyrus knew the
abbreviations Cr and Dr, but did not know the distinction between them.
Page 77 1875?
Work
for W O Baker
14
days on barn
Page 78 1875?
Work
for J Williams
Nov
20
4
1/2 days on house 4.50
2/3 Charles on house .40
3/4 Charles -- -- .45
1
day -- -- 1.00
1
days -- -- 1.00
1
Charles .75
1
days 1.00
1
days 1.00
1
days 1.00
1
days 1.00
1
Charles .75
1
days 1.00
1
Charles .75
Boot
between wagon 10.00
The
undated Bridgewater map shows a J. Williams living in the Chateauguay section of the town.
Here
Cyrus earns 1.00 a day, while Charles, who would have been about 18, earns .75
a day.
Page 79 1875?
Receive
of J William
Nov
21 flour toards wagon 4.37
one lamp chimley .10
one broom .35
Corn
58 pounds 1.00
basket .90
flour 4.12
1/2
Receive
cash 5.00
“flour toards wagon” – Perhaps Cyrus traded a wagon to Mr. Williams, and the flour is part of
the payment for (“toards” = “towards”) the price of
the wagon. Or perhaps Cyrus repaired a
wagon for Mr. Williams. The other items
on this page may also be part of the payment.
Page 80 1875?
Work
for A Gilit
day and half spliting wood .75
day choping wood in Sugar
place .50
day -- -- -- -- -- .50
two day plenting con 1.50
Mr. Gillett seems not to have paid generously; the price
of cyrus’s laber on this page is .50 or .75 per day.
Several Gilletts are buried in
the Baker Hill Cemetery in Bridgewater, but none corresponds to an A. Gillett
living in 1875.
Page 82 1875
Dr A M Chae
horse to go to the village
and up the river .50
June
horse to go
to Woodstock 1.00
Charles ploud his garden 1.00
15 horse to go to Woodstock 1.00
16 we soad his Ingawheat 2.00
and ploud and harred the ground
horse to go
over Bridgewater
hill and got a cow .25
horse to go
to Woodstock 1.00
horse to go
to village .30
horse to go
and git potatoes
and got his snarth and rake .30
horse to go
to village and get a pig .30
horse to go
to Woodstock 1.00
.50
Cyrus is apparently living in Dailey Hollow in
Bridgewater. From Dailey Hollow it would
be a short trip for the “horse to go over Bridgewater hill and got a cow,” for
which Cyrus receives $.25. It would be a
little longer trip to Bridgewater village (“horse to go to village and get a
pig .30”), and considerably longer to Woodstock (“horse to go to Woodstock
1.00”).
There is a grave in the Baker Hill Cemetery for A.
Emerson Chase, born in 1854 and died in 1913. If Cyrus did not know the spelling of Emerson, he may have thought it
began with the letter m, and thus used the initials A.M. In 1875 Mr. Chase would have been about 21
years old, and Cyrus about 49.
“horse to go and git potatoes and
got his snarth and rake” – snarth = snath = the handle of a scythe. Only a few of the entries on this page are
dated, but these items suggest haying time – late July or early August.
Page 83 1875?
Cr
to A M Chase
horse pasture May the 27
Apparently Mr. Chase is pasturing Cyrus’s horse.
Page 84 1876?
June
Work for H Socks
on fence
round paster
15 two hird both of
us
and catle 2.00
21 half days on devided fence
both of us and catle 1.50
It is difficult to date this page precisely. Pages 82 and 83 were written in 1875 – and include an entry
for June 15. Thus the June 15 on this
page cannot be in 1875, but is likely 1876 or 1877.
“two hird both of us and catle” – The dollar amount suggests
that Cyrus meant “two-thirds of a day.”
“half days on devided fence” – This may be two parallel stone walls
designed to guide sheep or cattle.
Page 85 1878
May
15 Work for O Brigs
on corn ground
8
hours .80
5
-- .50
8
-- .80
1
-- .10
3
-- .30
7
-- .70
10
-- 1.00
June
1 4 Pick stone .40
2 Pick Stone on Potatoes grund
3 10 -- -- -- 1.00
4 10 1.00
4 10 1.00
5 3 .30
5 x 3 .30
6 10 1.00
6 x 6 .60
7 7 .70
7 3 .30
8 10 Plenting 1.00
11 10 -- -- -- 1.00
12 10 -- -- -- 1.00
This page is written in pencil rather than in ink – the
first such entry in the daybook. The
year is probably 1878, when June 2 (a day on which Cyrus did not work) was a
Sunday. These entries are two years
later than the entries on the previous page. Page 86 is also written in pencil.
The first two lines actually comprise one entry, thus:
“(June) 1 4 (hours) Pick Stone on Potatoes grund .40.” Cyrus wrote “2” to indicate June 2, then probably realizing that June 2
had been a Sunday on which he did not work, crossed out the 2. This minor adjustment (and the fact that he
did not work on June 9) identifies the year as 1878.
Although there are occasional earlier entries where work
is measured in hours rather than days, this is the first time that all work is
recorded in hours. The going rate seems
to be 10 cents per hour. The shift from
days to hours suggests a subtle change in the tempo of life.
“corn ground,” “Potatoes grund” – corn field, potato field
Page 86 1878?
June Work for O Brigs
13 8 hurs plenting finished .80
13 2 Wheet ground .20
14 9 .90
“Wheet ground” – wheat field
This is the final entry in Cyrus’s daybook. On June 14, 1878, he was 51 years old. He lived another 26 years, and died on
October 5, 1904.
Inside back cover
Cyrus used a portion of the inside
of the back cover as a blotter. Apparently he had addressed a letter, and then blotted the letter twice;
the two reversed impressions overlap, but the town address (“Barnard, Vt”) can be made out. The only other line in the address appears to be the recipient’s
name. The name cannot be made out,
although the last letters are something like …terit…
Similarly,
Cyrus blotted an envelope once on the inside of the front cover. Here the impression is made over other
writing, but is fairly clear and reads “Fred Davis Springfield Vt.” There is no evidence of a return address, and
no street address – apparently a street address was not needed. Since Cyrus and his family originally came
from Springfield around 1838, Fred Davis may be a friend they left behind but
still kept in contact with.
###
