Diary of Jeremiah White Graves, Volume 3, Book 2

1870 March 22 My Young steers Bushing in Oats — — — I went to Wm McHaneys after Dinner this evening — —

23 Fixing ground & all hands planting Potatoes Irish, Plowing Garden weather tolerable Nannie & Sallie gone to Mr Woodings Beautiful weather to day wind from NW

24 Sewing oats by Owens Barn Bill plowing

25 Sewing Oats again to day I went to old place & Whiteheads Store this evening planted Peas Beets & onions etc Mr Pringle came here 24th Inst. March & Grafted 30 or upwards of apple slips from Mr Kelleys & 6 or 8 dwarf Pears & 2 slips July apples here in this tree on hill towards Bridge corner of yard

26 I went to Millers Mill to day carried 6 Bus wheat for myself a BBbl flour ½ Bbl wheat lent Rich^d Carr^d 2 Turns 1 Bbl corn for us meal 1 Turn for Keatts of corn & one for Sam of corn for meal got it all, & brot it Home, Keatts & Sam went to Jennings Lains to help Roll Logs, Rained Very hard all the evening, -

27th Stayed at home Ed went to Jacobs to day

28 29th Burning Log Heaps this morning Little cloudy this morning then Sewing Oats part of the day

30 Sewing Oats & will get done all we have got out this evening

31st Raining all day Halled up stack oats on Hill got out pt of them & put balance in cutting House to feed on Keatts got my waggon & mules gone after wheat straw at Shields to feed the cow he has

Aprl 1st Cloudy ^{Keatts went home to striped his toba before night too} all day Striping Tobacco Sam & Ben

2 striping Tobacco Sam & Ben helping Raining

3 Raining a little all day ground Very wet I wrote 3 letters this week 1 to Jonathan Graves Clifton Hill [Mo?] 1 to Alo[n]zo Hunt Lynchg & alice Hunt

1870 April 4th I went to old place waggon started from there with Load of Lugs Jesse Kelley with waggon to Lynchg gave him $2 for toll he carries Butter & $183 Dollars for C A Hunt & to get his Rec^tfor $192 34/100 Letter written to Rucker Ha[nner?] & Snead to sell load Tobacco sent Statement & money - back by Jesse J Kelley - Sent for allum water for Mattie Herrings for Sam Gilbert & 1 No 12 oven top Jacob P Graves Carried Sam $50 Note to Lynchg to See if it was good, & get some Snowed & quite cold to day wind very cool Striping Tobacco all hands Sam & Ben too

5 Halling wood & Rails out of new ground to day Waggon & cart & Hauled till night cloudy all day Jere. H Graves sent Ed & Buggy down for Nannie Mott Sick all night of the 4th April 1870

6th Plowing corn land to day Keatts & Ben Keatts Laying off & Bedding for corn still cloudy Sam Caroline & Nat Raking leaves in new ground to day weather more moderate I am here by myself Bob came here last night

7th Plowing for corn again to day

8th All hands Sewing oats 3 Horses & steers to day Beautiful weather yesterday & to day raking & Burning leaves in new ground yesterday look like planting corn now

9th Sam & Keatts Plowing Keatts 2 mules on Sam next to woods Halled up 1 stack fodder this morning, I went to S S meeting no Preaching nothing heard from Jeres & Nannie since She went up there Rained this morning but few people at meeting Still cloudy

10th Raining this morning & quite cool

11th Striping Tobacco all day Sam & Ben helping

12th Finished striping Tobacco in new prize Barn this morning & hung it up & Sam & his family went to the Circus at Whitehead Store Keatts

1870 April 12 Keatts & Nat went to plowing for corn, Planting Snaps on hill to day Nannie Came from Jeres 11th Monday —

13th Keatts Sam Caroline Went to fencing today Mr Whitehead took my mules & went to Mr Hunts place after stack ^oats which we take in partnership he takes ½ & I the other half got home with them about 2 oclock very pretty day to day, - they got round the fence pulling down the crop fence to Branch Sam here soon this morning—

14th Thrashing oats got at Mr Hunts place in morning for ourselves & Richard & at 12 oclock went to sewing oats

15 Sewing oats & finished in field laid off my Rosten year Patch & went to Plowing on Branch, Raking leaves in new ground I went Whitehead Store & old place, pretty day Sewed 42 Bushels Oats

16th Plowing ^{Sam helped sew them} for corn Doran Plowing in Patch Oats by Granary to use lent Richard Bill to day I am Plowing John Caroline working Onions Peas & Beans Cloudy & Very Cool

17th Plowing yesterday & Cloudy just about night it began to rain & continued all night & stoped this Morning & turned quite cool & is yet very cool

18th Raining & snowing this morning 9 oclock look like clearing off clouded up again & Rained in the evening & at night Wind blew & quite cool all day

19th Went to Whiteheads Store Doct Estes & Wm McHaney paid him $1.00 for 1 Bus Irish Potatoes Raking & heaping up manure halling Rails & fencing Rained a little —

1870 April 20th Fencing & Halling Rails this morning Plowing in evening Boys in new ground pretending to pick up trash to day & tomorrow -

21st Same work as yesterday Richards boy gone I went to CH 20th on acc^t of notice A J Lewis's debt - Raining a little while I was gone not much quite cool & ground full wet to Plow

22 Carried my cart to shop got tire put on new wheels & Bands & paid $1.40 Plowing for Corn towards orchard fine day now

23rd Listing fresh ground to day & bedding corn Land

24th Sunday beautifull day — & clear

25 Halled up Blade fodder this morning Keatts Laying off to Plant Corn all day began to Plant in fresh ground above granary

26th Keatts did not come at all this morning my wife sick Hired Mary & Lucindy to Plant corn snaps etc etc Set Nat to opening Beds finished fresh ground Plants next by Black Smiths shop then in Brick kiln cut Planted Snaps in Nannies Garden simblings in corn field etc etc Sam is planting corn too to day

27th Planting ^{Hired Mary Smith Lucinda her sister} corn & finished all the ground ready

28th I sent Keatts to Pannills Mill Whiteheads 2 Barrels for ourselves 1 turn for Keatts & 1 for Sam Sam Plowing Bill Planting corn

29th Keatts got all corn ground & come home at night brot 2 H. Hoes with him primas worked up 1 & got 3 more at shop to fix Rained very hard to day thundered & lightened 2 or 3 times in evening

30. Cloudy this morning ground very wet Mr Whitehead & me striped Tobacco & finished old prize Barn Sam & his gang planting corn to day turned a little cooler

May 1st 1870 Foggy & moderate this morning

—2 - Cloudy nearly all day fixing Garden by B[lack] Smith shop Planted Garden by Smith shop planted corn & Broom corn Tisbel s[?]king Peas etc

1870 May 2 Planted about ½ my Garden in Greens to day Planted some early York in there 3rd May Raining again this morning quite cool tobacco not in order to strip Keatts fixed plows made 2 Plow handles inpart Planked Cart Body Sam fencing in morning & in evening both halling rails Cart & waggon Still Cloudy & like for rain

4th Cleaned off new ground & halled 2 Loads Corded wood & then to Planting corn Bees swarm I went to shop 1 H Hoe Rod for Dutch Plow Pretty weather;

5 Plowing second years Land to day rained at 12 oclock Grubbing & shrubing in new ground

6 Rained in evening fencing cleaning up new ground little cloudy & like for rain

7 I went to meeting pretty day

8 I went to meeting Ed & Doron

9th Keatts Harrowing on Branch in Lot & has broke the Harrow twice & done but little he has got Bill to Harrow & Bed Lot Clabe ditched for me below lot & ^{Charles Lovelace} & I have made a bargain with Clabe to clean out the Ditch below my spring from lot fence down the branch to Mr Lewis Lain^Line from a certain deep place washed out in Ditch to Mr Lewis Lane I am to find him & give him 5¢ a yard from that up the way to Lot fence I am to find him & give him 8¢ a yd & Claborn has agreed to Hilled & have hilled my new ground @75¢ a thousand hills to be made good - he owes me 3/- now Sam is cutting in new ground Nat Raking & cleaning up this side of Ditch in new ground

10 sent after cotton seed to Yates Hired [?] Planted some Corn Peas, Snaps, simblings etc etc etc