Diary Volume Two

1843 May 21^23th Planted Irish potatoes beside the garden. Also planted corn on branch.

19. Capt. N. Tucker died & Buried on the 20th. Finished planting corn on branch this day. Planted balance pea patch. Nearly plowed over our corn once.

228^nd. Rained nearly all night.

29 Still raining. We are thinning corn & will plant out yams, greens, & some tobacco plants this season in second year ground & little lott.

Quite warm this morning, came up a cloud in the evening & rained hard & hailed, some quite large mainly as large as a dollar, this evening turned quite cool & went from W. E. continues to rain. ^{The largest hail I ever heard of.}

30^th Moderate. A little cool in Halifax.

31. A little cloudy. This day began ^{weeding corn} to weed corn & plant peas by barn.

June 1st. Quite clear & cool in morning. Finished thining corn yesterday. Planted about 4000 tobacco hills in fresh ^^ground This is locust year. I recollect the locust year 1809 there was that year multitudes of them, in 1826 they were fewer and in 1843 they appear again & our ^{ears are} saturated with the sound of them in the wood.

5th June. Planted about 1000 tobacco hills in second years land in the morning. Plants from Shields. We throwed away them in the evening planted lot back of garden & planted about 1000 hills more in second years^ground.

7th. Quite cool & cloudy. finish

8th. Culling off new ground hills.

9th Hilling bottom in new ground. 10 Hilling D^o -- D^o not quite done.

11th Sunday. An elegant rain begain saturday night tho in the evening bid far for dry weather before 2 hours in the night it was raining.

1842 June 11th fine growing weather.

13^th Planted new ground tobacco & parts of second years ground. 12th & 13th, 14th & 15th finished planting tobacco, the little lots near the house planted 14th & 15th June.

15^th Working cotton & hilling up sweet potatoes.

16^th Replanted Irish potatoes by garden & planted some in the garden. Rained this day 2 showers.

18^th Weeding corn.

18 Replanted tobacco. Rained ^nearly all day.

19 Weeding corn in big field next to barns.

20 Plowed up corn by stables planted last May & also plowed up turnip patch.

21 Still weeding corn.

22 Still weeding corn & plowing.

23 Began to lay by corn. Began Saturday 24^th to weed tobacco.

24^th --

28 A fine shower of rain & replanted in new ground & 29^th Finished replanting all. Weather very warm. Not wheat cut in this neighborhood yet. Planted cucumbers for pickles in plant bed.

July 10 We have been dry some time. Finished cutting wheat on Friday 7 July. Top a little tobacco on this 10^th day. Finished weeding tobacco 8^th July.

10^th Began to cut oats on hill. Stacking wheat this day.

11^th A fine shower of rain. Stacking wheat at ^{this time}.

12^th Replanting tobacco with plants from Shield. Cloudy all day & replanted tobacco [dont fence?] This day sewed bulk wheat & hilling up second years tobacco ground.

13^th Still cloudy & fine shower rain last night.

16 Sent to carding machines. Pull up flax & hilled up second years tobacco.

1843 July 15^th Began to cut oats this day.

17 Cutting oats.

18 Finished. 19^th halling up wheat.

20 & 21 Halling up wheat & oats.

22 Treading wheat & finished cho[?]ing corn. Layed by our cotton & potatoes. From 24^th to July 19^th cutting & hewing logs for granary & hilling up new ground tobacco. Weather remarkably dry.

July 30^th at night we had a fine rain to wet the ground.

31 Hilling & plowing new ground. Tobacco stop by It has been raining all day nearly beating out flax seed & then quitting.

August 1^st Cool & damp weather warming a little.

2^nd Sewed turnip patch this day also sewed turnip seed in lot.

3^rd Plowing tobacco & halling up logs for granary & hilling up tobacco.

4^th Raining & we are all in the house. Weather warm & fine for corn etc etc etc

5 Rained very hard last night & still raining this morning.

6^th Tolerably fair & maling at Harmony.

7. Still fine growing weather. Sent by W. Lewis & waggon to Lynch^g 9 1/2⁰⁰ bus. wax to sell.

8 Raining till about 12 oclock & then clear off & very pretty evening.

9 Raining again this morning.

10^th Raining this day ag[sic] again.

11^thFair this morning & fine growing ^weather.

24 It has been cloudy and rainy nearly all this month. Meeting commenced last Friday. Tomorrow will be our week good state of feeling amongst the church service. Joined, Bro Dews & myself made out $18 for Bro Dodson & Mclaughaulin _ Jas. our pastor.

24^th Shingling our granary & succoring our tobacco.

Gave Bro. Angie one dollar.

27 Meeting closed at S. Stone. Smart revival. Several say upwards 20 professed.

28 Worming tobacco & riving slabs. Federic gone to Mrs. Hunts to raise house. Kept generally warm & wet.

Oct 1. Cut & nearly cured 2 houses of tobacco. Say 1800 sticks.

2^nd Cutting buck wheat this day. Have not finished treading wheat. Expect to finish tomorrow. Finished 10^th Oct 1843. The weather a little cool. We commenced getting our corn in last week. Finished cutting tobacco the first week in Oct. Stacked our tops last week in Sept. association just over. This day we are furrowing our stubb land, and something remarkable I saw an apple bloom on an apple tree this morning Oct 10^th 1843.

12^th Began to sew wheat this day in 2^nd years tobacco land.

13 Frost last night bit a little.

20^th Weather tolerable good finished seeding wheat 1st Nov.

Nov. 21 Housing corn & cutting on branch about this time. Federick shoemak =ing last & they.

Nov 26. Sewed 1 1/2 bushels Rye. Took down little barn tobacco.

Dec 1^st Winter day & raining at this ^time. Began last Nov to break up corn land. Began this day to strip tobacco. Ditch finish on Johns branch by W. Evan & old ditch cleaned out.

7th Rainy day. Kiled Blossom a few days ago & got 28# tallow out of her.

1843 Dec 7^th Rainy day & we are stripping tobacco in little barn at home.

-- 8^th Dec. Began to grub new ground. Cutting on branch. A fine day.

20 The weather very cold from 15^th to 20.

25 the weather quite moderate & wet.

29 Turned cold yesterday. Halling wood & cutting & grubbing. Cutting wood this evening on mountain for plant bed.

1844 Jany 1. This week burnt one plant bed on mountain & one on the branch & this day sewed & covered both.

Feby 20^th. This burnt plant bed in new ground. Malling rails & pilling wood & plowing for corn. Halled out manure a few days ^ago. Federick cut his thumb 1^st Feb. which has thrown our malling back very much.

¹⁸⁴⁴ March 5. Engaged with Mr Moon to do the wood work of a house of such a ^{description as below} ^^{The half to be brick} with a passage between old house the house 2 stories high with a base ment story viz. 2 stories on basement story. 4 windows in basement 2 on first floor 4 on the next with winding stair case & lodging room over passage the passage to be of wood altogether, 2 doors & shutters in passage. 1 door in D^o leading down in Basement & in first room steps or staircase to lead up in second story out of passage all to be finished off in a good workman like manner, the mantle piece in front to be a little extra for the sum of $125.—

Also engaged with Mr Sampson this 6^th March 1844 to build a brick house 20 feet square 2 stories high with a basement story to mould and on burning kilning etc etc & then I am to pay him 2 1/4 dolls per thousand for laying etc work to be done well, that is making burning & laying $2 1/4 p. M.