Independence Day
by George Holcomb • Transcribed by Betty McClave • Edited by Alex Brooks
Friday July 4, 1845: Today my two sons went to Anti-Rent Independence to Hiram Brown’s and paid 50 cts apiece for their dinners.
Monday, July 7: This forenoon we plowed and hoed potatoes and this afternoon I walked over to the Presbyterian Meeting House to an anti-rent meeting.
Most of July is taken up with haying
Saturday, July 26: We hayed and a shower towards night. Tonight the widow Murphy and Meranda Heart stayed with us.
Sunday: Today I and my family all but John F went to the Chapel to the funeral of a child of Philander Woodward, Elder Spoor preached. Today Capt. Adam Brown died in a fit and I rode over to his house to see him. I rode with John Conklin.
Wednesday: We hayed, and today at noon Mr. Zebulon Simmons and his hired man Cornelius began to board with us while he was building our school house.
Thursday: We worked at hay and I cut a chestnut tree for sill 32 feet in length and said Simmons hewed it at my house and my son John F. took it with the ox team on the bob sled over to the school house.
Thursday, August 7: We hayed. Today noon Mr. Simmons hired man by the name of Cornelius quit boarding with us for he was sick.
Wednesday: I this morning rode over to my Rodgers farm to see where Westalo Rodgers fowls had destroyed my oats, and at four o’clock we went to the raising of the school house but did not have time to put the plates and rafters on.
Thursday: This morning I helped put the plates on and rafters onto the school house and today we bound up oats and drew in on my Rodgers farm.
Monday, Aug 18: This morning at one o’clock I started with my oxen and wagon and went uptown to Chase’s saw mill and got one thousand feet of hemlock boards of said Chase for Zebulon Simmons and he is to pay me one dollar for drawing said boards to our new school house. Towards night I and John F. went onto my Rodgers farm and drew two loads of rails joining Mr. Simeon Wylie and repaired my line fence and said Wylie helped for his cattle broke into my meadow. Today Geo P began to work for Mr. Zebulon Simmons and the school house at 63 cts per day and board himself.
Tuesday: today my four children went with my two horse team a blackberrying to the north part of town.