A Trip To See John F. In Hoosic Falls
by George Holcomb • Transcribed by Betty McClave • Edited by Alex Brooks
Thursday, February 10, 1848: This morning I took my cutter and my wife with me and today we went to Hoosic Falls where John F. was to school to the Seminary. We put up with John F. at his boarding place. Mr. Powers and I took my horse to the Phoenix Hotel and put him out. On the way today we stopped to warm in Berlin to the old stand of Culver’s. I paid three cents for bating hay and two cts for peppermints, and then we stopped in Petersburgh to Colonel Worthington old stand and we had coffee for dinner and I paid twenty five cts and we got to Hoosic the sun over one hour high, some cold and blustering.
Friday: we remained with our son John F to Mr. Powers except this afternoon we visited to Mr. David Barnhart’s and took tea there and Mrs. Powers with us. I handed John F. ten dollars in addition to what I had given him to pay his expenses through the winter.
Saturday: This morning I handed John F. fifty cts to pay for horse keeping to the Phoenix but John had to put 25 cts more to pay the bill which was only to hay two nights and one day. We came home today. We this morning called to Mr. David Barnhart’s and see brother Wm Holcomb’s crazy wife. She went away yesterday when we visited there. We left Hoosic Falls for home at half past nine this morning, some cold, and stopped in Berlin upper village to what is called Hammon’s old stand to S. Morris tavern and had dinner and horse bating and I paid 47 cts and we came into our own town to Nicholas Gardner’s and stopped to warm and then got home before dark. Tonight Chauncey took the cutter and carried Cornelia Wylie and my two daughters to the Presbyterian meeting house to singing school. Today Charlotte rode to Lebanon with James M. Glass to the funeral of Samuel Perry.
Monday: Today Chauncey Baldwin went with me onto my Rodgers farm to my barn with both teams and fetched home our buckwheat straw, two sled loads of it. At night Chauncey took the two horse sleigh and carried my family and others to a temperance meeting, but the speaker did not come.
Saturday: Wm Sheldon chopped logs and wood for me in my swamp towards house rent. On this evening my two daughters and other young people went sleigh riding to Squ James Jones.
Monday: This afternoon I took my cutter and carried Sarah to Hancock, she returned one dozen made boosums to Davis’s store and got another dozen to make, and she had a pair shoes charged on the boosum account.