Finishing The Belfry
by George Holcomb • Transcribed by Betty McClave • Edited by Alex Brooks
Thursday, March 2, 1848: I called to Pool Hill post office and my Troy Budget paper and a letter for Sarah from New Hartford from Susan Brown. I paid up all my letter postages for my family up to the present date and paid up for my Troy Budget and Boston Repository up to the first of April which was 73 cts. On this evening Chauncey Baldwin took the two horse sleigh and carried our girls and other girls to Ezekiel Goodrich on an evening visit, tonight a snow storm, Mary Carpenter came home with my children tonight.
Friday: I only tended to chores. It is quite blustering.
Tuesday, March 21: This afternoon I went with my ox team and F. Russel with me into my swamp and cut and drew two poles to the school house to make staging to finish boarding the belfry and I fetched S. Wylie’s long ladder and we fetched hemlock boards from J.B. Maxon’s.
Friday: Today Chauncey rode to Lebanon and we got a letter from Geo P. at Washington.
Saturday: Today I tapped sap trees and Chauncey Baldwin helped.
Monday: this afternoon I walked up to R.A. Brown’s to see if I could buy pine boards that were for sale at his Mother’s. He said he would meet me there on Wednesday and sell the boards what I wanted to use, I want the boards for to finish the belfry to the school house. G.P. Holcomb got home from Washington.
Wednesday: Today Frederick Russel took his one horse wagon and went with me to the widow Susan Brown’s to meet R.A. Brown but he did not come and we bought one hundred feet of common pine boards of Wm. Brown and I paid him one dollar and 50 cents out of the money that I had in care that belongs to the district, and the money that now remains with me is three dol and 13 cts.
Thursday: Today I took my one horse wagon and started for Hoosic to fetch John F. home. I stopped to Berlin upper village to Streeters old stand and I paid three cts for beer. I then went to Petersburgh and met John F. coming home on foot and I returned home and fetched him. We got home at dusk and a very muddy road today,