Geo P. Goes To Boston With His Turkeys
by George Holcomb • Transcribed by Betty McClave • Edited by Alex Brooks
Friday, December 14, 1849: Today Geo P. went to Pittsfield with the two horse sleigh and carried 20 bushels turnips and sold them to one man for five dollars, and had bargained them before.Geo P. paid me one half the money. Tonight brother F. Jay Wylie and wife stayed with us on a visit and today brother Sylvester Hol- comb went on his way peddling, he is better, his fall from his horse.
Saturday, Dec. 22: Today Geo P. went to Pittsfield with one horse wagon and carried three bushel grafted fruit at one dol per and sold two bushel turnips for fifty cents and sold 731⁄2 pounds of cheese at seven cts per. Today a snow and a blow storm. Geo P. called to Adams mill and fetched hog meal, when he got home coming up in the yard the horse slipped up and fell and we had to cut one of the traces.
Sunday: I cleaned snow out of the house that blowed in last night in the storm.
Tuesday, Dec 25: This morning I took the cutter and fetched Aaron Merrils wife to help pick turkeys and today Geo P. dressed his turkeys. Nelson Rhodes wife helped three hours and Geo P. and John F. and Charlotte E. and Sarah O. all worked dressing the turkeys, 65 in all.
Wednesday: Today I took the two horse sleigh and carried Geo P. and his turkeysto Pittsfield and he is going to Boston on the cars with them tomorrow and he stays in Pittsfield tonight with his Uncle F. Jay Wylie.
Saturday: This morning at one o’clock John F. and his two sisters go to Troy in one horse wagon and the girls got all their pay in cash to Bennet’s, which was 27 dollars and 25 dollars for the neighbors. They swapped two shawls and bought one and I sent the cash four dollars and fifty cents and got a buffalo, and I paid 75 cts of their expenses. They got home at eight this evening. Today I went to Pittsfield with cutter and sold four bushel apples for two dol 30 cts and three bushels turnips for 75 cts and a bag cabbages for one dollar. I borrowed a jug to Pomeroy’s factory store and paid 75 cts for two gallons molasses and then went to the rail road to see the cars come in from Boston but Geo P. did not return from Boston in the cars as I could learn and I returned home at six o’clock.
Monday: This morning I took the cutter and carried John F. up to his school and from there I went to Sylvester Gard- ner’s and got the boosums that they got for my women to make from Bennet’s in Troy, eight dozen of them. On the way home I called to pay my taxes, but Runnals was not there.