Diary of Jeremiah White Graves, Volume 2, Book 2

1845 April 30th Prizing good Tobacco - Cloudy & like for rain, but dry & Hot Had no rain to Do much good fine middle March - Hilling on Branch

May 1st this morning look a little like rain --Planted one square Greens this morning Small Shower of Rain at night

21 Planted out our Garden in Greens,Plowing up Cotton Patch Rain almost gone dry & cool this day after shower last night; Finished Hilling little new ground on branch

3 Planted cotton & Irish Potatoes

4 Sunday Rained at night. Went to association, Planted Water Mellons, Potatoe Pumpkin etc on 4th Inst

5 replanting Corn on Mountain Manured Plant Beds, Rained, Borrowed 5 3/4 lb bag & all of Sugar of Mrs Ephraim Lewis this day

6th Still cloudy & Raining this morning prizing Tobacco, & Fed Shoemaking

7 Started Lugs & short Tobacco to Lynchg by Mr Montgomery, began to Plow on mountain field Hilling second years ground

1845 May 8^th Cleared of[f] very cool & Windy - Began to Plow corn at House & Mountain field. Hilling second year ground -

9th Replanting corn at Stony Point, Finished Plowing mountain field first time today. Morning & nights very cool - 9 Finished replanting corn Planted Peas in new ground every Saturday in may

10 Began to Hill again. Planted out Tomatoe Screan, Finished prizing Tobacco run Coulter next to cotton

13 Planted little new ground Tobacco Cloudy & Rainy this day

15 Rainy day we planted nearly all our new, Turned off very cool Plowing corn at Stony Point

16 Very cool Hilling Second years Ground & Plowing corn

17 Plowing at Stony point Finished Hilling Second years ground, Thinning corn here at home

19 began to Weed Corn & Plowing over corn Second time, Mr Moons Negroes condemned to be hanged Worked Out Garden Plowed S. Potatoes & Harrowed Cotton, Returned from Lynchg to Sell Tobacco. Tuesday 20th May 1845

Got $ 7 1/2 and $10 - for our Tobacco, On 23rd at night it rained & on 24th we finished planting our new ground & second years - began on Friday to weed corn at stony point. finished at Home, replanted cotton the 24th, Bushed the oats & wheat 23rd

26th returned by Malissa 5 3/4 lb Bro. sugar to Mrs E. Lewis this day I am sick. We are weeding corn.

30th May 1845. Engaged with Mr John R Taylor to paint our house, inside and out in a nice style for the sum of Forty six dollars. I furnishing the Paint as pr bill.

31 May 1845. Smart frost last night see it on the fences & am afraid many things are killed. weather cool indeed & tolerable day —

June 2nd. weather moderated Quite dry frost singed good many things & in some places corn killed to the ground — goard very simbling etc but smartly & cucumber very nearly all killed. Tobacco plants grow slow got 15 or 20,000 to plant yet.

1845 June 4 Mr James preaches at Strait Stone this day — On Friday 31st May the frost was so severe that many vegetables was injured, corn in some places but nearly to the ground, weather very cool but now quite warm, nearly done weeding corn weeding cotton today --plowing it this morning,

7. Sent Mrs Hunt 6 ¼ lb Bro. sugar Bag & all — Began to lay by corn the 6th Just Finished weeding corn — began to weed tobacco the 5th Inst. sweet & Irish potatoes, greens etc etc all hilled up & oats bushed.

9 June still dry & hot, have all our lot land to plant into tobacco yet

10 - Quite dry & hot. Went to Mrs Hunt's & attempted to whip Epp who ran from me into the bushes. Laying by corn with plows by Malissa's house, -

11. Epp came home next morning.

18. Quite dry & hot, cut our fresh ground wheat the 12th. Mrs Hunt began out the 12th & ending on 18 I am Laying by our potatoes on Hill started up little new ground on Branch

1845 June 18 Working Out Our Garden & hilled up Our Pea Patch etc

1845 June 17th Tuesday Mr. Johnson came here last evening & began to work for me this day - at $1 [six?] shilling per day 6/- June 19th A fine shower of Rain

1845 June 19 Planting Tobacco, expect to get over once Tomorrow & Replant Weather Warm,- Hilling up Corn by Malissas House & back of Garden

20th Finished planting and replanting tobacco this day & began again at Ten Oclock to cut wheat

22. An Elegant Rain & on 23 we replanted over again, cleaned off wheat yard

24. Plowing & Halling up wheat 25 Hilling up cotton etc etc Mr Johnson is about to finish covering passage this day. pulled up a part of our flax yesterday

26. hard rain & wind on yesterday. sewed Buck wheat this day — pulled up flax —