Diary of Jeremiah White Graves, Volume 2, Book 13

1861 april 30th Put up foundation of Carriage House Bob & overseer finished halling out manure Henry & Harry Bedding Corn Land on branch clem Hilling cool weather at this time & dry

May 1st Marked Calves Beding for Corn on branch Fencing next to Vaughans McHaneys & on Road & clem Hilling — cool morning began to fence this morning on Creek & they wont finish neither will they finish fixing ground for Corn, – windy & cool to day

2nd Mr Blanks came this morning & went to aspen Grove to Spay Shoats 26 in all then Came here 9 here to alter & mark 1 he said was too small to spay marked it & Turn it out to be done here after went from here to Mr Hunts place for the same purpose, overseer went to Mill to day with waggon carried 8 Bushels wheat for me & 1 Turn Corn to Richard Whitehead|Whiteheads]] 1½ Bushel wheat for Henry & 5 Bushels wheat for himself Carried the wheat to Faris Mill for flour, last night Patrolling our company – Our poeple are fencing on Creek to day & finished etc etc clem spining etc very cool windy weather & yesterday & day before tremendous winds etc dry & cold Marked 3 Calves here and at aspen Grove, 3rd May Began to Plant Corn on Creek this morning, & finished or trying to finished bed=ding & listing. Cow, Clarys younger Heifer Clary had a calf yesterday –bro^t Two 2 Turns meal yesterday home –

4th Finishing Planting Corn on Low grounds Plowing in fresh ground - Sent to mill for Henry Hester & Esau for Jerry to day I went to Chalk Level to day– [faded] meeting at Hunts place FW & Mary James here

1861 May 6th began to Bed Cotton Patch halled some wood & scattering manure a little Raining in evening too hard to work out Mr Chumney & Bob in shop nearly all day Pinting 2 colters, pinting 3 Harrow Teeth etc mended Poker making Some Staples etc 5 Staples mended 1 clevice & pin, fixed 3 other Harrow Teeth, sharpend 4 H Hoes made some lap links mended up our Traces mended some time ago 2 Swingletrees put Iron on etc pinted 2 colters sometime ago. Mr Yates shod my mare Hester before & steeled 2 H Hoes for Cedar Hill making some lap links etc.

7th Putting up Scare Crows claiborne halling wood Chumney at work in shop this morning - fixing Cotton Patch Plowing Potatoes Beding Garden for Greens etc cleared off but very cool clary had a calf a few days ago, Planted some greens & Potatoes & did not begin to Plant Cotton Henry planting his corn. I went to aspen Carried Salt there to day –

8th Planting Irish Potatoes for late use Planted Cotton Broom corn & Sugar cane, water mellon Mus. mellon & cucumber simblings Greens, Peas etc etc Plowing up Tobacco Lot, getting wood etc etc

9th Mr Chumney & bob fixed prize beam this morning & at work on Carriage House, Henry & Washington at work coltering Second yrs land balance hilling let Mr Chumney have 2 Bundles Oats to feed Horse at his house Sent 1 Bushel Wheat for me to day

10th I went Patrolling last night nearly all night Plowed Irish Potatoes & Planted Some more Greens Coltering in fresh ground & Hilling Raining Beautifully to day doing some work in shop making Brooms, clem cooking –

11th Fine weather Mr Chumney & Bob at work on Carriage House balance Plowing & Hilling I am going to meeting –

Mr C J Williams P.O. Lebanon Russell Cty V^a

12th Sallie & me went to meeting SS –

13th E. H Doss left Plantation soon Saturday morning somebody told me he left Friday evening & gone way over in campbell, for which I charge him $5.00 Covering our Carriage House here coltering & Hilling Second years ground, I went to Aspen Grove Likely for Rain about his time corn Seems to come up badly fleas has eat the Tobacco plants very much wheat looks tolerable

14th Took down our Lugs here this morning, finishing covering Carriage House, Hilling fresh ground Plowing up for corn on Low grounds to day

15 Jacob P Graves gone on to CH to Start to war it with old Lincoln, great confusion in Our Country every thing unsettled Sent Henry to Aspen Grove & claiborne to Hall Logs We are Planting Corn this morning a little p^s on Low ground, cutting slate tree fixing Scare Crows Hilling in second yrs ground, Nannie going to CH to day

16th Henry Halling Logs from aspen Grove vz 1 Large one Hart to pay for palings sawed 2 for weatherboarding & 17th Halling again &

17th Halled up stack Oats & fodder this day Carried 12½ Bus. corn for meal & 2½ for overseer here & halling Logs – again here Hilling yesterday & to day Halled 5 good Hart Long Logs to Millers for weatherboarding & halled 1 Big one to pay for palings besides the 5. Chumbly went to Chalk Level to day, Hilling Henry began to Plow Corn, replanting corn this evening – cloudy & cool

[faded]Corn here Henry Plowing [faded] Simblings

1861 May 18th great many soldiers in Lynchg & Richmond,- called in Service of the South We now If the Poeple ratifies the Acts of the Convention belong to the Southern Confederacy, 19th I went to Prayer Meeting at S.S

20. Raining this morning Commenced, yesterday evening, this is Whitsuntide, I went to Court

21st Rained in evening hard, Planted out Greens Beets etc Plowing Corn near shop fine growing weather - I came from Court in evening with Sallie settled Mr Hunts Gudn account for his children, have not got copy yet to make out entries

22nd Planted Some Tobacco here to day, plowing Corn & Began to Weed, Planted out Greens hilled up Potatoes in Garden,

23rd Thursday, Election day for Ratifying or rejecting the proceedings of the Convention Fine day Plowing & weeding Corn,- all right at Election in this p^t of the County

24th Plowing Corn, replanting corn on Creek, to day Planting Potatoes^{Pumpkin seed_{& Peas}} I went to Fannies to see about her matters –

25. Hilling, & Plowing in Corn chumny gone to [muster] weeding Corn by Cider House this morning

26 I went to meeting at Strait Stone

27 Weeding & Plowing Corn by New Barn

28. Plowing & Weeding corn Mr Chumney & Henry Setting up Hh^ds to prize Tobacco – – very windy all day yesterday, cool this morning Fannies mules at aspen Grove about 2 weeks ago Mr Moses Jenny Came here last Sunday –

29th Set up 3 Hh^ds yesterday, to day Plowing & weeding Corn, replanting Cotton etc

30 Plowing & working out Cotton Potatoes etc to day Bob at work on Palings & Railings. - cloudy & likely for Rain,- quite cool this morning Brushed out wheat & oats here to day

1861 May 31st Chumney taken Sick yesterday taking Physic, working out his Potatoes etc this morning,- Henry Harrowing his Corn- Cutting off Tobacco Hills to plant Tobacco cloudy & like for rain, Sent 1 Colter to pint to yates shop they shod Hester Phil & Robin & steeled 2 H Hoes - this year

June 1st Cloudy & like for Rain, began to Plow on Creek yesterday, Bob finished Paling yesterday - Plowing & weeding Corn on Creek to day - chumney not out yet

2nd Sunday Clear fine day Mrs Hunt went to Mrs Colemans yesterday with her home Nannie & me went to Green field meeting I came back & went to Strait Stone at 3 Oclock nobody there at Prayer meeting - Raining a little in evening Mr Dallas staid here last night

3rd Plowing & weeding Corn on Creek Fine rain this evening planted some Tobacco on road, fine growing night

4th Planting Tobacco to day fine season Finished another new ground here in old field replanted greens etc etc

5th cloudy this morning sent to mill for Chumney thining our Corn & I am going down to Plantation this morning

6th Rained some last night. Henry bro’^t 1 Load of weather boarding last night from Millers, carried 1 Log for weather boarding & sheeting & car^d 1 Bb^l corn for meal, finished thinning corn & working out Garden Mrs Hunt came back yesterday & Bob here this morning Digging Hole & working on yard [faded] & weeding Corn on Creek