Farm Work 1858 - 1861 in Brunswick

The diaries give some hints as to the work of the seasons of the farming year. In 1858 and 1861 Jane was a young widow living with her parents or friends or relatives. Wherever she was staying she helped with the farm work as well as the housework.

The first mention of farming in 1858 comes on February 13. At this time, Sherman Thomas, a cousin of Jane's was in the process of selling his farm. Why the farm was being sold is not clear, but the fact that the young man, married only three years, took a loss would indicate that there was some problem. Most of Jane's diary entries state events without much comment. However, she says of the farm sale, "Went over to Sherm's sale. Oh, what awful going. His cows sold well, the rest for near nothing." Jane never mentions cows on the Tillotson farms but they must have had them. She mentions churning or working butter on a number of occasions, especially in1858. She mentions making butter fifteen times in the nine months covered by the diary. She only mentions it three times in 1861. There is no clear pattern of frequency of butter making in 1858, but the job appears in every month from May through December. The fact that she seems to have moved around between several households could explain the lack of regularity in doing this task. She also simply may not have recorded each occurrance.

March was maple sugering month. Jane mentions eating warm sugar on March 14 and 17, 1858 when she visited friends. On March 24, 1858 she went down to her younger brother's sugar bush.

Early spring seems to been a time to prepare firewood. On 22 March 1861 she notes "two men here a chopping" wood. The 1858 diary begins in April and on the 26th Jane notes that men have come at last to saw wood. This indicates that they have been expected for some time and that there are several men engaged to do the wood cutting. Since wood was needed to keep the kitchen fires going during the year, wood cutting was important. Jane does not mention wood at any other time, probably because the preparation of firewood was a man's job and was such a daily necessity that it didn't warrent comment.

Early June was sheep shearing time. While she doesn't mention sheep on her father's farm she does mention her neighbor, Plina Wilmot, shearing sheep on June 5, 1861. She also comments that it was a long day.

In August 1861 Jane says she "Helped Put clean up wheat."

On2 September 1861 Jane helped her friend, Tim, "cut off corn to dry."

The wheat must have usually been harvested in September and on Friday, 1 October 1858 the men and equipment for the threshing arrived. Jane and her sister, Lib, got the dinner for eleven men that day. She seems to have expected that they would finish in a day since she says, "Had a break down so did not finish." The prospect of having a gang of men to feed was apparently not pleasing for she concludes, "Am sorry now I tell you." The threshing took a week altogether. On Wednesday, October 6 Jane lamented, "Ironing and baking for those tormented threshers. Oh dear, when will they get through." October was also agricultural fair time, but due to the threshing Jane said, "Fair is at Hinkley today but could not go." The threshing finally ended on Friday, October 8 when Jane wrote, "Threshers have been here today. Got dinner for 12 men. They have got through thank the Lord."

After the wheat was threshed the next step was grinding it into flour. Jane commented that on October 13 and December 27, 1858 her father went to the mill, apparently one in Liverpool. In 1861 she notes that her brother went to the mill on 11 September.

The Tillotson farm also grew corn and Jane noted that her father was husking corn on November 5, 1858.

Pork was a staple meat on Ohio farms. Jane notes that her father butchered two hogs on December 14. One was apparently quite large because she commented on the weight. Unfortunately the weight is illegible in the diary. After the butchering, Jane spent the next day helping her mother try the lard. In 1861, Jane was visiting her cousins in Nelson, Ohio in November and December. On 30 November she notes that cousin George Prichard butchered three hogs while she helped his wife, Emily. A few days later, on 5 December she helped her friend, Hattie, do housework while Hattie's husband, Chester, butchered three hogs, including what she commented was a big one. The next day she helped Hattie try the lard. There was a problem though and "Chet got mad and threw the tins out doors because they was hot."

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