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The Life Of George Holcomb – Sore Hands For Christmas

June 6, 2014 By eastwickpress

Friday, December 7, 1831: Today Mr. John Dean butchered three shoats and I paid him in apples.  Sylvester Swan helped.

Saturday: I carried leather to Amos Chapman to make Mother a pair of shoes, and I fetched the Widow Ryan to our house and she cut out Samuel a coat and Sylvester Swan a coat and vest, and I paid her the cash 31 cts.  I went to H. Platt’s store and paid 25 cts for one pound pepper and 12 cts for a knife and fork.  The reason I bought them I broke the knife trying it, a seeing if it would bend. Tonight my wife and I rode over to Amos Chapman’s and we had our babe’s foot measured for a pair of shoes, and I agreed to fetch a barrel of flour from the river for making them. I paid him the cash for making Mother’s 75 cts, and 33 cts for mending.  Said Chapman handed me six dol for flour. Tonight we made sausages

Sunday: This evening I took the cutter and rode to Lebanon to N. Nichols and got six billious pills that I stand indebted for. I came home by I Newton’s and got my borrowed salt, nine quarts.  I got said pills for Samuel, he is taken quite unwell.

Tuesday, December 20: I tended to my chores and mended my stable floors. Tonight I am quite unwell with a cold and I took a sweat.

Wednesday: Today I did nothing and kept in the house, on the account my hands being sore and I took cold in them and today sister Eleanor had a bee drawing wood. She had four teams each got a load. Sylvester Swan went with my team and drew one of the loads.

Thursday: Today I took the cutter and rode to Lebanon. Sylvester Swan went with me and drove. We called to David Gilbert’s and I paid nine cts for half a pound of salt peter, then we called up to N. Nichols store. I paid said Nichols six cts for Porter’s six billious pills I got the other evening and I paid ten cents for Porter’s health almanack, to said Nichols. Today quite cold.

Saturday: Today I am quite unwell and my hands very sore with the salt rime on them. Today a moderate thaw and a little rain.

Sunday: My hands a little better. On this evening my sister Lucretia Wylie, a widow, and her son Moses D. Wylie came here from the west in Lebanon, Madison County.

Tuesday: I did not do much on account of the sore hands. We cut a walnut on the hill for ax handles for cousin Moses Wylie. On this evening sister Wylie and son and my wife and sister Eleanor went to Thomas G. Carpenters on a visit.

Wednesday, Dec 28: Today my wife and I and sister Wylie and son we went to brother Sylvester’s on a visit.

Filed Under: George Holcomb

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