Saturday, August 17, 1839: This afternoon the wife of Peter Surdam and child came and stayed with us, and this afternoon Fanna Roberts rode one of my horses to old Mr. Paul Roberts and stayed on a visit. [private]Today I am quite unwell with a relax and today Mr. Philander Hatch came and accused us of turning his steers in the highway.
Sunday: This afternoon I took my single wagon and my wife rode with me to Lebanon for we both are unwell. I called to the pool to Sq John Bull’s and he engaged two barrels of cider. George spends most of the rest of August, as he does every August, haying. His tenants John Sackett and James Chapman help him as a means of paying their rent. Platt Wylie also works with George several times in August in a work exchange arrangement.
Friday, August 30: I and my two sons worked digging a ditch to fetch the water from the woods to my house.
Saturday: We worked digging the ditch from the woods to the house through the pasture. We plowed and shoveled and hoed it out. Today Randolph helped us work at our ditch and I pay him eight pounds of pork for his day’s work and Mr. Chapman helped us half a day and agreed to take his pay in corn.
Monday, September 2: This forenoon I am quite unwell. I have a blind turn and a bad headache, but this afternoon I worked at my ditch to fetch the water to my house.
Tuesday: I worked digging out the ditch and fixing up the water spouts, and we gathered apples for market. Wednesday: Today I went to Pittsfield with a load of apples of nearly 16 bushels and sold them at fifty cts per, nearly all of them.[/private]