Building Up George’s “Dairy Concern”
Monday, May 6, 1844: I took my ox team and carried my whole concern to make cheese to Russel Palmer and his boys drove my cows and he makes my cheese as is before agreed for ¼ of the cheese and ¼ of the butter. He is to take four of my hogs and keep for me through the time of making cheese and said Russel Palmer do agree to find team and wagon and I do agree to carry the cheese to market through the season monthly or as we both see fit and I do agree to find the salt and runnets for the dairy concern. Today we began to plant corn a little and some rainy.
Thursday: On this forenoon I went to look for a cow that Joshua B. Maxon had turned into the highway. My cow got into his pasture over his poor line fence and this afternoon my son Geo P. took a horse and rode to the gate on Lebanon turnpike and found said cow. I had bought the cow of Mr. John Adams a few days before beyond the gate.
Tuesday, May 14: I called to Elisha Clark’s to see when he would paint a two wheel carriage for me and I called to the Presbyterian meeting house to an anti-rent meeting. Mr. Gregory from Sand Lake addressed the meeting. On the way home I called to the post office of N. Howard and got my Budget paper that is paid the postage and got my Universalist Repository that comes monthly from Boston, but the present number I did not pay for, price five cts. I returned home.
Thursday: I carried three dozen and three eggs to Henry Gay’s store and bought 4 pounds pickled codfish at 4 cts per. I then returned home by the way of Geo Spencer’s inquiring for pigs and this evening I walked up to Philander Hatch’s to see if he would hire out cows but he would not. Old Crazy Dumim stayed with us tonight.
Monday May 20: I walked to Hancock and called to Nicholas Gardner’s and bargained with him for the use of his Bull and to take the bull next Monday and to keep him until after haying and I do agree to pay one dollar for the use of said bull, and then I walked up to the widow Susan Foster’s and paid one cent interest and took up said note. I then returned home and then walked to Lebanon. I called up to John Smith’s to see if he had concluded to hire me any cows but not any and I returned home.
Tuesday: Today we cut and split and drew rails off the hill and Mr. Russel Palmer helped us ¾ of a day to have the rails to make a cow night pasture and a hog pasture on my Rodgers farm for his convenience making my dairy.
Wednesday: I laid up rail fence on my Rodgers farm, fencing off a night cow pasture and a hog pasture and my son John F. wagoned over rails.
Friday: I took my single wagon and went to Pittsfield and my daughter Charlotte E. went with me and we got the two tuscan bonnets that we had left to Miss Tracy’s to be done over and trimmed, and I paid three dol and 87 cts. I sold Mr. Nash nine pounds butter for one dol 12 cts and I sold Mr. Cady 17 pounds and three ounces and he paid me two dol and fifteen cts. We took dinner at F. Jay Wylie’s and returned home by sunset.
Monday, May 27: On this morning I and my son John F. walked up near Hosea Brown’s store to Mr. Hackett’s and got Mr. Nicholas Gardner’s bull as I agreed on Monday last.
Tuesday: Today I started for Albany with my one horse wagon and carried about three ½ cwt weight of cheese. I went through New Lebanon and by way of Brainard’s Bridge and then to what is called Malden Covered Bridge in Chatham and from there to Union Village and then to the Green Bush Ferry and stayed to Smith’s old stand kept by his son in law. I got to Greenbush at ten o’clock this evening. I sold nearly all my cheese at six pence per on the road today and tonight I only had three cheeses left.