APRIL 1878

April the 1st all fools Day   Nerva and Lillie went and got their pictures    Bart and Tilda come from the burying    Mrs. Parks come after greens   -the two-     Jim Harville Staying all night
[BTM]Buried little John Harvill(e).   Jim would be either the father or brother of John husband of Anna Totty Harville.

2 Day   Bettie come   Pea went to the Burg got Medicine 
3 Day   Mr Tottys birth day 51 to day   very sick  took quinine and opium      wind blowing Strong from North cold and dry      Frank helped Bourland haul wood      Alan working in his thicket  Pea in his Clearing       Lillie gone to see Louisa     Me and Nerva Sliping about with the doors shut     John and Sarah come
April 4th Day      old man better      Nerva went home     John and Sarah Staying all night   Dolly Mollie and Mag Spent the evening   Lillie and Annie went to See Duck      big frost this morning
5 Day of April     Margaret come      Pea and Lillie went fishing with Sarah and the children    Bart and Tilda come to night
[BTM] Bart and Tilda are the Traylors, daughter and s-i-l of Rhoda & Capt.    It is refreshing to know that my great grandmother Sarah also went fishing, could it be from necessity? or love of the sport?, maybe both. 
6 Day       old man went to Pella     Boys went and had their pictures again  got pictures on the brain     Me Tilda and Margaret went and had ours taken this evening   boys all gone to Bourlands to night
[BTM] Oh my,  how I wish I had a copy of those pictures!

April the 7  Sunday      misted rain old man went way up to Bens   John and Anna come Staid all night
[BTM] Must have been hard on John & Anna at home with losing a young son so recently, possibly good for them to get away even if for a little while.   Rain was likely a welcome sight even if it was only misting.

8 Day       rain      Anna Staid with me      Lillie went to Jases after Camphor     I was very sick with the head ache
[BTM] With all the stress of late, it could Rhoda’s have been reason for her head ache.

9 Day       Pea gone to Bens     Bens come to get opium for Louisa      Margaret and Lillie went to see Louisa
[BTM] Opium was the medicine used for Malaria back then.  Louisa must be having a bout with that illness.

10 Day    Anna and Bettie come      Lillie went home with Bettie      We drove up a calf   John come for Anna to go home      Sorry to See her go
11 Day   Frank plowed for Bourland      Margaret and the boys gone to meeting to night    Harville and John come by this evening    Nelse got his corn
April the 12 Day  Fryday     old man went to Keltners       Frank mad with the preacher    Lillie come home from Jases       I went to see Louisa      Mrs Springer Spent the evening   boys all gone to the ball to night
[BTM] What could Frank be mad at the preacher about, another mysteries in the daily lives of Rhoda and her family.    Was he mad about the ball?  What type ball were they having, what could they be celebrating?

13 Day    Brother Gower come   worked on the Clock   John and Mollie Come Staid all night
[BTM] Who is this John and Mollie that Rhoda mentions?

14  Day   Sunday  Margaret went home    Jase and Bettie come the rest all went to meeting
15  Day   went to see Anna and Sarah      old man and boys planted corn the 2nd time   Moon Shining beautiful and bright to night
16 Day    Lillies birth day      pened a little calf      Me and Margaret Scalded       boys helping Bourland plant Cotton     Margaret and Lillie Swinging      drove up an other calf
[BTM] Lillie was 12 years old this day, what a lot of responsibility she had for such a young age, but that was the norm during that time period.  It is nice to see she can relax and just be a young girl.    Was Rhoda and Margaret Scalding clothes, or what?

April th 17th    Cloudy and misting rain      old man went to Survey for Grimes      Pea come got the auger..    got Company to night   John Totty  Jim Harville  George Springer and Dutch.    Margaret and Lillie went to Boyingtons this evening
18 Day   old man and me went to see Bettie      Margaret washed      Lillie went to Bens   Mary Jane and Gus come home with her      Still dry   every body wanting to see it rain
Mary Jane and Gus are children of Ben and Louisa Totty Gage.
19 Day   Lewis Totty called       Pea come..      Margaret gone home Frank went with her had the yard plowed to plant Lillies flower seed      cloudy  looks like rain  but has not come yet     heard a fife playing to night
[BTM] Pardon me for being dumb, but what is a fife?  I’ve heard the expression before and I think it was referring to a bird.  This was most likely Lewis Henry Totty cousin of Capt. Totty.

20 Day    Alan gone to the burg      Frank gone hunting     Dutch called      Me and the old man Staid and counted the turkeys hatchings
April 21 Day   Louisa and children Staid with us to day      Lillie went with the boys to Singing      Dutch come home with Frank      I went to see the preach prospect      no rain yet cloudy to night
22 Day      thundered around but no rain yet     Frank helped Alan plow      Pea come home       Mose got Cotton Seed      heard Jim Peery was dying
[BTM] Jim M. Peery was the husband of  Mary Bean, daughter of William Bean and Betsy Reeves Bean, daughter of William S. and Nancy Totty Reeves.

23  Day     went to Wises   Spent the day    got a norther  cleared off without rain
24  Day     went to Bourlands met Mrs Cross  glad to see her      Sid Sick     Frank went after Cox   Pea come to night
[BTM] Sid is Sidney Harvill son of John and Anna Totty Harvill who just lost their other little son Johny Harvill.  Anna must be beside herself with worry over Sid. 

25  Day     went again for Cox for Mr. Springer      I went to see Mrs Wise  & feel well to night      John come to day glad to See him
April 26 Day      no rain yet     dry as Steddum      Lillie went to Bens rode Buck      Baly felt large
[BTM] Was Baly pregnant? Is that why she felt large according to Rhoda?

27 Day   old man gone to mill wore his coat and shirt      Pea come brought Ferda   I wrote a letter to Sister Gage   Frank gone to the Burg
[BTM] Sister Gage was likely Nancy Hoover Gage, mother of Ben Gage, Ferd was the son of Ben and Louisa Gage and grandson of Rhoda and Capt Totty, or does anyone know of another Gage connection.

28 Day   Sunday got in the wagon and went to Pella  with Ben and Louisa      heard Brother Mathis preach  enjoyed the Meeting very well      fell out of the wagon   hurt my Self coming back     John and Sarah come this evening   Staid all night
29 Day   Bart and Mathis took dinner      Ben and Pea got Cotton seed      got water at Mr Springers      Frank went to Jases     Alan worked at Bob Beans      Lillie and Annie went home with Duck
last Day of April no rain yet heavy fog and dew glad to See that      the Crock pedlar here today
[BTM] April ends with still needing rain, was water so low that they had to go elsewhere for their water supply.
 

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Transcribed from Original Diary by Birdie (Totty) McNutt ©2000