JANUARY 1878

New years day 1878     beautiful calm and sun shining     been busy drying out my lard    Mr Totty helped me    very tired to night     commenced reading my Bible through read ii chapters
[BTM] The bible is becoming very important to Rhoda as she begins to talk about it more in her life.   Remember she recently wrote that she was going to change her way of living and that, to me, must have been  to lead a more Christian life. Just my thoughts.

2 Day of January       big crowd to get dinner for     Heltines and Mr Totty went to survey      Lane picking cotton     Frank hauled cotton for Cook    Heltins here to night talking some
[BTM] Here we have the mention of LANE again, we need to get him identified, could he be part of  the LANE family living near the WALKER family in Montague Co., TX? 

3 Day      Snow    Lane and Keltner left      Marshall come  him Frank and Alan went to Mr Springers        Pea come in the night from Youngs
[BTM] In the 1880 census for Montague county, there were listed Eli SNOW Sr, & Jr. along with a Alexander SNOW, neither of which lived near a LANE or TOTTY.  Keltner was not even listed in the county.  Any one know what the connection to our TOTTY families would be other than being neighbors?

4th of January      very cold     Young got in with his wagons    Marshall and Martin here to night   all talking nonsense      I am awful tired of foolishness        had a remarkable dream Last night
[BTM] Young went to get his wagons to move.   What is the nonsense that they were talking about.  Rhoda had a bad habit of not elaborating on her statements, but must have been important enough for her to jot down and remember.

5 Day      went to Youngs  Seen them off bought a bed Stead come home got dinner for the men       boys gone to Springers to night
6 Day     Cold and cloudy     Frank and Pea went off with Marshall   Alan went to Bens   Lillie went to See Duck     Harville come     I have been reading got throught Exodus
7   Day   Snow and rain a little all hands moved the corn        Jase come  got his letter    Lane paid Frank his money      Me and Lillie been sewing      Frank brought a bucket of water     glad to see him coming out
[BTM] Evidently Frank was working for LANE or had sold something to him by him coming to pay Frank his money, so could LANE just be a business relationship?.   Rhoda underlined  the word “his” when she said Jase came for his letter.

8  Day     Still cold cloudy and misting rain      Frank moved his corn him and Alan hauling fodder        I have been cooking and reading     Lillie eating Snow
9 Day    meeting at crono    Marshall come boys all went    Lillie went rode behind Pea  Bally Staid with us
[BTM] I wrote the above as it was written “crono”  does anybody know if this was a place or person?  Can’t you just picture Lillie riding on a horse behind her brother Pea while they all rode out to the meeting.

10 Day  Sun Shined again today     I went to See Mrs Springer    Frank gone to Marshalls   old man and Alan and Pea picking Cotton      Johnson here again after corn to night
11th Day of January     Cloudy again      I washed am very tired      two loads of corn got out of the mud      Frank and Marshall gone back to night Alan and Pea gone to Bourlands to night
12  Day     rain and cold wind from north   Frank and Marshall got back   Pea went to mill     old man and Alan killed a hog     all been Singing till my head roars      very cold to night    I wrote a letter to Susan to day
[BTM] Susan is Rhoda’s sister Susan B. SPRADLING TOTTY who married another TOTTY man named Johnson Harrison TOTTY from Hickman County, Tennessee but living then in Missouri.   He was the son of William Harrison TOTTY.

13  Day     boys went to the Harry house to have fun      Ben and Louisa come to Stay all night    Bob and Bally Set till bed time     glad to have that kind of company
[BTM] Bob is Robert Bourland, husband of Balzora Springer, sister to Molly SPRINGER future wife of Frank TOTTY son of Rhoda & Capt.

14th   Day of January     Louisa Spent the day glad of that      Jim Harvill with us to night had a big Singing all in high good humor  to night glad of that
[BTM] Jim HARVILL was the father in law of Anna TOTTY HARVILL wife of John.

15 Day    I went to Harvilles   Seen Anna and Sid      Stoped at Kennans  Saw Wirtman and the pet yardley       Jase and Bettie come while I was gone     Lillie went home with them
16 Day    old man and Ben went to Montague      Boys all went to help the cow up   I went to See Mrs Cross     Spent a very pleasant evening      come home       Marshall here to night old man got in at bed time
17th  Day of January     Beautiful morning   Frank went after the compass all the rest picked cotton    I have been Sick to day but kept doing for um   Nelse come
18th  Day    Sick in the bed all down   Storm again last night   don’t know whether I will ever get over it or not   Heltins here
19th  Day    feel a little better    Frank gone after Lillie    Pea gone to the burg   all have to do for them Selves      and a poor do it is
20th  Day     Sunday    Anna and Bally come   Heltines and Davis Kelt gone home  looking for him back    Pea gone to barts   Kelt did not come   glad of that tired of his gas
21st  Day of January    John Totty and Lane come   glad to see them     old man went with Davis glad to get rid of them  tired of hearing talk of the rile corner     Frank and Alan gathering corn   Pea got home    Bourland caught his goat
[BTM] Which John TOTTY is this Rhoda said came to visit?   Could it be John E. TOTTY who was said to have been killed by Indians in 1866 in Texas??  Or could it possibly be John TOTTY who was married to Theresa Russell TOTTY from Warren  Co., Kentucky, son of William and Mary TOTTY.   “If”  this William TOTTY was the son of Francis TOTTY and brother to our Robert TOTTY then it would be likely that that they would be visiting their kin.   Or could it be the John TOTTY from Houston, Texas husband of Mary Louise Brown Totty that has still be unidentified.   Any idea’s who else this John TOTTY might be?

22  Day   beautiful day again   hung the meat    Frank and Alan hauled a load of corn    John come after his corn    cotton picking at Reds   I went to see Bally Staid about half hour   Lillie gone to see Duck
23   Day   Sick all night    fixing this morning to go to Jases to See if it will help me any     Alan and Pea Started to the gin     Heltins here to go with us      him and the old man got So much to talk about I don’t know whether we will get off or not      went and Staid all night
[BTM] Rhoda failed to mention if the visit made her feel any better.   I wonder if by being Sick, she ment she was being depressed and lonely!

24th Day  of January     Come home    Bettie come    found Dilse keeping house  very glad of that      Nelse and the other niggers gathering corn     Amen
25  Day     Dilse washing   the rest picking cotton      Frank gone to Roston     Pea brought Ferd      beautiful day
26  Day   Cotton picking at Mr Springers    I went took dinner     old man went to the burg
27 Day   Sunday   Margaret and Tilda Spent the day      boys went to the Springers
28 Day   Frank and Pea gone to Roston      old man and Alan Sawed out the door       I moved my beds round and fixed up generally    boys got home in the night
[BTM] Can’t you just picture a log house that was dark inside with only one entry.   Maybe they needed another entry  made to help with lighting and ventilation of the home. With the Indian problems diminishing they most likely felt more comfortable with opening up the home a little more, since there fear of attacks were lessening.

29  Day    old man and Pea gone to Burg to take corn       a man here after corn for work   Said he had to have corn    some have or some man would get hurt      big northern blowing to day      Wirtman here to get Mr Totty to go on his note      Harville and John come      Jase come nearly froze had on no coat
[BTM] Sounds like the man was threatening someone to me.  Who was he going to hurt? Rhoda didn’t seem to be too worried over it or is that why so many came over.   Wirtman was at Kennan’s earlier, was he related to the TOTTY’s?  or was getting someone to go on a note just a neighborly thing to do?   Why was Jase in such a rush that he did not get a coat to wear in January?

30 Day    cold high wind from north    little Snow   Book man here for Supper   Frank and Pea followed him up to Mr Springers to night
31  and last Day of January   hauled the last cotton to the gin    Pea and Lillie went to Bens  Louisa come home with them  I was glad      I was lonely      Marshall and the boys gone to Singing
[BTM] Has anyone identified how Joe Marshall was related to the TOTTY family yet?

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