July 1877

July the 1st Day     come through pilot point   Stoped at Manescos     him and Sofie was gone to church  same with children
[BTM]  Manescos must be Kin of the Mr. Manesco who was killed by Indians on January 1868 when his daughter Elizabeth Manescos Shegog, wife of Edward Shegog, and her children were also abducted and some killed.  Could this Manesco that the TOTTY’s visited be a brother, b-i-l or cousin of Elizabeth? 

July the 2nd Day       noon we  are now at Farmington       old man talking      me waiting for match     cant Smoke tell he comes back     think he stays a long time     bought corn from Miller      Come out 2 or 3 miles    camped.
[BTM] Rhoda never did say for sure what the trip was for other than they bought corn. We know from picture or genealogical write up in the book “Story of Montague County Texas” that Rhoda was a smoker, I’m wondering if she smoked a pipe or rolled her own? as most old timers did back then. 

--4th Day of July stopes-
[BTM] this entry was lined through as if made in error.

3 Day     eat breakfast     getting ready to start & come on to Manascons took dinner   Staid all night
4 Day     Stoped in Pilotpoint       traded with Ed Shegog       camped 2 miles this side of Bolivar
[BTM] Ed Shegog was the husband of the above mentioned Elizabeth  Manesco. 

5 Day     Started for home      met Joe Marshall      heard bad news  Yandell dead and poor little Arthur     got home feeling well but mad
[BTM] This is most likely the father and brother of Sarah YANDELL TOTTY, wife of John Whitfield TOTTY and my ancestors.   Why was Rhoda mad? How did Yandell died? So many unanswered questions.

6th Day    hot and dry   no name        Mollie   May and Tilda washed 
7th Day    I washed     Bart and Tilda gone to Harvilles    Ben and the children come down to day
[BTM] Bart is the husband of Matilda “Tilda” Jane Totty Traylor, they were going to visit Tilda’s sister and her husband John Harvill.   Ben Gage was the s-i-l of  Rhoda and Capt TOTTY.

8th day    Louisa and Ben Spent the day   Frank gone   getting very warm   Baly baby Sick
July the 9th Day 1877    John and Anna   Tilda and Bart come over and went to meeting    Pea and Lillie went with them  extremely warm       cloud with north  to night wind off of it     cooler that it was    John Totty got home from Yandells      Ben took dinner
[BTM] John W. TOTTY must be coming back home after the funeral of YANDELL and little Arthur.  What town, place was the YANDELL’s buried at?

10th Day of July       wind from north East cooler but no rain getting almost as dry as Steadam     Me and the old man rode out     went to Bens      Frank gone to meeting to night     Hildreth was here this evening been a very pleasant day
[BTM] Anyone recognize the name Hildreth?

11th Day     all hands got back from meeting    Bart Sick    Bourland Sick    a row brewing at head quarters    John here Said George Reeves was at Bobs       Frank and Allen gone to Bourlands
[BTM] George Reeves is the son of William & Nancy TOTTY REEVES daughter of Robert TOTTY, Sr. and sister to our Robert Totty Jr.   What kind of trouble was “brewing at head quarters” and where was head quarters?

12th  Day     the gals Still  here      boys all gone to meeting to night      old man would not let the boys make the arbor 
13th Day of July 1877     Anna gone to Bens     Bart had a chill the whole night       left head quarters this evening   heap of dry faces      Still hot and dry lightning to night

14th Day of July     Peas birthday  15 years old to day     Anna and Tilda and the boys gone to meting to night    Jase and Bettie Staying all night So glad to see Bettie       dust flying   crops drying up but all well and no mosquitoes   doing very well if we knew it

15th Day    Sunday    John and Anna gone home   Bart and Tilda gone with them  old man went to the meeting   Me Bettie and Lillie went to Johns Sa…[edge of page gone]  Wood and family nooning at the lake    come home this evening      feeling quite well to night
[BTM] Nooning was term used when families stopped over for their noon break to eat, rest and also let their animals do the same, before they continued their journey.

16th Day Frank and George gone to meeting        I scoured my house     feel very well      John was here this evening      Comfort left to day      Still hot and dry      miss the outfit mighty good       Bourland here to day looks like death in the primer

July the 17th     Went to see Daniel found him extremely weak and low      come back to Jases  Staid a while with Bettie come home        the young layout got back       the old woman come down to tell me how uneasy She was about Bill       feel quite well to night

18th Day      Big rain to day every boddy glad        Ben here this evening Says Louisa had fever
19th Day      Bart come over said Anna was sick       I done a big washing to day
20th Day     quite cool    wind from north East       Ben had a chill yesterday         Frank gone to Hesters to set up
21st Day      Went to See Anna     old man went to Forestburg got Coffee   John and Sarah come to night
22 Day  Sunday    John and Sarah Spent the day      I did not get to go to meeting    old man did not want to go      I felt bad about it
[Rest of the diary for the month of July is missing]

NOTE: This copyright© data CAN NOT be reproduced in ANY format for profit or other presentation "without" the express written permission of the the owner and transcriber of these diaries. 
Transcribed from Original Diary by Birdie (Totty) McNutt ©2000