Saturday, December 31, 2011

November & December 1901 entries in diary of farmer James Moore of the Lakewood District of Ellsworth, Maine



Diary of farmer James Moore of the Lakewood area of Ellsworth, Maine.  He kept his diary very intermittently until 1901 when he became more conscientious about keeping it up.  If you look closely at the above image of the front cover, you will see  his name, twice.


This post contains the entries James Moore made for November and December 1901.   

Other entries:





From online research, hopefully correct:

James Moore was born 30 May 1837 in Maine, the son of Gary Townsend Moore and wife Miriam (Garland) Moore. His paternal grandparents were John, Jr. and Polly (Townsend) Moore. His maternal grandparents were Josiah and Sarah "Sally" (Swett) Garland.

On 21 August 1858 he married Laura Ann Garland, who was born 5 February 1838, at Ellsworth, Maine, the daughter of Leonard Jarvis Garland and wife Azuba A. "Zuby" (Moore) Garland. Her paternal grandparents were Josiah and Sarah "Sally" (Swett) Garland. Her maternal grandparents were Edward and Elizabeth B. "Betsey" (Maddocks) Moore.
James and Laura A. (Garland) Moore had four children that I could find, perhaps more. They and their children were:
  • John R. Moore, born 29 May 1959; m. Lois Anna Boynton; children: Lettie B. Moore; Howard G. Moore; Cecil E. Moore; Wesley Moore; Philip Moore
  • Winfield Scott Moore, born 12 May 1862; m. Vesta Estella Garland; children: Nora Nettie Moore; Gary Townsend Moore
  • Ellen Elvira Moore, born 11 March 1866; m. Francis Jeremiah Boynton; children: Leon; Lillian; Minnie; Laura; Rosamund
  • Lorenda Ann Moore, born 23 September 1872; m. George Whitmore "Whit" Garland; children: Ambrose Winfield Garland; Viola May Garland; Mansell Rowe Garland; Delmar Alton Garland; Fannie Irene Garland; Mercy Beryl Garland; David Philander Garland; Betsey Garland
James Moore died 27 March 1903, an event that a reader of the diary knows, sadly, is coming. His wife Laura Ann (Garland) Moore died 22 May 1921.
The diary described above was found with four other diaries that were kept by James' daughter-in-law Vesta Estella (Garland) Moore.
For more information on the Moore and Garland families, see the page for James and Laura A. (Garland) Moore at the Maine and Maritime Canada Genealogy network.
If you have any corrections, additions or insights regarding the information provided here, please leave a comment or contact me directly. Thanks!


November 1, 1901.  Mr. Steward, the Supervisor of School and Miss Laura McCarthy, the teacher of the grammar school, got dinner to our house.  They had a flag raising in District Po1.

Nov. 22.  Scott Moore been down to the Falls with the horse and sleds and hauled down almost 18 bushels potatoes, 75 cents bushel.

Ellsworth, Me., November 7, 1901.  Scott Moore finished hauling wood to the school houses today.  The wood we hauled come to one hundred and ninety eight dollars.

Nov. 18, 1901.  Scott Moore carried Nora Moore down town to have a tooth pulled.

Nov. 19.  I been down to Fred Frazier to see Dr. Bigelow.  Gave him ten dollars for medicine for the piles.  I finished pulling turnips.  They was covered with snow and frozen bad.  Scott Moore hauled boughs to bank the house this afternoon.

Ellsworth, Me., November 20.  Scott Moore been hauling firewood today on the sleds of from the pasture he had of Whitmore Garland.  I have been putting it in the shed.

Nov. 22.  I finished the wood shed today.  Scott was yarding firewood on a [?] yesterday afternoon and little while this morning.

Nov. 23.  I cleared up in the wood shed and made me a filing bench.  Scott been down town.  We have sold about 110 bushels of potatoes at 75 cts per bu. $82.50 cts.

Sunday, No. 24, 1901.  Mary A. Garland wanted Nora Moore to come down to the Chapel to [recite verses?] for a concert the 28th & she has gone down.

Nov. 28.  I have kept house today, haven’t feeling well.  Scott Moore is hauling up firewood.  Finished up.  Whitmore Garland and family was down to his father to dinner today.  Alfred Garland & Josey Garland come up here after Nora Moore to go down to the Chapel.  There is to be a Sabbath School Concert there this evening.

Ellsworth, Dec. 2, 1901.  I commenced cutting cordwood.  Scott Moore has been down to the Falls to see about having his wood measured.  It fell short from Frederick Frazier measure.  Sarah Moore was to our house and got dinner with us.  Lorenda Garland & two of her children was down to our house a little while this afternoon.  

Dec. 3.  Whitmore Garland helped Scott Moore kill his hog.  He weighed 430 pounds.  Lorenda & two of her children has been down here today.  Alfred Garland was here to diner today.  I been cutting wood in the woods.

Dec. 4, 1901.  Whitmore Garland came down and bought the colt that Scott Moore had of George Johnson and is to give Scott 15 dollars.  The colt was one year old in May 1901.  Mary Garland, the school teacher, come up to our house after school and her father came up after her.  Nora Moore was all the scholar she had today.  Snow and blustering day.

Dec. 5. I been cutting wood.  Scott churned two and half hours before the butter came.  Simon Garland got his heifers home today from pasture. The bull he can’t find him.  George Garland has been on the old road with his horse & sleds to break out the road.  Salmon Garland was with him.  

Ellsworth, Sunday, Dec. 8, 1901.  Sott Moore helped Simon Garland find his bull calf.  He hasn’t been housed this fall.  He was all right.  Bertha Hopkins came up from Sunday School with Nora Moore and got dinner & supper with her & they have gone down to the Chapel to meeting tonight.  John R. Moore came up to our house this afternoon.  Lots of snow on the ground.

Dec. 12.  I went down to Fred Frazier to see Dr. Bigelow.  He did not come over.  Lorenda Moore & Reuben’s wife was down to [no end to the sentence]

Dec. 21, 1901.  Scott Moore bought him a rifle.  He gave 11 dollars for it.

Dec. 22.  Delmer Garland, Whitmore’s boy, fell on the ice and hurt him bad, hit over his eye.

Dec. 23.  Scott Moore helped Whitmore Garland kill his hog and bull today.

Dec. 24.  Rainy day.  Whitmore Garland went after the Doctor to come and see his boy Delmar.  He is real sick from the fall he got on the ice.

Dec. 25.  Delmar Garland is better today.  Nora Moore has gone down to Chapel to help fix the Christmas tree.  John R. Moore come up to see how Delmar Garland is.  I am sitting in the house.  We have quite a lot of Christmas presents.  Nora had a fiddle and I had a gimlet  bit that Lorenda A. Garland gave me.  John Moore, my brother, sent me his picture, the best Christmas present I ever had.

Dec. 26.  Mary A. Garland went up to see how Delmar Garland was and called to our house just as we finished supper and we got her to eat and Laura took the pie and put it in the stove to warm and forgot to give it to her and she went home without.

Ellsworth Dec. Saturday 28, 1901.  I had to give up work today on account of the bladder trouble.
A map of the Lakewood District of Ellsworth, Maine:


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