DECEMBER 1878

1 Day of December  Sunday         Cold as blazes    me Pea and Lillie alone this morning       me and Pea went to Springers       Lillie to Crosses   enjoyed my self very well
[BTM]  Pea home for a little stay and off they go visiting their neighbor's,  the Springer & Cross  families.

December 2 Day     went to See Dolly    Pea went to Pella     Ben and Louisa come   Staying all night      glad to have their Company
[BTM] Daughter Louisa and her husband Ben GAGE staying with her mother.   Pea off again this time to Pella.

3 Day       Ben and Louisa gone home    2 men here to rent Land     Said they was camped at the foot of the mountain   I recon thats at the bluff       I went to See Bally   her and me talked Some     one of my Turkeys gone and a lot of white corn  (Latham and the Kennan layout got them I have no doubt)   and that is the beginning

4 Day     found my turkey  this morning  Seting  never seen any thing like that before      I know brother Latham has not got the turkey but I dont yet think he is too good!      Bally come  Staid all night Sid made us all lively till bed time
[BTM] This is likely her neighbor James LATHAM. 

5 Day    washed am very tired.   looking now for the Fort Worth layout     they got in about night    glad to See them   Nelse and Dilse  drove up in their Waggon    Staid all night
[BTM] Fort Worth layout must be son Frank and neighbor George Springer who went to market in Fort Worth.    Nelse and Dilse are friends of Rhoda.

6 Day    old man went to Survey for Spear     Frank got the pony   Pea gone to the mill   me and Lilly went to See Ballys new stove     I cut out and made a flannel Shirt
[BTM] Spear must be one of the SPEARS listed in the 1880 Montague Co. census in Precinct #3  S. J. in HH#165/169 or Andrue in HH#257/278.

7 Day      old man and Frank Boxed up the room   dark in there as Eggpt      Lilly Sick this morning  feel uneasy about her      Bart and Pea come too dinner    Dolly come left her baby again   Staid  in house

December the 8 Day Sunday   Cold  I wanted to go to See Anna   too cold have to Stay at home    Billy Spencer Staying with us   Frank and Lillie gone off after dinner     Bart and Tilda Stoped awhile had been to Harvilles    Billie Spencer Staid all night     I had fever all night fear pneumonia
[BTM]  Billie Spencer is Rhoda’s nephew s/o her half brother Samuel SPENCER s/o Susannah _____ Spencer Spradling.

9 Day    Cold     killing hogs     Billie got his money and got in his cart and left     Bourland and Ben helped to kill hogs
10 Day  takeing quinine and drying out lard     feel like I have about half sence   Dennis took dinner     Jase come   been to gin  got Mr. Yarborrow I reckon thats his name   I don’t know but I know I had to get supper for him  when I felt very little like it    Frank went to Bobs Said  Bob was Sick
[BTM]  DENNIS may be James Dennis who is found on the 1880 Montague Co., TX census in HH#443/444 age 56 farmer b: MO VA GA  with his wife Sarah age 46 TN TN TN and son John age 1 TX MO TN.  Jase is Rhoda’s s-i-l Jason TILLMAN.  Like Rhoda I don’t know who YARBORROW is, but he may likely be W. YARBROUGH, widower & Co. Surveyor age 43 b:AL found in HH #329/341 of J. H. Graham in Precinct #1.  Since Capt. TOTTY was the first Surveyor for Montague Co., then he would have surveying as a connection to this Mr. YARBROUGH.   Bob is most likely Bob BEAN.

11 Day     old man and boys gone to burg    Lillie trying to catch the pony for me to go to Harvilles   taken her an hour by the clock to get the little scamp   I gave out going to Harvilles and went to See Mrs. Cross     enjoyed my Self very well     heard somebody was buried at Bobs don’t know who it was feel anxious about it     got home old man grunting Says it is a sore on his hand
[BTM] Sarah Cross is the next door neighbor of Rhoda and Capt. Totty.   The  Burg is Capt. Totty’s nickname for Forestburg Twp in Montague Co., TX. 

12 Day December     old man in bed all day     Bourland and Jase took dinner     John and Ben here this evening   Pea went to Johns     Willie come home with him     Mr McLane here to rent Land      Cold and misting all day looks like Snow )   all gone to bed glad of that can begin to think of what I know  have not had time to day to hardly think of anything
[BTM] Mr. McLane may be the same as Levi McCLANE found in the 1880 census in HH#266/267 living next door to John WARREN HH#267/288.  Lewis Pete “Pea” is the s/o of Rhoda & Capt TOTTY & Willie is the s/o John Whitfield TOTTY by his first wife Matilda aka Martha Ann Walker TOTTY.   John was there with Ben GAGE who was the s-i-l married to Sarah Lousia nee TOTTY d/o of Rhoda and Capt. TOTTY.   Sam BOURLAND and s-i-l Jase TILLMAN stayed for dinner.   With all the company I can see why Rhoda stated she “hardly had time to think of anything” until they had all gone off to bed.

13 Day     Cold and raining     McLane and Warren come to the house to breakfast   George Staid all day    Willie C. come just at night     cold be a hard freeze to night
[BTM] see above entry on McLANE/McCLANE and WARREN.    The George, Rhoda said stayed all day is likely George SPRINGER, son of Franklin of their neighbor & brother to Mollie SPRINGER and the other SPRINGER's prominent in Rhoda's Diary(s).   Willie C. TOTTY, Jr is the nephew of Capt. TOTTY and the s/o Willie C. TOTTY, Sr, s/o Robert and Matilda Easley Estes TOTTY.

14 Day    Coldest day this winter   boys hauling wood   I nearly froze getting breakfast  ink froze this morning     old mans hand very Sore     Frank and Willie to burg this evening   Pea went to Milk     Wind got Still to night glad of that
[BTM]  Rhoda must have hated it when her precious ink was frozen and she could not write in her diary when she wanted to.   Capt. TOTTY could likely have had arthritis back then as Rhoda did not mention why his hand was sore. 

15 Day Sunday     Lillie gone to See Ida      Annie Willie and May come playing round enjoying them Selves..   Lewis  Willie and Johny Totty come and John and Anna had a crowd   glad to See them especially Anna    Pea went with Willie C.
[BTM] Daughter Lillie likely gone to see Ida Marshall.    Annie, Willie and May are the children of John Whitfied TOTTY by his first wife.   John HARVILLE and Anna nee TOTTY HARVILLE “had a crowd”.   Lewis & Willie may likely be the son’s of Willie C. TOTTY, Sr. and his brother John E. “Johny” TOTTY, both Willie C. and John E. TOTTY were brothers of Capt. F. M. TOTTY. 

16 Day     Anna Staying with me    Frank helped Bourland kill his hog     Bart come   going to mill  Said Tilda and Ada was Sick    Snowing to night   Lillie is eastacies  thereat 
[BTM]  Rhoda likely mean’s Lillie is very happy to see the snow.  Perfect weather to kill the hog when it is cold enough to snow.

17 Day  December     Cold Snow about 2’inches deep   clear and sun shining  crowd of men all day   one come to by corn      Bill Leathers got his cow     Ben and Alan got their dinner     John got flour and lard     Harville and Anna went to Jases     Lillie went with them     old man  Frank and me alone to night
[BTM] Bill LEATHERS may likely be the son of Nicholas LEATHERS neighbors of  the TOTTY families in Montague Co., TX.   This may be Ben GAGE and Alan Phenix who “got their dinner.” 

18 Day     Cold and Still    Frank hauld wood      I washed and went to See Bally  dreading for her to go off  will Miss her when I am lonesome    nobody here to night but old man Me and Frank
19 Day    Cold and misting    old man and me went to Bens.    Ben killed a deer    Harville and Anna went home
[BTM] Harville and Anna are the daughter and s-i-l of Rhoda and Capt. F. M. TOTTY 

20  Day     Bart and old man gone to mill    Snowing this evening     Book man called talked some and went back to Springers     I finished my Sack and put it on    Brown Comes to tell them to kill Adkins hogs
[BTM] F. M. BROWN and Wade ADKINS were more neighbors of the TOTTY families in Montague Co., TX.   They are found in the 1880 Census record as living in HH#260/261.

21 Day     killed the hogs..     heard shocking news   Red Hester found dead    Frank carried the pork to the Burg    Come home Sick     Louisa  Staying all night     Ben gone to Hesters     I feel for Mrs Hester to night think I will go to See her to Morrow
[BTM] Red HESTER, age 15,  is buried in the Old TOTTY BEAN Cemetery on the land that was the original Patent of John Whitfield TOTTY.   Ben GAGE, husband of Lousia nee TOTTY, lived on the adjacent land of his b-i-l, J.W. TOTTY where this cemetery is located. 

December the 22 Sunday     got in the wagon with Ben and Louisa and went to Hesters    Saw poor Red laid in his coffin    took dinner with Mrs Chesser      come home     Frank and Bourland folks gone    every thing looks lonely
[BTM] The Chesser family was living in 1880 Montague Co.:  HH#344/345 was CHESSER, James WM 27 Farmer GA GA GA, Frances WF 41 wife, MS MS MS, Elizabeth WF 14, dau. TX GA MS, Uel WM 6 son TX GA MS, James WM 2 son TX GA MS. The Chesser family were also next door neighbors to the HESTER families, who just lost their young son Red at age 15.

23 Day      beautiful day Bart come      Hunt come brought me a bushel of apples     Bob come him and the old man tried to Settle
24 Day      extremely Cold  Bob come again    I reckon they have Settled it all up this evening  they are talking and whitling and whitling and talking
[BTM] Rhoda bring’s to life the picture of gg g-father F. M. TOTTY sitting and whitling away on a piece of wood while they talk over the events. 

Christmans Day      went to Walkers about midnight and very reluctantly    Staid all day but could do no other way     Bean and Adkins come for me to sign the document   I Signed and then dressed a girl  (   )  Wade  J  and Staid all night    Snowed again in the night    cold this morning
[BTM] What “document” did she sign for BEAN and ADKINS?   Her diary states she dressed a girl, but the name of Wade Walker is written beside her drawing of the baby, did she make an error in writing “girl” instead of “boy”?.    In the 1880 Census HH# 378/379 for Andrue/Andrew Walker was listed a son Wade age 1.

26  Day     Come home  found Louisa and Bettie Keeping house was glad to find them here    (very cold this morning)   Johny Jack come galloping up on his grey mule   Staying all night talking about horses and mules
[BTM] Could this be John Porterfield JACK husband of Martha Jane McNUTT JACK from Tennessee?,  he was about the same age as F. M. TOTTY.

27 Day     John and Sarah come      Jase went to the Burg     I have fever
[BTM] John and Sarah Yandell TOTTY were my great grandparents.  Jason TILLMAN went to Forestburg Twp, TX.

28 Day     killed hogs    Jase and Bettie went home   (cold and sleeting)    John and Sarah Staid
[BTM] John and Bettie were there with their spouses, they were both the children of Rhoda and Capt. TOTTY.

29 Day  Sunday      misting ground covered with ice      Johny Jack come back him and the old man Swaped horses      John and Sarah went home     been taking quinine  feel bad but have no fever     Pea come home 
30 Day     Mr Springer and Bean in the field     killing their wild hogs      John come   Bart asked us all to his house     raining     I dried out my lard  recon I am done with that trouble for the year 
[BTM] Bart TRAYLOR is their s-i-l, married to daughter Matilda Jane “Tilda”.   Killing hogs was good lard and soap making time. 

December the last Day and last Day and last Day of the year 1878      gloomy cloudy looking morning     Pea and Lillie gone to Barts    old man run the turkeys off and went to bed      I am all alone   sliping about so as not to disturb him      feel very lonely
[BTM]  Capt. TOTTY must be having a spell with his malaria again, I can just picture him running off the noisy turkeys so he could rest with peace and quiet. 

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