DIARY of Rhoda May Spradling TOTTY - May 1876 
[first year of her Diary(s)] 
Transcribed from Original Diary by Birdie (Totty) McNutt ©1999

    May 9, 1876

 9     wind from north     almost cold enough frost        farmers all in the field today beginning to chop cotton
10    Still cold this morning but wind from South      farmers in the field bright and early
11    Clear and warm     Betty come down after dinner
[BTM]Betty is Mary Elizabeth TOTTY TILLMAN, daughter of Rhoda [Spradling] and Capt. F. M. TOTTY.

12    Annas birth day 26 to day       Billy and Eppie come down from west Fork to day   I havent seen them yet        Still dry and warm      Eppie came down staid all night
[BTM] Anna is the daughter of Rhoda [Spradling] and Capt. F.M. Totty.   Billy and Eppie are Billy BEAN and his wife Eppie HORN BEAN.   Billy BEAN  is William Reeves BEAN, son of Betsy Caroline BEAN, the daughter of  Col. William Steel REEVES and Nancy TOTTY REEVES.  Nancy was the daughter of Robert and Sarah Sandal (Andrews) TOTTY, Sr.

13 warm and dry  Bettie spent the day with me
[BTM] Bettie is Rhoda's daughter Mary Elizabeth TILLMAN, she was married to Jason TILLMAN in Montague Co., TX.

14    Beautiful morning went to see Jace and Bettie had the pleasant walk went thr.....
[BTM] Rhoda's son in law Jason TILLMAN and her dau Bettie. 
 [corner of diary page gone due to deterioration]

NOTE:  This Diary is very brittle and yellowed, the next page was missing including day 15 through 17 as this Diary is 123 years old, the pages have deteriorated badly due to age. 

18     went to Bens       TRUEBLOOD come and I rode home in his buggy
[BTM]  Ben GAGE  is son-in-law of Rhoda & Capt. TOTTY.   A. H. Trueblood is the second husband of Elizabeth Caroline TOTTY STEPHENS TRUEBLOOD daughter of Robert and Matilda EASLEY ESTES TOTTY.    A. H. Trueblood was the brother in law of Rhoda and F. M. TOTTY.

19     Sprinkled rain in the morning       put out potatoes in the evening
20     Still cloudy     Mr TOTTY gone to Clear Creek       big  rain in the evening    old mens mouths all spread
[BTM] Francis Marion aka F.M. TOTTY went to Clear Creek, the location where he was renender 22 acres in 1858, after he first came to Montague County, Texas.

21     went to church heard BAKER preach and saw him pour water on Bob HUDSONs head and called it baptism      Night FUGIT and family  Jace and Bettie  Bart and Tilda took dinner with us
[BTM]  W.R. Baker was a minister born 1813 in Tennessee according to the 1880 census record for Montague Co., Night Fugit is mentioned several times in her diary and is likely a neigbor, no relationship has been proven yet.  "Jace" is also Jase aka Jason TILLMAN and his wife Bettie dau of Rhoda; Bart is Barton Ackman TRAYLOR, [sometimes spelled TRAYLER] and  his wife Matilda Jane "Tilda" TOTTY another dau of Rhoda & F.M.

22     Brother GOWER called on us     Staid about two hours and talked more bible then you would hear in a dozzen sermons from the sects
[BTM] This brother GOWER has not been identified yet.

23     Big rain this morning before day all went in to the cellar but the old man     Big pond in Mr SPRINGERS field    corn and cotton washed down     old men in the mully grubs   again two much rain      now Frank M. went to WHEELERS  come home mad   I am quite uneasy about the afair
[BTM] Frank M. son of Rhoda was later married to Mollie dau of  Mr (Franklin A.) SPRINGER]  The WHEELERS may likely be connected to/or the family of Louisa Jane WHEELER TOTTY who married the nephew of of F.M. TOTTY, Lewis Henry TOTTY, son of Willie C. TOTTY, son of Robert and Matilda TOTTY.

24     boys all out hunting       land two wet to work     John HARVILLE took dinner with us to day
[BTM]  John HARVILLE was the son-in-law of Rhoda,  he married to Anna C. TOTTY, he was the son of James E. HARVILL(E) from Hickman County, Tennessee then Montague Co., TX.

25     washed to day    almost down sick     worn out got a bad spell of the blues
[BTM] Rhoda was prone to have "spells" of depression or blues.

26     Mr TOTTY went to Rosston to mill     I went to Jases after dinner   saw Louisa and the children   we had quite a lively time  I am some better of the blues     kit gone    old man got home    growling considerable about Kit and other Sundries
[BTM]  Rhoda had names for all her mules, horses, colts, cows and calves etc., "Kit" may likely be their horse or mule.

27     got Kit home    all right now    I have a severe pain between my shoulders     big ironing to do done    feel better now     rain to day ground verry wet     supper over    corn high as my head    baby asleep all in a fine humor now Mrs BOURLAND and Mollie here this evening
[BTM] Mrs Bourland and Mollie are the SPRINGER sisters and were often visitors at  Capt. & Rhoda's home

28     Went to the Southwood Church to day heard CUNNINGHAM hold forth     went to [the word to is marked out] home  with John and Anna     staid all night  enjoyed my self very much
[BTM] Rhoda was either sleeping over at someone else house or had a adult male member of the family staying at her home, Rhoda was always afraid to be at home without a man's protection during the night, most likely due to the many Indian raid and attacks in that area earlier.

29     Pea come over to HARVILLEs brought Kit     me and Lillie mounted and rode home got home     found all right       bait my chickens      some of them gone     sow eat them up    Corn Tassel to day  in Jaces corn     his word for the same
[BTM] Pea is the nickname for Lewis Pete TOTTY;  Rhoda & F.M.'s youngest son, bringing "Kit" over to his brother-in-law's where Rhoda says she and Lillie mounted and rode home, this would pretty well show that Kit was either their horse or mule as Rhoda is documented to have rode both Horses and Mules.

30     Big fog this morning    went to Mr. CROSSES after dinner   took Mrs HESTER with me     Spent a verry pleasant evening with Mrs. CROSS and the girls
[BTM]  Both the Cross and Hester familes were neighbors of Rhoda and F.M. TOTTY on the 1880 census in Montague County.    A. J. CROSS and his wife Sarah and dau's Luiza, Maggie & Ilia lived next door, while the family of Davis HESTER and his wife Phebe, his son Benjamin and D.(avis??) and their dau Elizabeth  were living next door to the Ben & Lousia GAGE family.

31     wind high from south     counted eighteen hands at work in the farm to day    had the toothache all day     cross as a cat      fell better  now   every thing seems different    Betty came down in the evening
[BTM] Rhoda is feeling pretty badly according to her entry stating that she is cross as a cat and could likely be the reason for the misspelling of the word feel and the spelling of her daughters name,  most likely Betty is the same as Bettie dau of Rhoda and F.M.]

Transcribed from Original Diary by Birdie (Totty) McNutt ©1999