OCTOBER 1878

1 Day of October     warm    old man    Frank and Alan gathering corn     Joe Marshall come    I went to Walkers got tobacco come home extremely tired   Slept very little
[BTM]  Most likely Rhoda went to see Andrew  Walker family one of their neighbors, who was possibly kin to Matilda aka Martha Ann Walker TOTTY 1st wife of John Whitfield TOTTY s/o of Rhoda. 

2   Day of Oct     fixing to go to Betsys to the Sale feel very badly   don’t know that I ought to go    went got there  Staid all night
3 Day     men gathering from all quarter’s  horses neighing cows lowing   very different from the time I was here when Mansfield died    big crowd   Sale going on    every body in high Spirits  but Betsy   She feels bad to See Mansfields Stock going.
[BTM]  Betsy is Elizabeth Tucker Estes widow of deceased husband Mansfield Estes.  Sound like the sale of their property is going on most likely to pay off debts.

4  Day     Sale Still going on      all got the excitement up even Betsy has recovered her Spirits and going round biding as big as any body      after dinner we got in our wagon and Started for home feel glad to get here    Frank and Alan gone to Springers to throw out corn

October the 5 Day    just been a quarter of a Century Since I left my home and Started to Texas   left Father Mother County and Kin to Come here and Spend my life in the wilds of Texas and now my Journey is nearly ended      I Still regret that I ever Come (but life seems to made up of regrets)   Bart and Tilda come Staid all night    I was not well enough to enjoy their company much
[BTM] 25 years in Texas since leaving Tennessee and she regrets ever coming.  Pioneer life seems to be taking it’s toll on Rhoda’s spirit.  She must have missed being near her parents very much.

6 Day  Sunday    Mr Barns Come after me to go See Anna   I cant go feel bad about that      Tilda and Lillie gone to Bathe      I am very lonely      old man Sleeping and reading    no body to Speak to     be glad to See night
[BTM] There were several Barnes families in Montague Co. during this time, he could likely be one of their neighbors.

7 Day       Lillie gone out to pick cotton      Tilda been with me all day     Bart come they went home this evening      Pea picking Cotton      Frank and Alan hauling corn at Springers    I have a high fever again to night     Sufering a great deal
8th Day October    Chads all come to pick Cotton  I have got up this morning      Still got fever   feel very bad      Pea went to Bens  Louisa and the children come home with him   glad to See them    feel better got hopes of geting well      old man has a chill that is the beginning
9 Day    Chads come     killed a beef   old man had another Chill      Louisa went home      Lillie went with her carried  Mary Jane on the pony..    Pea went took Ferd with him   I got supper   Parks come after me   could not go was not able      Hunt come in about half an hour    I got on the horse and went to See Dolly   dressed a boy Staid all night (  )  John or Ben
[BTM] Mary Jane and Ferd are children of Ben and Louisa (Totty) GAGE.   Name written by the picture is John or Ben.  Dolly and Hunt must not have made up their mind what they would name him.

10 Day   come home   old man Still Sick    Frank and Alan picking cotton    Frank gone after the Dr for George    Cook sent over to get some body to go for Cox     no body here but Alan    he did not go
[BTM] Not sure who George is.     Sickness must really be going around in Montague Co. at this time.

11 Day   old man had a chill    Frank gone to Roston      Alan picking cotton      I Slep the best nights sleep I have in three months   think I am geting well     Alan helped Bourland haul cotton    Mollie and Mag called this evening
[BTM] Could Rhoda finally be on the mend, maybe her spirits will pick up a little bit.

October the 12 Day      very Sick nearly got Pneumonia      old man Sick      Ben and Louisa Come nightly glad to See them
13 Sunday      Jase and Bart come I have been very Sick all day..      Sick to night nearly give up all hopes of getting well don’t care much
14 Day      Warm high wind from South      Alan got back from Harvilles    him and Frank picking Cotton    I feel a little better       old man geting well      Lillie went to Bens got greens rode the pony
15 Day    extreme high wind from South dust and Sand flying nearly blows the hair off my head   feel impatient but think there will be a change to night..       Frank and Alan diging Potatoes
October the 16 Day      wind blew up from the north at last      all glad to See it      Louisa Come to wash    Frank Covering his crib      Pea come got his clothes went to Jases to pick cotton
17 Day      cool and pleasant.       Bourland   George and Frank   helped Alan pick Cotton  (old man helped me get dinner for them)   all in fine Spirits  because wind from North    John  Ivins Staid all night   I had the worst Chill I nearly ever had
18 Day     old man went to the Burg     Frank and Alan had high fever      I got on the pony went to Bens    Staid all night had fever could not get home
19 Day     Come home    Bettie and Tilda come    glad to See them    John and Anna come all Staid all night
20 Day  Sunday      had a Stuffed Turkey for dinner       Jase and Bettie went home the rest Staid all night
21 Day       Norther blew up this morning      old man Sick in bed      Frank gone to the Burg     Alan went to the mill      Bart Sick with his riseing.
[BTM] Bart Traylor, Rhoda’s s-i-l, had a  raiseing which was most likely  a “boil”… my parents called it by both names.

22 Day      Alan went to see Dr Paine   got medicine      Frank and Bart fixing to go to Market      old man went to Bens      I have no fever   -to- glad of that   hope I will get well
[BTM] Rhoda marked through the word –to- above.

Oct 23  Day      Frank and Bart Started to Gainesville      Alan worked at Bens      Sherif Sumoned the old man to go to court    Candidate come to Stay all night  hope they will play out before long tired of their gas
24  Day       old man went to the mill with the candidate       Alan went back to Bens      me and Tilda and Lillie potering around doing nothing 
25 Day      Cool this morning   wind from North     I commensed to take my mole medicine      Tilda washing       Alan gone back to Bens  Frank and Bart got back
26 Day      old man went to Pella      Bart and Tilda went home      I went to See Bally   Pea come home from Jases       Mrs Cross Spent the evening was glad to See her
27 Day  Sunday  cold as blazes this morning   old man started to court   I went to Crosses    Lillie went to See Duck      Ben and Louisa   Come Staid all night    I was glad they come
28 Day   October    raining this morning and very cold    John Harville come  Staid till after dinner   him and the boys cracked jokes and pecans bart called   had been to Pella
29 Day     Still cold and misting       Sterling come got his cotton money     heard that Brother Gower was buried yesterday      I think he has fought a good fight and hence forth there is laid up for him a crown of rightousness    Sufered his last pain and when Gabriels trump Shall Sound I expect to meet him in the kingdom in that good Land where Sickness Sorrow pain and death are felt and feared no more
[BTM] Brother Gower was one of the local preachers that the Totty family went to listen to in the past.

30 Day      Frank and Alan gone to  Pella       Lillie catching Buck for her and me to go to Bens     wind from North    I am afraid it will make me have a chill but I am lonesome and I will risk it      Spend the day with Louisa Come home feel very well
31 and last Day of October      horses gone    Frank hunting for them      Ben went to Oxfords after his Syrup   found the horses  got back in the night    Louisa and the children Staying with me    I have been taking my Mole medicine feel bad to night 
[BTM] What is Mole medicine? 

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