SEPTEMBER 1876

Days 1 through 8 are missing from the Diary

9th   John and Anna come over to day    Lillie come home with them    looks verry pale   baby quite    baby quite sick  to day     John begins to look like death in the prime cough like conmunition feel verry uneasy about him always uneasy about some of  them    Frank with fever again to night    Bettie would hardly make a shaddow
[BTM]   The baby is most likely Tennie TOTTY, daughter of John W. TOTTY and his dec'd wife Matilda aka Martha.  John and Anna HARVILLE's first baby is not born yet, and John  Harville's children by his first wife Nancy BARNES would not be considered babies in 1877.     Rhoda has her hands full again with caring for her sick family, a mother's worry never ends when it affects her loved ones so often.

10    John and Anna went home  Pea went with them   Frank M verry sick  to night no boddy  hardly able to wait on each other quite cool to night first norther
11    Lillie had a chill    Frank had a chill   we talk about chills and quinine and fever and  tonics and medicine and Doctors and malaria and healthy countrys     I had some fever to day..  quite cool to night ...   Killed DUNN this morning
[BTM]  Rhoda did not mention how DUNN was killed or the method of his demise. Does anyone know what DUNN was and why he was killed?    As mentioned on our mailing list Dunn was likely one of the farm animals.    Rhoda left out many details in order to conserve her ink and paper supply, back then "good ink" was hard to come by, according to Rhoda, oh how I wish I could read between the lines.

12th   the old man went to ForestBurg  got Lillie two dresses    he got pills and specific and quinine and plenty of medicine    Bettie had fever to day  heard from Bens nearly all sick Louisa verry sick..  cant go to see her  feel bad about that      Jim HARVY here to day says they are nearly all Sick at his house
[BTM]  Jim HARVY may likely be the son of John W. HARVY from Cooke Co., Tx who later married Mrs. W. C. NORRIS.   He may be just a neighbor or friend.  Does anybody recognize him for sure, and  know how he or if connects to our TOTTY family?

13    North wind to day  Grass hoppers plenty this evening..   Lillie had a chill today   Bettie has fever to night nothing good to write every boddy sick in the Settlement  or nearly so all as ill and cross as cats hope it wont last allways  Frank M missed his chill to night
[BTM]  The illness in the family must be abating since they are all "cross as cats", my mother always said we were on the mend when we started fussing.

14th    all better to day   Willie all the one that had a chill..   got a postal card from Lige SPRADLING     So glad to hear from him    Jane GAGE Spent the day with us today ..  quite  cool agin to night
[BTM]  Lige SPRADLING was Elijah Monroe SPRADLING, child raised by Rhoda's half sister Rachael according to some researchers, it has not been proven who his father was.  Rhoda always loved to hear from her family.    Lucy Jane GAGE from Upshur Co., TX was most likely the sister of Benjamin A. GAGE and sister-in-law of Sarah Louise TOTTY GAGE, John W. TOTTY's oldest child Willie the only one who still feeling the chill's from his Malaria.

15th   Capt  SCANLAN took dinner with us     Frank went to HARVILLEs     Willie very sick all day     Annie had a chill.... grasshoppers reinforced this evening    Lilllie missed her chill to day still cool wind from north exit
[BTM]  There was a SCANLAND family that moved to Montague Co. from Missouri, this may likely be from the same family.  Who is Capt. SCANLAN? and could he be related to our TOTTY families?

16th   all up to day but Willie     Pea come home from HARVILLEs ...   I went to see Mrs BAIRD and this evening it will nearly take her and Bettie both to make a shaddow
[BTM]  This is most likely Sally BAIRD wife of Sam M. BAIRD and daughter of Robert & Matilda TOTTY, the sister in law of Rhoda and sister of F.M. Totty.

17th   Jase and Bettie went home   Jane  had a chill  Annie and Willie had a chill
[BTM]  (Mary)Jane is the daughter of  Sarah Louise and Benjamin GAGE.  Annie is most likely oldest child, and sister of   Willie both children of John W. TOTTY.

18th day of September    Willie and the baby both sick     Sim  took dinner with us to day Ben was here to day said they was all up but Mary Jane..   thundering to night looks like rain  have notthing to write but sickness it is geting to be monotonous glad I am up my Self  hardenened to Sickness      the men talk cotton now all the time nearly     two men here to pick cotton did not hire them
[BTM] Sim Hester must be on friendly terms with the Totty families again.

19th    Frank and John begining to pick Cotton had rain last night   grasshoppers doubly reinforced this evening I think there are Billions  and Trillions and quadrillions and more too  in Denton Vally eating up all the peaches and every thing that they can get their nasty little old mouths on..   Willie verry Sick all the rest better
[BTM]   This has to be the year documented for the terrible infestation of grasshoppers eating every thing in site.

20th   the old man gone off with LEATHERS to survey      I commenced to wash to day  washe 12 shirts for a begining..   Willie and the baby sick to night      cool to night    wind from north..   had my last peach cobler to day
[BTM]   Peach Cobbler was the most mentioned pastry by Rhoda, she must have looked forward to having it.

21st  day of September  Billy SPENCER poped in very unexpected this morning told of the death of two of our old friends old mrs DAVIS and Ab BRADEN     Billy begin to look old...   I done a big washing to day feel tired    but  glad the clothes are clean      nobody had any chill to day awful glad of that
[BTM]  This Billy SPENCER is kin to Rhoda through her mother Susannah Parker? Spencer Spradling? could he also be related to the Ben GAGE family through his brother Thomas Jefferson GAGE who was married to Mary Jane SPENCER?.   Abraham D. BRADEN was born in Hamilton Co., TN in 1834, one of their Tennessee friends who came to Cooke & Montague counties in 1854.  Does anybody know who this old Mrs DAVIS was?

22    Tennie had a chill      all the rest up to day   Jane and Mose took dinner with us    Mollie here this evening  I am glad for Mollie to come she tells me all the news
[BTM]   Light Bulb goes off!!!!,  This could possibly be Moses SPENCER who was living with Rhoda and F.M. in 1860 in Cooke Co., TX.

23    old man not come home yet     I am begining to think of haveing a new tooth put in and strikeing out to see if I can find an other old man     thinking of going to PETTUS    John and Anna come over to night..   glad to see them    Baby has fever to night   Willie went to Jases this evening     got my last bucket of peaches   grasshopers staid till they eat them all up and then left...   wish they had all been dead before they got here or had there teeth drawn
[BTM]  Rhoda was really upset with her husband for being away so much, the is the first time she has mentioned of "stricking out".    Pioneers life was very hard on the wives of many of the early settlers as they were often left with all the responsibilities of home and children, and Rhoda had the burden of a family that was so often sickly.

24th   HARVILLE had a chill last night was quite Sick    we all went up to Bens found Jase and Bettie at Bens   Spent a very pleasant day     rain in the evening    old man got home this morning..    HARVILLE  Still Sick  Staid all night
25th    John and Anna  Started home this morning     Frank and John picking Cotton quite warm this morning looks like rain..     I went to see mrs BOURLAND this evening we talked about chills and fever and quinine and strzehnine and tonics and patent medicine and Doctors and sick folks   Generaly that is the theme every where now the old man and Frank went to see BROOKS he is about to die   Tennie has a chill to night  poor litte thing it begins to look like she never will get well
[BTM]  I can not find a BROOKS in the 1860 or 1870 Montague County Census, can anyone Identify who this "BROOKS", might be?

26th   Mr TOTTY gone surveying   Mrs BROTHERS  Spent the day I was glad to see Addy..     Louisa and Ben come down this evening..     Frank gone to set up with BROCKs      Bally  Still very sick  [here there are about three sentences have been erased and are unable to be read what it said]   verry warm to day hot enough for August hope for a norther
[BTM]  Brock, is highly likely Robert A. BROCK, his mother in law as Isabelle "Bally", (Hamilton) WININGHAM mother of Mary Ellen his wife.  The Winingham family came from Tennessee about the same time as the TOTTY family.

27th    Rain to day cool     Frank had a chill  Baby still very sick    old man got home to night     Jane GAGE come down this evening     Lousia children Still Sick      BROCK had a fit to day
[BTM]  Rhoda did not elaborate on the "fit" BROCK had, but likely could have been a seizure, due to his illness.

28th  of  September       Chills Chills nothing but Chills   Lillie and Annie both had chills this morning      Frank had fever     Mollie come down this evening  Said She had fever   I have been Sewing to day   finished Lillie  two dresses..   cool  to night..    I dont know what ails the moon it dont give no light hardly and it is nearly full..  lightning in the north to night
[BTM]   Rhoda is always sewing and must have been a good seamstress, as she accomplished a lot of sewing in a day, plus all her other chores for the house and family.

29th    Cool this morning wind from north wanted to go and see Bettie     had to stay with the baby for John to go and see BROCK..    felt sorter mad  but got over it  and set down at home as usual
[BTM]   John depended on his mother Rhoda to help with his motherless children while he helped out on the farm.  Rhoda having raised her family already, must have felt a times it was too much of a burden on her, especially when she had to change her personal plans in order to take care of grandchildren.  Rhoda didn't seem to care for being tied down and liked to go a lot, but she did love her family and took care of them when needed.

30th   A new Norther tacked on Cold enough this morning     went to see Bettie     started home met Mr  BARNS after me to go to see Anna went found her very Sick       passed a wreched night
[BTM]  Rhoda spent many of nights tending to the sick. I wonder how she got word to her family where she was staying during these times?  They must have worried over each other.  Makes me wonder if  F.M. ever got upset with her for being away taking care of the sick.

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