Prior (1873)
Next (1875)
For the year 1874
Prior (1873)
Next (1875)
20 Dec Minnie "is al I dressedin Shaker costume today. "
25 Dec "We have meeting as usual. Most of the men go away to spend the day. We have a still
quiet time about home. Jesse got oysters forthe family and the hired men and for dinner
all had raisin pudding."
31 Dec Some friends brought New Year's cakes for the children. Another friend, Polly Owen, sent
a basket of New Year's cakes and another bagket of lemons /so all the family had a cake
and all the sisters also had a lemon.
1874
10 Jan Elder Albert Lomas invited the elders and others to come to SF and hear Brother J. M. Spear,
Sat. a Spiritualist from Philadelphia, speak. The greatest part of the family went.
12 Jan Aboyf' 7 p . m .
Brother Spear, his companion Jul ia Edmond, J. M. Peebles (a Spiritualist
from Troy), E. Waters and Elder Albert came to the meeting room in the CF dwelling house
where most of the Society was assembled in a circle. "Elder Albert introduced Peebles and
he stated in brief his voyagearound the world, the reception he met with, state of religion.
The others spoke (Waters was very brief). At the clost of the meeting the chairs were removed
and we marched, Peebles uniting all the time. Others finallyjoined and we had a very good
meeting, Peebles and-Waters stayed at the Office. They also spent the morning visiting
in the shops."
19 Jan CM went to Albany to make arrangements about getting the witnesses again forthe seed case
Mon is coming on again.
21 Jan Daniel took CM to the depot. Today is theday that the case comes on. The referee comes
from Schenectady. Jesse started forTroy with Staunton and Nehemiah - they are witnesses.
22 Jan CM did not come home with the others yesterday. The referee decided to take the testimony
given at lastcourt and examine itat his leisure and thenhave the witnesses come into court
again.
Chas. Hooper was taken quite sick Tuesday, took an emetic and yesterday went to Sarah Ann's
to have her do something for him,
23 Jan Lydia sent "12 doz. little small baskets toPolly Lewis (at Mt. Lebanon) to have cushions in,
a n d 4 d o z , thimble baskets, "
4 Feb CM brought home from the Boston Store the rest of the baskets. They only sold $10-11 worth.
7 Feb Ephraim Prentiss went to sick room today; has been laid up in his room 2-3 days.
Sat. Three-four teams go to Waterford and Lansingburgh after kiln dust formanure.
9 Feb Elder Giles and C. Miller went to Albany and bought an organ for $115, were home before
dinner and put it in the music hall in the Stone Shop, Catie Hallenbeck played on it in the
evening.
10. Feb Visitors from New Enfleld - Bro. James Russell,Isabell Russelland Eudora Arnc
singing meeting.
18 Feb Elder Albert of SF went into Albany and bought an organ for them and at 2 p.m. sent a team
after the visiting singers.
For the next month, have general singing school and singing meetings every day and the
visitors have special teaching sessions with the girls and boys. Some girls are taught to
play the organ.
4 Mar Matilda Wells fainted so Eldress Ann is doing the Ministry cooking.
7 Mar Isabella and Eudora are cutting and fitting capes such as they have made lately. Brother
James (Russell) has had tobe confined because of illness and CM has given him Dover's powders.
18 Mar CM and Jesse went to Troy to attend courton the law suit.
Singing teachers left.
25 Mar Some men from the wojn came to talk with C. Miller. They are trying to get the town divided.
We want itand most of our neighbors also, but West Troy opposes.
Mary Croft (or Croff) comes to help the young sisters who are trying to learn to play the organ.
27 Mar CM went in a.m. with the rest of the committee to present their petition for division of the town
at the Capitol -
31 Mar CM is very busy settling with the men that are leaving. All of those at the river farm -
John England, Chas. Hooper, Ned Duck, the one that drove the garden team, all leave.
John Burk is gointg tolive with Chas. Witbeck where his wife has lived formany years, but
he intends to return next winter and make brooms.
2 April CM has rented the riverfarm for 5 years so that will stop our having to have the men needed
for that land work for us in the winter.
3 April "Edwin (Male) went to Albany intending to bring his parents and sisters but
they had not got
there yet so he brought them a load of coal, His father went back to England and now the
rest of them have come to this country with him." '
4 April About 2p.m. Edwin drove by with his fahh'epand mother and 4 sisters and Gummer's wife and
3 small children, the oldest boys of both families having come out on foot.
t
8 April Jeremiah Mully appeared-fhis morning here, said he walked all night. We have him some
breakfast and then he rode with Jesse to Schenectady. He said he had been in the asylum
a year and two constables were with him, taking him somewhere else.
16 April "Some of the 2d Family went tothe depot after James Peebles. The family came to hear him
in the evening. He spoke upon the different phases of spiritualism and then we exorcised.
(Does she mean this, or exercised?) Meeting continued nearly two hours."
26 April Began snowing at 4 p.m. Sat. and continued today (15 inches). It was intended that a company
Sun. of six sisters and 4 brethren were togo to Troy to attend a meeting with the Spiritualists. Bro.
Peebles was already there, Elders Giles and Albert Lomas went last night so they were all there
but the rest could not get their because of the storm.
28 April "We are to work on capes, all that can. The neckerchiefs are quite in the background. "
9 May A carpenter, Fellows, came and put In two dormer (she spells "dormant") windows in the
Office to replace skylights.
12 May Five masons (slaters) cesm^ to slate the Office and another mason to mend the chimneys.
13 May Chimney man finished and goes home after supper. Mended all four chimneys, painted them
and put a top on SW one, hoping it will prevent its smoking,
14 May Slaters finishexcept forIreland's son. Sistersclean up allthe debris around the building.
5 June "Sarah Dean is not expected to I ive and she is very
anxious to see Eldress Ann . "
6 June Eldress Ann and Polly were taken to Albany to take cars for Mt. Lebanon. Home on June 9,
13 June "Brother George Price was moved to the NF to take charge and Brother Chauney Copley is
gathered home, (This means he came back to CF to live.) He is 70 and has borne a heavy
burden over 40 years."
16 June C. Copley was coming home from Albany -'had been to settle up something."
17 June There was supposed to be a great meeting at Schodack or 1/2 way between WaterVliet and
Mt. Lebanon, of Ministry and two wagonloads from Wvlt and three loads from ML but did not
go because it was raining.
18 June Wivt party started before 4 a.m. (C. Copley and 5 sisters in an open wagon, Philip Smith and
5 young sistersin covered wagon), arrived at Schodack about 8 and were welcomed by Wivt
Ministry who had gone ahead. "They watched and waited and waited and watched till about
noon and even sent a messenger to Nassau to see if they had mistaken the place but n ay they
did not leave home. Our folks came home about 6." f
20 June "About 10 p.m. some sisters head a great noise in the barn. C. Miller got up and went out
Sat. and Jack, Jesse's horse, was in distress. He let itout of the barn and went to get a light,
when the horse went under the shed and dropped dead . "
t
22 June CM went to Troy to hear the everlasting cabbage case argued before the referee.
24 June C. Copley and Geo. Price leave for Baltimore, Home on 27th.
30 June Geo. Duck went to Albany and on to NYCity expecting to get his wife and children from
England. Took them to Sarah Ann's for the present.
1 July Tried again for the meeting at Schodack and this time it worked.
7 July Katharine Smith, Philip's mother, came to visit - has not been here in 18 years.
9 July C, Copley took Eldresses Lucy and Aurelia to Albany to see about taking some shirts to make.
13 July Eldresses Lucy & Aurelia got a shirt together but itdid not seem right,
14 July CC took them back to Albany to see about the shirts.
15 July CC went to Albany and brought out one of Page's best shirt makes, Lucia Johnson, to show
the Shakers how to put them together.
16 Jijjte-' Eldresses Lucy &AureIia, Lydia, Samantha and others went to Deaconesses Shop to learn
all they could from the shirtmaker.
Daniel Brainard (.U^ji-Bg^^^teerafeM^^bebaiTOT^ "passed to spirit land about 12 lastnight.
He was 82 and had been ajfvery hard-working brother, worked on 2 staffs and kept a splendid
garden. He ate breakfast as usual and at midnight was no more. "
17 July All that can go to the shop to work on shirts.
^^AC-^K^-^ Y*~&*^ *J-A/f
22 July Anna Bates Morris, Irena Bates'sister, arrived and wished to see Laura (mother?)
24 July "Anna has gone to see the Ministry. She acted like a crazy woman, threatens to have her
mother put in a state prison, etc."
25 JuKy? Have now made 18 shirts on theirown. Aurelia is theboss of the business and Eldress Lucy
is her assistant"allthe rest are undermen at present. "
30 Juky "Doing all we can on the shirts but itis rather slow getting along. "
i)
28 Aug Ellyette Myers 1 mother came again. She walked from Crescent and is thinking ofstaying.
29 Aug Eldress Lucy walked up to the SF with Ellyette's mother. "
30 Aug Minnie Gilmore's father came to see her and Eldress Ann and Polly came to see him.
Sun
31 Aug A band of 1 1 colored Jubilee singers came. They had some dinner at dwell ing house. They
. sang in Music Hall and so did we.
1 Sept . "Eldress Ann sent forEldress Fanny (from Mt. Lebanon) to have Minnie Gilmore go home with
her thinking she would make out better there account of her having fits. "
3 Sept Ephraim had a very gad fitlast night in singing meeting/ fell on the stove and had to be
carried into the dwelling house. Eldress Fannie, Louisa and Minnie Gilmore were taken to
Albany to get cars for Mf. Lebanon. Minnie had a trunk full of clothing.
23 Sept Working all obt on the corn. All the hired men pick the corn, husk it, cook itand dry It,
and every sister in the family that is notin the kitchen but Betsy Hawkins and Samantha/ are
to work on the corn husks.
24 Sept. Pruyn came and wanted them to knit 10 pairs of I inen gloves. As we had some yarn we
thought we would try.
14 Oct NelMe Brighnray, a trance medium, her sister, and friendStarbuck and two ofhis daughters
Wed. arrived about 2 p.m . , visited around and were then sealed in the Stone Shop music hall .
"Nellie was entranced by our request, all were much pleased."
At 7 p.m. the families were assembled in music hall and Nellie had begun speaking when
someone rapped on the door. Jesse had been coming back from Cohoes, itbeing after 6 p.m.
14 Oct. and rather dark, and one of his wheels went into a bad hole. Itis supposed that in getting
(cont.) out of the wagon he fell and broke his neck. The team just stood in theroad all the time
waiting for him. CM i Her, CCopfey, Isaac (Anstatt) and Philip (Smith) went and brought
him home.
15 Oct. CM went after the coroner. He came and cal led a jury ofbrethren and men, sent for a
doctor to look at his neck and he said death had been instantaneous. Chas. and Sylvester
made his coffin, the funeral was at 2:30, all the hired men attended and over 60 of both
sexes. "We had a solemn yet peaceful funeral . Sisters walked to the grave. "
27 Oct C. Copley, Chas. Hooper and another boy are working in the orchard shaking (apple trees
and four sisters are picking up theapples,
28 Oct Ruth is fixing and mending. She has taken care of all of Jesse's things.
Maria Gil letis seeing to the little boys atpresent. They room with Nehemlah in the old
meeting room and porch.
11 Nov Lydia received an order from Polly Lewis of Mt. Lebanon for 1 doz. small baskets.
12 Nov Rachel Turk came and worked with Lydia on the baskets and they finished the dozen before
Lydia went to bed but it was late.
16 Nov Jimmy Conway leaves today and is going to school this winter.
17 Nov "We have an order for 50 doz. canned .pumpkin but the pumpkins are scarce and poor at
that. They got 14 doz. and 8 cans out of about 120. "
19 Nov Mary Croff (or Croft)comes to ve music lessons. She has 6 students, 4 sisters and two
boys (Henry and Thomas, an English boy).
20 Nov Snowed all day so sheep and cattle are taken into the yards.
25 Nov "Last evening a young woman by name of Ella Reardon came from the 2d Family, She wanted
to see Eldress Ann. It seems she left Groveland in a pet and came to see the Ministry. She
has been to our Second Family 3 or 4 days and run away from there last evening and has
been here allday helping the sistersin the kitchen."
27 Nov Henry Harvey, Arthur Stuckey's brother-in-law, is going back to England and has quit work.
2 Dec After dinner C. Miller moved everying he owned out of the Office.
3 Dec Some company bought 4 peacock dusters.
8 Dec C. Copley moved out of family deacons room to the room in the Office that C. Miller used
to have. Nehemiah is appointed family deacon.
10 Dec Two young Believers moved over from the SF - John Carson and John Taylor. The firstis a
clerk by trade, the other a "common blacksmith . "
C. Copley bought a bale of broom corn in Schenectady.
11 Dec Sheep are back out in the pasture- very pleasant forthe time of year.
14 Dec Benjamin Starbuck and daughter and Nellie Brigham (spiritualists) arrived. "Most of the
Society were here In the evening to meeting. Nellie spoke beautifully."
15 Dec "After breakfast Nellie went to the dwelling house/ had a beautiful poem for Eldress Ann and
Eldress Polly, told of two beautiful spirits that were with them and they were much pleased. "
17 Dec C. Copley brought another bale of broom corn from Schenectady. "He is trying tostart the
broom business in a small way. John Burk and the Dutch boy (Charles Bauer) will work on
itthis winter."
19 Dec "Elder Albert., Geo. Price andraome of the outsiders start on an investigating tour to the
Sat. Eddy Bros, where it is said theyhave wonderful spirit manifestations."
21 Dec "C. Miller learned Saturday evening the cabbage suit had gone against us and a mean
thing it is for the seed was good when sowed in season/ as most allsay that had the seed. "
"At 6:30 Elder Albert gave the family a chance to hear what he saw at the Eddy Bros., viz
whole forms of spirits/ etc. "
23 Dec Elder Albert has an advanced class of singers every Wednesday night. SOme come from all
Wed. the famil ies. "
25 Dec "Family had a meal of oysters, ittook about 5 gal. and C .C. got 10 Ibs. of crackers
and all were filled to overflowing."
1875
15 Jan CC brought home some broom handles and corn from Albany.
Lydia and Samantha are working on baskets.
16 Jan CM paid the taxes - $1400 and some cents.
17 Jan CC (now 71 yrs) fell down some steps and hurt himself but broke no bones "butwill be unfit
Sun for duty. "
18 Jan Elder Solomon Rankin of So. Union Ky. (77 yrs. old) came to visit. Was thrown from the
sleigh going from Mt, Lebanon to Hancock yesterday and hurt his shoulder.
Two men and two ladies from Oneida Community visited foran hour or so,
23 Jan A woman from NY came to bring two girls to be taken and wanted to bring a boy also in
a week "but there is no room forthe boy."
25 Jan Elder Solomon left/ CM saw him safelyc?ra> his way to Cleveland.
29 Jan CC went to Schenectady after a broom vise.
2 Feb Brother James Russellcomes again to hold music school. He has been at Mt. Lebanon for
8 weeks and held 3 schools a day most of the time.
4 Feb Brother James had a school in the afternoon with the children.
For the year 1874
Prior (1873)
Next (1875)