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The Barton Family has been a familiar name in Gill for many generations, however their ancestral line can be traced all the way back to the early days of Salem, Massachusetts. According to History of Gill 1793-1943 by Ralph M. Stoughton, a few of the distant Barton relatives underwent prosecution during the Salem witch trial hysteria of the early 1690’s. (We’ll save that for another newsletter!)
GHC had the honor of transcribing the diaries of Henry B. Barton (1853-1940). Henry was a hard-working Gill farmer, a family man and served as the Town Clerk of Gill for 40 years between 1891-1932. He is buried in the Riverside cemetery in Gill in the Barton Family plot. We thought we would share some of his diary entries from 1885 and what summertime looked like in Gill over 130 years ago. Some of Henry’s entries we thought quite amusing. Some left us puzzled. Other entries could have been written like it was today (such as taxes, slugs and keeping up with a garden!).
Monday, June 15, 1885 – Pleasant. Got up early to wash. Finished filling the woodshed at noon. Hoed the corn on the island. [Where is this island we wonder?].
Friday, June 19 – Pleasant. General tobacco work with a little hoeing midday. Dusted squashes with plaster. [That’s a mystery to us – maybe plaster dust was a way to prevent pests?]
Sunday, June 28 – Pleasant and hot until a shower came up which turned into a glorious rain…Picked eleven quarts of strawberries.
Wednesday, July 1 – Cloudy and cool. Cultivating and hoeing tobacco and cabbage plants…potato slugs have kept us busy. [Yes, 2023 is also quite the year for “slugs” don’t you agree?]
Tuesday, July 7 – Cloudy and cool. Mowed the orchards…Cultivated melons, squashes and corn. Hoed out a field of corn… [A farmer’s day is never done – which is the same 130 years later!]
Wednesday, July 8 – Pleasant…Plowed the tobacco and cabbage beds…Hoed and tended some hay. Mowed the “print” piece. [We are thinking this might be a dinosaur track?]
Saturday, July 18 – Pleasant...have 150 [chickens] on the island tonight. [Again, the “island?]
Monday, July 27 – Pleasant. I have been in Gill all day making out taxes. [Fast forward 2023, that hasn’t changed!]
Tuesday, August 11 – Pleasant…I went over to the Falls River Bridge abutment job…
Saturday, August 15 – Pleasant and cool feels almost like frost tonight…The river rose rapidly last night and today is round the “Island” nearly 2 feet deep…Apples are ripening very fast…they now sell for 40 cents per bushel. [Where is this island he keeps talking about?].
Wednesday, September 9 – Pleasant…Charlie is helping me present instead of attending school. [Something that was done often in these times.]
Where is this island? Why did they spread plaster dust over the squash plants? Is the “print” piece a dinosaur track? A farmer’s day may never be done but neither is a GHC member who is determined to look up just one more deed, one more gravestone or one more diary entry in search of answers!
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