In order to tell my family story.... this is an outline from Liscomb T. Blackwell: (a snapshot of family and farm life in the late 1800"s. Book reference Midcentury America: Life in the Mid 1850's
"In 1860, _______ and ______ TRAVIS had been married for __ yrs. Their family had grown to ___ children ( # girls and # boys): (l) ___name/age (2) ___ name/age etc. All of the children were living at home and the older ones were either attending school or helping out on the _______place/name. There were chores even for the youngest of children, and help from the oldest children was a necessity to keep the farm running. The livestock required daily care: feeding, cleaning stables, milking cows, and turning cattle out to pasture and bring them back in at night. During the harvesting months, April - Oct, long hours were spent in the ields plowing, rolling, pulling up stumps, buring refuse, preparing the fields for sowing, planting and harvesting. After cutting the hay, it had to be raked and drawn to the barn. The wheat had to be shucked and stored. Barley and rye had to be mowed, usually by hand. Spetember was spent threshing the wheat. Threshing parties were often held with neighbors helping neighbors. October was the month to bring in the crops before the heavy frosts. Potatoes, corn, and beans were harvested and stored for the winter months. The oats were threshed, corn husked, fields plowed, and wheat was cut, bound and shucked. mid-November thru march was the "slack" period of the year. That period of time between the fall harvest and spring planting. This was a time that farmers worked on projects not directly related to planting and harvesting: such as slaughter of animals, cutting and hauling timber, splitting rails, replacing fences, hauling straw, shelling corn, cleaning seed for spring planting, and repairing or building out-houses (out buildings) and water troughs..... "
"In 1860, _______ and ______ TRAVIS had been married for __ yrs. Their family had grown to ___ children ( # girls and # boys): (l) ___name/age (2) ___ name/age etc. All of the children were living at home and the older ones were either attending school or helping out on the _______place/name. There were chores even for the youngest of children, and help from the oldest children was a necessity to keep the farm running. The livestock required daily care: feeding, cleaning stables, milking cows, and turning cattle out to pasture and bring them back in at night. During the harvesting months, April - Oct, long hours were spent in the ields plowing, rolling, pulling up stumps, buring refuse, preparing the fields for sowing, planting and harvesting. After cutting the hay, it had to be raked and drawn to the barn. The wheat had to be shucked and stored. Barley and rye had to be mowed, usually by hand. Spetember was spent threshing the wheat. Threshing parties were often held with neighbors helping neighbors. October was the month to bring in the crops before the heavy frosts. Potatoes, corn, and beans were harvested and stored for the winter months. The oats were threshed, corn husked, fields plowed, and wheat was cut, bound and shucked. mid-November thru march was the "slack" period of the year. That period of time between the fall harvest and spring planting. This was a time that farmers worked on projects not directly related to planting and harvesting: such as slaughter of animals, cutting and hauling timber, splitting rails, replacing fences, hauling straw, shelling corn, cleaning seed for spring planting, and repairing or building out-houses (out buildings) and water troughs..... "
My thoughts immediately run towards.... off season activities..... Quilting! letting down the ceiling frame.... and women gather to prepare bedding..
2003 Huggins (Travis) Family Picture
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