LIFE ON A
CORAM FARM IN 1871
Abstract by,
Mrs. Eleanor Davis Erhardt
Daughter of Daniel R. Davis
William Lester
Davis was born in the Davis Town Meeting house in Coram
on July 5, 1850. He was one of ten children of Lester H.
Davis, a prosperous farmer, innkeeper, and politician.
As an adult he
farmed his property on the Coram Mt. Sinai Road, one mile
north of his birthplace. William died March 3, 1930.
This diary
illustrates the daily life on a typical Long Island
farmer of the period.
Introduction
written by,
Davis Erhardt
June, 2000
May, 25- Daniel and I have been planting
watermelons
26- fixing to plant garden
27- Daniel, Chris and William planted
garden. In P.M Chris and Wm. Planted 4 acres corn where
it did not come up or was pulled up by crows
29- plowing out corn- Pa went to mill in
AM, left his grist and fetched back load of lumber
30- Wm., Daniel and Chris driving team on
highway
31- plowing out corn-rain-
June, 1- Carting manure (Chris helping)
from around barn so as to be ready to lay foundation
2- Carting manure to Raynor farm for
turnips and plowing out corn
3- Wm. and Daniel helped carpenter pull
down barn. When finished, helped mason lay foundation of
new barn, which we half finished.
5- Helping mason most of day
6- Plowing and harrowing turnip piece
7- Plowing out corn- (Daniel and Wm.)
9- Dank and Wm. Plowing out potatoes and
corn
10- Cultivating out corn
12- Dank and Wm. Each went with load of
wood part way to Port Jefferson so as to make up a full
load. It is very sandy till we get part way over-
13- Went with one load of wood and
cultivated a little corn- In P.M Chris and I planted
potatoes and spread one load of fish scraps on corn
14- To Patchogue with load of wood and
back with load of fish scraps which Chris and I spread on
corn
15- greasing harness- In P.M Dank and I
have been filling in with sand around foundation of barn
16- Patchogue with load of wood, back
with load of fish scraps
17- Dank and I plowing out corn. Finished
raising barn without accident
19- Daniel and I went to Patchogue with
load of wood and back with load of fish scraps, Chris and
I spread on load
20- Spreading fish scraps and cultivating
corn
21- Plowing out corn- now high
22 - "
23- " " " and in P.M
working in garden
24- Plowing out potatoes. Dank (Daniel's
nickname) and I carted 2 loads wood to Town House (Town
Poor House in Coram)
Daniel R. Davis
26- Plowed out potatoes- Then Pa and I
each went to Patchogue with loads of wood, back with fish
scraps
27- At Raynor farm plowing out turnips
and buckwheat
28- At Raynor farm Dank and I have been
plowing out buckwheat. In P.M. helped carpenters raise
rafters of the barn
29- cultivating corn
30- At Raynor farm, made commencement of
moving- In P.M Dank and I raked hay, then I mowed more
July-1 Finished mowing field commenced
yesterday at Raynor farm- P.M started carting hay cut
yesterday. At 4 P.M. Pa and Daniel came up so Dank and I
went to raking and Chris and I went carting- not a good
hay day
3- Rained all night. Plowing out corn and
Potatoes in A.M, in P.M finished plowing out potatoes in
A.m., in P.M. finished plowing out potatoes. Set out a
few cabbage plants
July-4 In A.M plowing out corn- In P.M Pa
and I got in hay left out over Sunday at Raynor farm
"fourth of July is an holiday but I have not made it
so"
5- plowing out corn
6- Wm. and Elbert Hammond, young man who
is helping through harvest sowed buckwheat at Raynor
farm- In P.M Wm. And Daniel raked hay
7- Finished harrowing buckwheat and sowed
clover seed at Raynor farm- P.M have been raking and
binding wheat. Shower last night
8-Raking and binding wheat until 4 P.M-
Then Dank and I carted in - 140 shocks. It was all got in
the barn today- kept six of us busy-
10- A.M plowing out corn- warm -90
11- At Raynor farm cutting, raking and
getting in hay- not a good hay day. Rain stopped them at
4PM
12- Plowing out corn which looks fine and
has prospect of being a good crop. PM- Pa went to mowing
in swamp. Wm. And Chris raking and carting in hay at
Raynor farm- Hay cured fast
13- Wm. And Elbert finished getting in
hay at Raynor farm- In PM getting in hay at home
14- Carting in hay- have put in ten loads
15- A.M plowing out corn. P.M- Wm. and Daniel raking
scattering of wheat stubble
17- A.M- Plowing and harrowing turnip
ground. P.M mowing
18- AM- Plowing out corn and mowing. PM-
Raking and carting in hay
July 20- A.M- Plowing and mowing. P.M-
Pa, Wm. And Daniel have been raking and carting in hay,
-raining a little
21-Pa and Daniel finished getting in hay.
Wm. Raking oats at Raynor farm
22- Plowed out corn until dew was off,
then went with Elbert to Raynor farm to rake oats- took
up 33 shocks
24- Raking oats at Raynor farm with the
men. P.M- carted two loads home
25- Wm. And Christopher cradling oats in
piping tree lot
26- Rain most of the day- clearing rubbish from around
new barn
27- Have been ½ way to railroad with
load of wood- Wm. and Chris cradling oats in swamp
28- Wm. And Chris finished cradling at
piping tree- P.M raking and binding- brought one load
home
31- Wm. And Daniel raking and getting in
oats at Raynor farm
Aug. 1- To Port Jefferson with a load of
wood- went from there to piping tree lot to help Daniel
and Chris rake oats- We each got in a load of oats
2- Plowing ground for turnips where we
had early potatoes, P.M harrowing the ground and Chris
went to drilling them in- got last load of oats from
Raynor farm- Harvest over
Aug.- 3- Wm. Daniel and Chris, threshing
oats with machine
Aug. -4- Carting manure for wheat,
stopped by rain
5- Wm. and Elbert carting out manure for
wheat- 90 degrees
7- carting manure for wheat
8- Elbert and Wm. Carting manure for
wheat
9- Carting out manure, made a
commencement of plowing oat ground which will be plowed
twice
10- Two loads of wood to Patchogue, back
with two loads of shells
12- Wm. And Daniel to Port Jefferson
where they got 550 bushels of ashes
13- Wm. And Daniel each went to Port
Jefferson with a load of wood and brought back 4 loads of
ashes
14- Wm. And Daniel to Port Jefferson with
a load of wood and each fetched back a load of ashes to
the Raynor farm- Later plowed a little in the swamp
16- Plowing the oat ground
17- Finished plowing oat ground and sowed
it
18- Plowing for Rye at Raynor farm
21- Wm. Daniel and Elbert have threshed
with machines- about 100 bushels. Very dry weather
22- Sowing Rye and later grass seed
24- Fixing a fence at Raynor farm-
looking for lost sheep without success
26- Wm. Daniel and Elbert cleaning up
oats- P.M carting turf in the hog been and carting away
old timbers from around the barn
28- Both Wm. And Daniel to Port Jefferson
with loads of wood and back with ashes for the Raynor
farm
29- To Port Jefferson with wood and back
with ashes for Raynor Farm
30- Wm. And Elbert hoeing turnips at
Raynor farm
31- Wm. And Elbert carting turf and
leaves in hog pen
Sept. 1- Plowing for Rye at Raynor farm
2- Threshing seed wheat- a good day-
never threshed when it worked better
4- Wm. And Daniel to Bellport for salt
hay
5- Took about 20 bushels of grain to mill
and from there to Bellport for salt hay
6- Wm. And Elbert hoeing turnips and
cutting wood in the swamp
7- To Port Jefferson with a load of wood,
returned with load of ashes and spread it on the ground
where rye will be planted- mowed grass that was cut
yesterday
8- Plowing for wheat at Raynor farm in
A.M- In P.M Wm. And Daniel spread fish scraps and
finished spreading ashes on Rye ground
9- Plowing for wheat at Raynor farm in
A.M. In the P.M Wm. And Daniel loaded up the clover- 2
loads- took it home and threshed it
11- Elbert Hammonds time is up and
Charles Crosier takes his place. Wm. And Charles cut
about two acres of corn
12- Plowing for wheat at Raynor farm, tedious work as the
ground is hard
13- Cutting corn was stopped by rain
14- Have been half way to Port Jefferson
with two loads of wood. The first part of the road is
very sandy- from there on we put on more wood
15- Plowing for wheat at Raynor farm-
until 10A.M when it began to rain
16- plowing for wheat at Raynor farm- the
ground being wet enough now
18-Wm. And Charles have been cutting
corn, 95 stacks, very good corn- In P.M Daniel and Mr.
Clark helped
19- Wm. And Daniel spread a load of fish
scraps on the wheat ground- then spread 400 bushels of
ashes
20- Wm. And Daniel spreading fish scrap
and ashes on ground
21- Wm. And Daniel spread a load of fish
scraps, then sprouted a few bushes around the hedge- In
the P.M cutting corn
22- Wm. And Charles spread a load of fish
scraps at Raynor farm- Then Wm. Went to sowing wheat-
sowed it both ways and Charles harrowed. Then sowed
Timothy seed- A heavy frost last night
23- Plowing for wheat in the swamp
25- Plowing all day with the exception of
spreading one load of fish scrap
26- Plowed for wheat until 3 O'clock -
halted by rain
27- Plowing and spreading fish scrap and
ashes for wheat
29- Plowing and spreading manure, getting
ready to sow wheat tomorrow
30- Finished sowing wheat, about 10 acres
Oct. 2- Wm. And Daniel raked buckwheat at
Raynor farm and fetched home a load- threshed it in the
P.M
3- Pulling beans that we planted between
hills of corn
4- Wm. And Daniel carting cordwood and
firewood where they intend to clear
5- Carting fire-wood in A.M. Wm. and
Charles cutting wood in P.M.
7- Wm. and Daniel carting sand and
filling in around the barn. Looking for 10 lost sheep
9- cutting wood with Charles
10- Clearing up around barn and cutting
wood
11- carting sand
Oct. 12- Carting sand and looking for
lost sheep
13- Killed two shoats- cutting wood in
swamp
14- threshing oats
16- Helped butcher 2 shoats- cutting wood
in swamp
17- Cutting wood
18- Cutting and carting wood- husking
corn
19- carting sand- filling in old cow yard
20- Clearing up around barn
21- pulled a load of turnips at Raynor
farm and went to Port Jefferson with them
22- Husking corn in the A.M.- getting in
stalks and plowing for rye in P.M
24- Plowing for rye in swamp- stopped by
rain. In P.M cleaning up oats 88 bushels
25- Carting manure and spreading for rye
in A.M. In P.M Charles helped Wm. get in one load of
stalks, then carted sand around the barn
26- Carting sand and plowing for rye
27- Carting sand
28- In A.M. finished plowing for rye then
sowed it and Daniel harrowed. In P.M sowed on the grass
seed and finished barrowing
30-Carting sand and leveling around barn
in A.M. In P.M burning new ground- In evening saw a light
in the east which proved to be burning of Mr. King's barn
31- Threshed 30 shocks of wheat
Nov. 1- Cleaning up wheat
2-plowing new ground
3- plowing new ground
4- Chas, Daniel and Wm. pulled a load of
turnip and will went to P.J. with them and put them on
the packet to go to NY
6- plowing new ground
7- plowing new ground
8- plowing new ground
9- Finished plowing new ground- not sorry
for it is very tedious work
10- rain- no work
11. Wm. and Daniel spread shell line on
the new ground, plowing and husking corn
13- Wm. and Daniel finished spreading
lime, got in one load of stalks, then spread a load of
fish scraps on new ground
Nov. 14- Husking corn in the barn on
account of rain
15- killed 4 in number- In P.M spread
gass lime on new ground
16- husking corn and helping cut up pork
17- Finished pulling and cutting turnips-
we raised between 200 and 300 bushels- They turned out
more than 400 bushels to the acre
18- sowed the new ground with rye- husked
corn
19- cleaning out horse stables and
husking corn in barn
20- Husking corn with Daniel and two
others
22- Daniel and Wm. putting leaves in hog
pen - loaded one load of corn- husking corn
23- Husking corn
24- Helping father cut and stack stalks
25- Husking corn in A.M- In P.M. Wm. and
Daniel each carted a load of turnips to Port Jefferson
27- Husking and storing corn
28-In A.M Wm. and Daniel finished getting
in turnips- In P.M husking corn
29- Wm. and Daniel stacking stalks
30- National Thanksgiving Day- To church
to hear Thanksgiving sermon
Dec. 1- Got 2 loads of stalks in barn-
husking corn the remainder of the day
2- Husking corn
3- Wm. and Daniel each carted a load of
wood to P.J.
5- Carting sand in cow yard, filling it
up so as to get the cows in the yard for winter for it is
very cold
6- Working around the barn and yard
7- Husking corn
8- Husking corn
9- Stacking stalks in the barn
11- Work diversified- stacking stalks,
removing turnips from barn to cellar, storing corn
12- Threshed 54 shocks of oats
13- Finished threshing and cleaning oats
14- Helping clean up oats in A.M and in
P.M threshing wheat
15- Threshing wheat
16- Finished Threshing wheat
18- Pressing hay at Raynor farm
19- Pressing Hay
20- Cleaning up wheat
21- Finished cleaning yp wheat and in the
P.M fixing the sheep stables
22- Killing a hog
23- Cutting up a hog, cleaning out
stables
25- The school children had a x-mas tree
here in the evening- very pleasant
26- Spreading gass lime on the corn
ground
27- Spreading gass lime on the corn
ground
28- Cutting wood at wood pile, carted one
load of old board from around the barn to burn
29- Carted load of wood to wood-pile and
cut some
30- Father and Wm. each carted a load of
hay (pressed) to P.J. to send to NY
31- Alas a year has gone- Tempus Fuget
and we are now to welcome the New Year
Contact with neighbors
March 2, 1871- Attended Davis Norton's
funeral in Selden. Dr. Baker took dinner with us. The
girls spent the evening with Emma Norton
March 5, 1871- Family attended the
funeral of Mrs. Charry Ritch, 80 years old
March 26, 1871- Attended funeral of Thos.
King in M.I. church, a large congregation
Political meetings
June 3, - Town trustees met
March 1, - Supervisor of the Town met
here for purpose of paying interest on Town Bonds
March 28, -The justices, Supervisor, Town
Clerk and other officers of the Town met here with their
accounts for this year, and the Democrats of the Town met
to nominate their officers
April 4, - Town Election- unpleasant day
May 1, - Justices met here to grant
licenses
Nov.- Annual election- Wm. cast his first
vote
Activities
March 31, - Wm. and sister Ada attended
Divison at Millers Place- had a very pleasant evening and
got home about midnight
June 10, - Attended a trial that
originated from a horse trade. Went to a circus at P.J. -
warm day 90 degrees
Aug. 4, - Went to Patchogue with George
Thompson to procure a boat to take a company to Fire
Island. Raining hard by spells
Diary from the
collection of
Davis Erhardt