February Entries in the 1873 Diary of Ida Isadore Reynolds (1860-1926) of Acton, Maine - Future Wife of John Jotham Shapleigh (1856-1923)

February entries in the 1873 diary of Ida Isadore Reynolds (1860-1946) of Acton, Maine.  Ida would marry John Jotham Shapleigh (1856-1923) in 1881.

Links to the previous month of January 1873 and succeeding month of March 1873 appear here and at the end of this post.

This diary is one of three known: 1873, 1874 and 1876.  If a reader knows of the existence of any other diaries of Ida, please contact me.

Shown below are images and transcriptions of the entries and a description of the people mentioned, in order of appearance, first time only.  Your comments noting errors and sharing information are requested.

See an overview post for a description of Ida's 1873, 1874 and 1876 diaries, which also contains combined alphabetical lists of surnames and people, with descriptive information where known.

Ida was the  daughter of Jonathan Prescott Reynolds (1820-1899) and Rachel E. (Tupper) Reynolds (1833-1923), who were natives of Maine and Nova Scotia, respectively.  

Other members of the Reynolds household, at times, were Ida's older brother Edward Everett Reynolds (1855-1945) and a Samuel/Sam/Sammy, presumably Ida's maternal cousin Samuel Muir Francis (1858-1928), son of Dr. Daniel Francis (1810-1867) and Christie Ann (Tupper) Francis (-1893).

In 1881 Ida married John Jotham Shapleigh (1856-1923), a native of Lebanon, Maine.  After the death of their son Ernest in 1882, they moved to Rochester, New Hampshire, where they had a daughter Doris, born in 1898.

As you can see from the images below, Ida's physical address in 1873 was Acton, Maine, but the family received the mail through the North Lebanon, Maine, Post Office.

J. P. Reynolds farm along the southern border of Acton, Maine; with Lebanon, Maine, to the south; from an 1872 map of Acton, Maine, held by the Digital Maine Repository

Following the images and transcriptions below is a list of the people mentioned, in order of appearance, only once, as some are mentioned multiple times.

Tuesday, January 28, 1873:  Fair. Hands are better. Went to Hattie's. Caller: Jacob Stevens. Ironed. Everett went to [George's or Georgie's]. Finished my dress. Got a box of salt by Enoch Sherman.

Wednesday, January 29, 1873:  Fair & Cold. Knit. went to Hattie's in Evening. Everett and Sam and Hannah or Anna.

Thursday, January 30, 1873:  Fair. Knit. Hattie here. Anna had tooth ache. Finished my suit.

Friday, January 31, 1873:  Blowed. Edward came up. Hattie and Walter up. Knit. Went to Hattie's. Lute here.

Saturday, February 1, 1873:  Fair. Went to Clara's the first time for a week on ___ [account ?]
of the whooping cough. Went to Hattie's. Knit. Finished Pair of Stockings.

Sunday, February 2, 1873:  Cold. Caller, Mr. Hilton. Mr. Somebody, I don't know who. Read. ___
[ ? table ?] yesterday.

Monday, February 3, 1873:  Fair. Dr. Parker came up and pulled my tooth and Hannah's. Did not Holler. Everett went to Aunt Lucy's and to Library to School. Edward went off.

Tuesday, February 4, 1873:  Fair. Father went to the Falls in night. Went to Hattie's all night. Mother and __ went to Enoch's. Hattie here. Made 4 vests.
Wednesday, February 5, 1873:  Fair. Father ___ home. Went to George with Sam and Anna. Rolled taffy and had gumballs. ___ made vests.
Thursday, February 6, 1873:  Fair. made 6 vests. Got a letter from Everett and from Aunt Lucy. Callers: Eliza Prescott, Hattie. George Sherman. Knit. Slid. Father went to the Falls.
Friday, February 7, 1873:  Fair. Made 8 vests. Hattie here. Father came home from the Falls, got
a peck of ___

Saturday, February 8, 1873:  Fair. Made 4 vests. Bell & Sadie in Evening. Knit. Eat some
___ made me sick.

Sunday, February 9, 1873:  Fair. Caller: Fannie B. Read. Was sick in night. Vomited.
Monday, February 10, 1873:  Fair & Cold. Knit. Baked Apples. Made 7 vests.
Tuesday, February 11, 1873:  Stormy. Finished the vests on Bell's machine. Broke the shuttle
of our machine. Knit.

Ida has gone to stay with her maternal aunt Lucy Jane (Tupper) Sawyer (1837-1880) and
husband Rev. Seth Sawyer (1808-1892) of Milton Mills, New Hampshire.

Wednesday, February 12, 1873: Fair. Came over to Uncle Sawyer's, bought me a pair of shoes,
cost $2.23 cts. Got _ rolls of lozenges and Pint Peanuts.
Thursday, February 13, 1873: Fair & Cold. Went to the Village with the Folks. Knit.
Studied on Music a little. Callers: Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cook. at home. Bell & Sarah.

Friday, February 14, 1873: Fair. Knit. Studied Music. Aunt Lucy hooked on her rug. She sat up
with Mrs. Tom Pike who is sick at home. Mother went to Mr. Hilton's.

Saturday, February 15, 1873:   Fair. Studied Music. Read. at home. Clara here.

Sunday, February 16, 1873:  Snowy. Went to Mr. P? [Penney, Perry ?]to Mrs. Brown's Funeral.
Callers here. Mr. Whit? [Whitcomb ?], Mr. Horn.

Monday, February 17, 1873: Blowy. Went home. Caller, Mrs. James H. Learnt a piece to play
it was "I am going home". Churned.

Tuesday, February 18, 1873:  Fair. Washed. Studied Music. Read.

Wednesday, February 19, 1873:  Snowy. Went to Mr. James Hilton's a visiting with my Aunt and
Uncle. Ironed.

Thursday, February 20, 1873: Blowy. Studied Music. Knit. Started a Stocking.

Friday, February 21, 1873:  Snowy & Blowy. Studied Music. Commenced a tat collar;
made 9 wheels.

Saturday, February 22, 1873: Very Blowy. Studied Music. Made tats Wheels. Baked.

Sunday, February 23, 1873: Blustery. Read. Caller, Mr. Daniel Jones, Esq.

Monday, February 24, 1873: Cold. Read. Made tatting. Had very bad headache. Studied Music.
Aunt Lucy not well.

Tuesday, February 25, 1873: Blowy. Made tatting. Read. Studied Music. Aunty no better.Wednesday, February 26, 1873:  Cold & Blustering. Went to the Village. Studied Music.
Aunty no better.

Thursday, February 27, 1873: Snowy. Uncle Seth went to the Village. Finished my collar.
Studied Music. Washed. Aunty no better.

Friday, February 28, 1873: Warm. Snowed in morning a little. Ironed. Studied Music. Wrote to
Everett. Aunty no better.

Saturday, March 1, 1873: Fair. Studied Music. Read.

Sunday, March 2, 1873: Fair. Read. Played. Caller, Mr. Young to get Uncle Seth to Preach a
funeral sermon. Aunty no better. got a sour stomach.

Monday, March 3, 1873: Stormy. Read. Played. Made tatting.

Tuesday, March 4, 1873: Fair. Uncle Sawyer went to the Village, got a letter from Mother.
Edward & Addie. Aunt Lucy put in her rug.

People mentioned, in order; first time only.  Readers are requested to fill in the blanks.

• Hattie - Harriet Eldora Sherman (1859-1937), daughter of Thomas Sherman (1823-1893) and Abigail Elizabeth (Fox) Sherman (1822-1877) and sister of Walter Herbert Sherman (1856-1888)
• Jacob Brackett Stevens (1850-1917), son of Hubbard Stevens (1805-1882) and Harriet C. (Brackett) Stevens (1808-1883) and husband of Charlotte M. (Shapleigh) Stevens (1851-1917)
• Edward Everett Reynolds (1855-1945), "Everett", Ida's brother
• George or Georgie - presumably either George A. Sherman (1860-), son of Enoch Piper Sherman (1836-1922) and first wife Jane (Guptill) Sherman (1832-1861) or Georgia A. Hilton (1864-1926), daughter of Andrew F. Hilton (1836-1894) and Emeline A. (Hersom) Hilton (1838-1884), "Emma"
• Enoch Piper Sherman (1836-1922), husband of Mary (Ricker) Sherman (1837-1889)
• Samuel Muir Francis (1858-1928), son of Dr. Daniel Francis (1810-1867) and Christie Ann (Tupper) Francis (-1893)
• Hannah Francis (1854-1923), daughter of Dr. Daniel Francis (1810-1867)and Christie Ann (Tupper) Francis (-1893), who was a sister to Ida's mother Rachel E. (Tupper) Reynolds (1833-1923); also known as Annie; she would marry James Alexander Buchanan.
• Edward Francis (1850-1931), son of Dr. Daniel Francis (1810-1867) and Christie Ann (Tupper) Francis (-1893), who was a sister to Ida's mother Rachel E. (Tupper) Reynolds (1833-1923)
• Walter Herbert Sherman (1856-1888), son of Thomas Sherman (1823-1893) and Abigail Elizabeth (Fox) Sherman (1822-1877) and sister of Ida's friend Harriet Eldora Sherman (1859-1937), "Hattie"
• Luther Drew Hilton (1858-1894), son of Andrew Hilton (1810-1873) and Eliza Ann (Paul) Hilton (1816-1891) and future husband of Ida's friend Clara Georgietta Prescott (1860-1921)
• Clara Georgietta Prescott (1860-1921), Ida's friend; daughter of George Washington Prescott (1815-1886) and Eliza G. (Brackett) Prescott (1817-1898) and future wife of Luther Drew Hilton (1858-1894)
• Mr. Hilton - presumably Andrew Hilton (1810-1873), husband of Eliza Ann (Paul) Hilton (1816-1891); Andrew would die in December of 1873 while traveling to Middleton, New Hampshire, where his brother James Hilton (1806-1873) had just died.
• Dr. Parker - presumably John Selden Parker (1824-1910), presumably the Dr. Parker mentioned in the entry of Monday, February 3, 1873, as having pulled Ida's tooth. Ida "Did not Holler"
• Lucy Jane (Tupper) Sawyer (1837-1880), "Aunt Lucy", wife of Rev. Seth Sawyer (1808-1892) and younger sister of Ida's mother Rachel E. (Tupper) Reynolds (1833-1923)
• Jonathan Prescott Reynolds (1820-1899), Ida's father
• Rachel E. (Tupper) Reynolds (1833-1923), Ida's mother
• George - possibly George A. Sherman, mentioned above, or George Washington Prescott (1815-1886), husband of Eliza G. (Brackett) Prescott (1817-1898); father of several of Ida's friends
• Eliza G. (Brackett) Prescott (1817-1898), wife of George Washington Prescott (1815-1886) and mother of several of Ida's friends
• Mary Isabelle Prescott (1854-1932), "Belle", daughter of George Washington Prescott (1815-1886) and Eliza G. (Brackett) Prescott (1817-1898)
• Sadie Noyes Prescott (1857-1879), "Say", daughter of George Washington Prescott (1815-1886) and Eliza G. (Brackett) Prescott (1817-1898); future wife of Charles Albert Hilton (1856-1937)
• Fannie B. Read
• Isabelle G. (Churchill) Prescott (1845-1923), "Belle", wife of George Lockwood Prescott (1845-1883), "Lock", and mother of Harry Lockwood Prescott (1872-1948)
• Rev. Seth Sawyer (1808-1892), "Uncle S." or "Uncle Sawyer", husband of Ida's maternal aunt, Lucy Jane (Tupper) Sawyer (1837-1880)
• Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cook, presumably of Strafford County, New Hampshire, or York County, Maine
• Bell & Sarah
• Mrs. Tom Pike, presumably of Strafford County, New Hampshire, or York County, Maine
• Mr. Penny, presumably of the Milton, New Hampshire, area
• Mrs. Brown, presumably of the Milton, New Hampshire, area
• Mr. Whit? - possibly Whitcomb - presumably of the Milton, New Hampshire area
• Mr. Horn - presumably of the Milton, New Hampshire area
• Adeline E. P. (Davis) Hilton (1822-1907), second wife of James Hilton (1806-1873) of Middleton, New Hampshire
• James Hilton (1806-1873), husband of Adeline E. P. (Davis) Hilton (1822-1907) and brother of Andrew Hilton (1810-1873). James would die in December of 1873; Ida mentioned his death and burial.
• Mr. Daniel Jones, Esq., presumably of the Milton, New Hampshire, area.
• Mr. Young
• Addie - possibly Addie Moore of Somersworth, New Hampshire

Again, if you have corrections, clarifications and/or additional information on any of the people mentioned,

please leave a comment or contact me directly.

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