January 1899 Entries in the Diary of John Foss & Isabelle (Huff) Foss, "Belle", of West Hollis, Maine

January entries in the 1899 diary of John Foss (1860-1934) and Isabelle (Huff) Foss (1869-1929), "Belle", who farmed at West Hollis, Maine.  From the entries, it's plain to see that they were a hard working couple.

John and Belle, who married in 1890 at Hollis, Maine, had two daughters:

1. Myra Helene Foss (1892-1976), who would marry George Woodbury McKenney 
2. Annie Evelyn Foss (1900-1988), who would marry Lewis Isaac Woodman

From a collection of five of their diaries covering 1899, 1900, 1902-1904 and John's 1913 account book.  See an overview post that features:

• family history of the Foss family
• links to entries for the rest of January 1899 and other diaries from 1900, 1902, 1903 and 1904
• an alphabetical list of surnames in the diary and an approximation of how many different people of that surname were mentioned in the diaries
• an alphabetical list of individual people mentioned in the diaries, some countless times

The person making the entry is identified in brackets.  Throughout the diaries, John made occasional entries, but Belle made the majority of them. 

People mentioned in the entries below are identified or tentatively identified the first time they appear. If you have corrections, alternate identities or additional information on anyone mentioned,  please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Sunday, January 1, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by J. B., presumably James Benson or his brother Jeremiah Benson; and C. H., possibly Charles Haley or Cecil Leighton Haley; plus purchase of tobacco

Monday, January 2, 1899: no entry

Tuesday, January 3, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by C. H. and J. B.

Wednesday, January 4, 1899:  [John]  record of time worked by J. B. and C. H.; and purchases of tobacco and cotton. 

Thursday, January 5, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by J. B. and C. H

Friday, January 6, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by C. H.  "Snow"

Saturday, January 7, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by C. H and J. B.

Sunday, January 8, 1899: no entry

Monday, January 9, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by J. B. and C. H.; meat, timber; one lb rols [rolls ?]

Tuesday, January 10, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by J. B. and C. H.; timber

Wednesday, January 11, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by J. B. and C. H.; grain, peavey and timber.

Thursday, January 12, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by J. B. and C. H.; blacksmith work, timber.

Friday, January 13, 1899:  [John] record of time worked by J. B. and C. H.; grain, sulphur; tobacco; timber, meal, corn

Saturday, January 14, 1899:  no entry

January 15, 1899:  [Belle]  Myra and I went to meeting Cotton's.  

• Myra Helene Foss was the older daughter of John Foss and Isabelle (Huff) Foss, "Belle".  
• As for Cotton's, there's an entry in the 1902 diary on June 25 about the marriage of farmer John Furber Cotton of Waterboro, Maine, and teacher Susie Emma Abbott.  Perhaps John was from the Cotton family mentioned in this entry.

Monday, January 16, 1899: no entry

Tuesday, January 1899: no entry

Wednesday, January 18, 1899:  [Belle]  I went up to M. B. Smith's. John went to W. B. Deering's in the evening, got his deed of Bradbury lot.  

• M. B. Smith was presumably Melville Baxter Smith, who would die in September of 1899.  
• W. B. Deering was presumably William Brooks Deering.

Thursday, January 19, 1899:  [Belle]  Went to Post office, got Sugar 50 cts.  Mother brought Myra's doll in the evening.  

• Mother was Sarah E. (Bean) Huff, Belle's mother.  (Belle called her mother in law Mrs. Foss.)

Friday, January 20, 1899:  [Belle]  C. Haley went home. 

• Presumably Charles Haley or Cecil Leighton Haley

Saturday, January 21, 1899:  [Belle]  John went to Clark's and got a load of stickens [?]

• Presumably lumber dealer Charles Franklin Clark

Sunday, January 22, 1899: [Belle]  John up to Mrs. Hill's. Began with a Cold.

• Mrs. Hill - presumably Hannah (Seavey) Hill, widow of Jeremiah Hill, Mrs. Hill would die on November 7, 1903, as noted in the 1903 diary. Daughter of James and Mary (Bean) Seaver and widow of Jeremiah Hill.

Monday, January 23, 1899: [Belle]  John began chopping The H. Smith timber.  One half day, C. Haley.

• H. Smith timber lot

Tuesday, January 24, 1899: [Belle]  Chopped in the forenoon.  Rain and snow in the afternoon. C. Haley went home with Elmer Tufts.

• Elmer Tufts - perhaps Elmer E. Tufts of Limerick, Maine

Wednesday, January 25, 1899:  [Belle]  John went to Clark's after sawdust. Was sick. Mr. Foss taken sick.

• Clark's - presumably the establishment of lumber dealer Charles Franklin Clark
• Mr. Foss - presumably John's father Silas H. Foss (1819-1902), whose death would be recorded in an entry from April 29, 1902

Thursday, January 26, 1899: [Belle]  Knights Fair at Hollis Ctr.

Friday, January 27, 1899:  no entry

Saturday, January 28, 1899:  no entry

Sunday, January 29, 1899: [Belle]  Nora came home from Bar Mills.

• Nora - presumably Belle's sister Leonora Asenath Huff, who would marry Lewis Elmer Burnham in 1906

Monday, January 30, 1899: [Belle]  John was sick all day at home.

Tuesday, January 31, 1899: [Belle]  John went with logs to mill.

Wednesday, February 1, 1899: [Belle]  Sold C. E. Warren oxen 172.50.  Hauled a load of logs in forenoon.  Got a load with oxen before they went off at night.

• C. E. Warren - perhaps Charles Elmer Warren

Thursday, February 2, 1899:  no entry


Again, if you have information to share on any of the people mentioned, including the Foss family itself, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Advance to the entries of February 1899.