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

June 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, May 28, 1899:  [Belle]  memorial service at the pleasant hill church.

Monday, May 29, 1899; no entry

Tuesday, May 30, 1899:  [Belle]  plow and harrowing new ground.

Wednesday, May 31, 1899:  [Belle]  I went to Ctr, got flour, 4__, Corn.  Carried 5 lbs butter, 80 cts.  4-1.2 doz eggs.  Sugar, 50 cts.  John planting potatoes on new ground.  Turned out the oxen.

Thursday, June 1, 1899:  [Belle]  Finish planting potatoes and build fence.  Mason  comes here.

• Mason - presumably the owner of the farm with woodlot that John either leased or worked at often

Friday, June 2, 1899:  [Belle]  Masons here and went up to farm.

Saturday, June 3, 1899: no entry

Sunday, June 4, 1899:  [Belle]  John took Myra and I to ride.  Cloudy afternoon.

• Myra - Myra Helene Foss, born on May 15, 1892, daughter of diarists John Foss and Isabelle (Huff) Foss, "Belle"

Monday, June 5, 1899:  [Belle]  A hot day. John up to Mason place.

• Mason place - a farm that John Foss appears to have leased or caretaken, as he often worked there in the fields and woods 

Tuesday, June 6, 1899:  no entry

Wednesday, June 7, 1899:  [Belle]  Rain at night.

Thursday, June 8, 1899:  [Belle]  Cleared off. John went with shingle stuff.

Friday, June 9, 1899:  [Belle]  I went to Ctr.

Saturday, June 10, 1899:  no entry

Sunday, June 11, 1899:  [Belle]  John sick again. We went to Waterboro.

Monday, June 12, 1899:  [Belle]  I went to Ctr for sarsparilla.  Got sugar, 50 cts.

Tuesday, June 13, 1899:  [Belle]  A hot day.

Wednesday, June 14, 1899:  [Belle]  Very hot, 92 in the shade.  A shower.

Thursday, June 15, 1899:  [Belle]  A rainy day for the first time for a week.

Friday, June 16, 1899 - Tuesday, June 20, 1899: no entries

Wednesday, June 21, 1899 - Monday, June 26, 1899 - no entries

Tuesday, June 27, 1899 - Friday, June 30, 1899:  no entries

Saturday, July 1, 1899:  [Belle]  I went to Ctr. Sugar, 50 cts.  Sold qt blueberries 10 cts.


Sunday, July 2, 1899:  [Belle]  A hot day.  John hunted the axes up. [possibly oxen, but looks more like axes]


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 July 1899 or return to May 1899