Joel Kimball Diary - July 1874

The severe heat wave has been broken by violent electrical storms, bolts of lightning flashing across the skies followed by heavy rapports of thunder. The reports of lightning strikes throughout the area, some being fatal, were numerous, one coming from a farm on Shandelee that disproved the old theory that lightning never strikes the same place twice.

The Johnny Darling farm sits high atop the hill called Shandelee, so high as to be in the midst of the rolling clouds of brewing thunderstorms. Most folks agree that the booming sound of thunder from these storms follows the cloud's electrical discharge of its overcharged fluids, but on Shandelee, high up in the center of the storm, thunder can often precede the flash of lightning, sometimes giving warning to dangerous strikes to come. A few years back, as a storm played over to the Darling farm, Johnny heard the clap of thunder coming from his pigpen. He quickly dashed into the sty to retrieve his two hogs when, just as he herded them into the barnyard, a bolt of lightning struck the pen, shattering the little building to splinters.

With the advance warning made by the thunder, Johnny and other residents of Shandelee were always one step ahead of the dangerous flash of lightning, but that all changed with the coming of the Midland railroad, with its ribbons of iron-rail tracks [see June 9th]. With Wednesday's approaching storm, Johnny was at the ready for any quick action he may need to take. Lightning flashed well off in the distance and by the time he heard the accompanying thunder, Johnny knew the storm was still miles away, when all of a sudden a bright flash enveloped the farm. Overcoming the temporary blindness caused by the sudden brilliant illumination, Johnny saw that the pigpen was again struck, this time killing both of his hogs, but the lightning did not come down out of the sky but traveled up from the ground to the pen. The lightning Johnny saw in the distance struck the newly laid railroad tracks at Cook's Falls following the iron rails for ten miles until it reached Mott's Flat, where the newly discovered coal seam was being worked along the hillside of the Frankie Beach farm, a slim vein of it exposed along the railroad's dug way. The lightning jumped into the coal seam, burning its way underground into the hill beneath Shandelee. When it reached just below the Darling farm, the lightning shot up to the surface, unfortunately right at Darling's hog pen..... - Fred
 

According to the area's newspapers, it must have been some thunderstorm on Thursday. Somewhere, areas were hit hard with some damage while areas someplace else were in someway left unaffected. Someone reported damaging hail, some being still the size of marbles some two hours after the storm. Somebody's shade trees were somehow uprooted during the storm and orchard fruit somewhat damaged. Someday these vicious storms will cease but that would not be for sometime yet; something in Joel's diary says so. - Fred
 

Working in the "bark woods" was dangerous, and on occasion deadly work, particularly this past week. Working on peeling bark during the ferocious early-summer heat on Monday, Pine Bogart, popular woodsman from Downsville, was working in the woods above Cook's Falls. The same hemlock sap that lubricates the tree-trunk beneath the outer layer of bark, allowing the bark to "slip" off easily, leaves a slick, slippery residue on the remaining stub. Bogart had hemlock logs stacked atop each other, the bottom lengths already peeled as he worked on peeling the top member. Almost completed at this chore, the top log slipped off of the pile, causing Bogart to fall from and between the logs, being crushed and sliced in two.

Yesterday, John Elwood, from Cook's Falls, was in the same vicinity falling hemlocks, preparing them for the job of bark-peeling, when the tree he was chopping down became lodged onto a neighboring tree. While working of the second tree that the first one was lodged against, they both suddenly gave way, allowing Elwood little time to get out of the way from underneath the falling timbers. Both fell on top of him, breaking his neck and crushing his skull. - fred

 

Though the larger, neighboring communities of Monticello, Jeffersonville and Port Jervis celebrated the holiday with lavish ceremonies, the Fourth, as noted by Joel's diary entry and the lack of any engagement with the Westfield brass band, seems not to have been so glorious at Morsston and Westfield Flats. In fact, it turned out to be a sad day for Joel and his neighbors as Lewis Smith finally succumbed from his injuries he received from the earlier hayfield accident.

The fifty-three-year-old Smith, originally from the Parksville area, purchased the Robert Sheeley farm, a mile below and across the river from the Kimball place, in 1870 and was known to be a partner with the firm of Smith & Stewart, hay-pressers. Local farmers who had surplus hay to sell often would have the hay baled, hiring an outfit with a portable, horse powered hay-press. As hay is being fed into the baler, the horse would be led around the rig, operating a plunger that would screw down and compress the hay to as much as one-eighth of its original volume. Besides the machine's operators, family members and neighbors were needed to round out the working crew, to load the hay into the rig, tie up the bale, remove the bale and handle the horses. During the haying season, Smith & Stewart traveled from farm to farm with this unique machine. - fred

 

Leaving Morsston Depot, Joel continued on past the old tannery community of Morsston, up the Dahlia Road toward Fox Mountain and the Benton family farm. The family's father, George Benton, had recently died the previous year, leaving his wife, Nancy, to cope with raising their eight children and in the midst of a national recession, the family was struggling to survive. Sixteen-year-old Joseph Benton, the second oldest son, took on the responsibility of providing for his younger siblings, abandoning his schooling and working out as a laborer, starting with wages at fifty cents a day. If anybody could bring this family up from poverty, the energetic, industrious and self-reliant young Joseph would surely be the one. With the haying season begun, Joel was in need of assistance and no doubt visited the Benton's for that purpose, but as he mentioned, no one was at home. - fred

 

"Mother went to Munson's" was a common entry in Joel's diary this spring, and for good reason. Julia, Joel's sister, and Dave Munson were expecting their first born and today Julia gave birth to a baby boy. He would be named Ray. - fred

 

He may have lied about his age when he enlisted with the 101st NYV at Hancock, but Thomas Collins wasn't able to lie on why he returned home so soon, now being branded as a deserter. He wasn't the first to desert, nor would he be the last, but throughout the late spring and summer of 1862 Collins agonized over his earlier decision to leave the army. When the recruiters for the newly organized Sullivan Regiment visited the town in August, he re-enlisted. Again Thomas, being the ripe old age of fifteen, had to lie about his age, again endure the tedious basic drill at Camp Holly near Monticello and again endure the drilling and picket duty when the regiment was positioned at Washington D.C. to guard the capital, but this time not as a fifteen-year-old wide-eyed youth but now as a fifteen-year-old army veteran.

With the regiment's first military campaign on the peninsula of Virginia in April of 1863, Thomas saw military action for the first time but not with particularly heroic results. Under the blistering summer-like heat, Collins was overcome by sun-stroke and hospitalized for the next thirty days. - fred

 

The long Hammond celebration at Monticello on the occasion of Hannah Hammond's wedding to the Reverend Henry Harlow had finally ended and her brother and his wife left by carriage to return to their home and tannery business at Debruce. When approaching Liberty Falls, somehow the buggy overturned and both Stoddard and Caroline Hammond were ejected. Though Caroline escaped relatively unscathed, Stoddard was somewhat battered and bruised, though the injuries were not serious. - fred
 

... After Johnny Darling finished telling the story about the confrontation between Shandelee lightning and his pigs, as usual many of the folks who gathered around to hear the tale doubted whether any, or all, of it was true. "Yes, we can understand that the electrical charge would follow the railroad tracks," they snapped, interrupting Johnny in mid-story, "for we had just read about that very fact in the Liberty Register. We also know of the coal mine being worked on the Beach place maybe allowing the lightning to burn its way underground, but how can you truthfully explain how the lightning worked its way back to the surface underneath your pig-pen?"

A quizzical looked passed over Johnny's face for a split-second, but then, just as quickly, his cunning smiled returned. "I guess I just plum forgot to mention to you fellows about my garden," Johnny responded. "You see, my two hogs provided the sweetest manure that you ever saw, so sweet that when I spread it over my garden, all my vegetables prospered, growing so large that it took all my efforts to gather them. In the fall when I harvest my carrots, I usually need to yoke my team of oxen to pry them out of the ground. Apparently, I dropped a carrot seed near the pen, and with the unlimited supply of that sweet manure from those two hogs, the carrot grew so big that it just kept on expanding down through the soil into the bedrock and right into that seam of coal. Well, as it turned out all along, the hog manure was the real culprit for my lightning problems. Being so sweet, it just naturally attracted the lightning, usually down from the sky but in this case, it came up from that seam of coal, through the manure filled carrot, right to the sty. Now I'm sure going to miss my two hogs and my lavish garden, but I surely will not miss those Shandelee lightning bolts. - Johnny Darling
 

The Vernooy farm was on the crest of the hill-top valley known as Little Ireland. The twenty-four-year-old William Vernooy remained on the farm, assisting his father both on the farm and lumbering, but also worked out as a carpenter; also helping his neighbor. fred
 

With the Midland Railroad beginning to open other avenues for revenue, an express freight train was recently added on the line, carrying dairy products from upstate to the New York City market. This special train ran on Tuesdays, leaving Norwich at eleven in the morning, picking up tubs of butter, cheese and cattle along the route and arriving at Middletown by six o'clock that evening. From there, the produce was transferred over to the Erie Railroad, reaching New York City early the following morning. The railroad delivered these products in rapid fashion, and returned the butter tubs likewise; unfortunately, payment for the goods was not done quite so speedily. fred
 

The spell of rainy weather, which began on the Fourth of July, has raised the level of the rivers enough to allow lumbermen to attempt to send their colts down river. These summer freshets were often unpredictable, the creek's sudden rise can just as easily drop as quickly, leaving many a raft stranded along the riverbank.

The Hiram Rose farm was the largest of the small farms on the flats below Purvis Post Office. As a result, aside from the areas devoted for pasture and meadows, larger areas were able to be devoted for feed and grain crops, such as four acres put into oats and ten acres put into buckwheat. Their large woodlot, consisting of about one-hundred acres, not only provided a source of lumber but also had numerous sugar maple trees, which yielded large quantities of maple sugar and maple molasses. The Roses also maintained a collection of beehives, the only in the neighborhood, which produced two-hundred pounds of honey in 1874.

The type of livestock found on the Rose farm in 1874 suggest they practiced animal husbandry to some extent, having three bulls which produced five heifers. The four milk cows that Joel took care of during the absence of the lumbermen were particularly productive, producing six-hundred pounds of butter that year, well over the quantity produced with the like number of cows on neighboring farms. Perhaps the variety of these cows were Jerseys, noted for the higher content of cream in their milk. - fred
 

The Board of Excise met once again at the Livingston House to hear applications for those wishing to acquire a license to sell intoxicating beverages. The two hotels at Westfield Flats, Green's and Dodge's, were quickly granted their licenses but such was not the case for the proprietor of the old Purvis Hotel.

For the past four years, the Purvis Hotel had become a favorite haunt amongst the area's lumbermen, rowdies and scoundrels, the effect on them of whiskey from this establishment being a major source of the community's woes. Hard-drinking by these hard-working and hardly-working men led to numerous head-cracking brawls and other harmful misbehavior. Prominent residents of the growing community of Morsston Depot called upon the board to resist the granting of a license to Jack Sherwood's "rum-hole." - fred
 

After the rainy spell during the past two weeks, where it rained or showered most every day, summery weather has returned and Joel, lagging behind on cutting his fields due to the weather and lack of help, now began to make hay while the sun was shining. He was able to induce young Ave Mosier to return back to work for him, increasing his wages, although still meager, at least during the haying season.

Since Joel had been cutting the timber and clearing the hillside behind the Kimball farm, he has increased the hay-meadow acreage on the overall farm to thirty acres. This increase of meadow now produced more hay than he needed, allowing him to sell-off the extra in the late winter and early spring, when his neighbors' hay supply was running low [see May 2nd]. Fred
 

Joel enlisted the help of another young fellow with the hiring-on of Riley Brown. The seventeen-year-old Riley Honor Brown was the son of William Brown, the family moving to Purvis from the Town of Liberty, the father being a sawyer at the mill. Working with wood would run in the family as his sons, including Riley's older brother Josiah C. Brown, would become noted carpenters at Livingston Manor, responsible with much of the construction within the community during its quick development during the latter portion of the century. Fred
 

For the past week, amongst the stars in the evening's sky, shown the unusual spectacle of a bright heavenly body with the nebulous stream of light trailing behind. Becoming visible within the northern sky following the last rays from the long summer's day, the show put on by this comet marveled observers, but for many, the spell of its ghostly glow only raised superstitious fears.

It was generally believed that comets were the precursor of misfortune or calamity, a belief that was intensified by the local newspapers. Articles from these tabloids noted that on the eve of the recent Civil War, two large comets were observed in the night sky, facing in opposite directions as if ready to collide with each other, symbolizing the tragic events that were soon to come. Memories of the ill-effects and suffering from this war during the previous decade were only renewed by these sensational stories. fred
 

Wilbur was the twenty-one year old clerk at the store of Divine, Dubois & Company. The young salesclerk's family resided at the Thunder Hill section in the Town of Neversink, where after receiving his formal education, Wilbur began a career as teacher, in charge of the one-room school house at Divine Corners. He immediately discovered that he disliked being schoolmaster, telling his father that he would "rather raise potatoes on Thunder Hill than teach school."

Wilbur's father had an interest in the "Co." of John Divine's mercantile business at Ellenville and with his influence, he was able to secure a position for his son within the firm. When Divine became partners with Alvin Preston Dubois, among others, forming the above named firm, they recognized the potential effects the newly built Midland Railroad would have on the growth of the communities along its line, and began its first business venture in the village of Purvis with the opening of a general merchandise store in 1873. Young Wilbur was chosen by the firm to take on the duties overseeing the store's daily transactions. - fred
 

Beneath the spreading cedar trees located at the middle of the old cemetery behind the Methodist Church is the small headstone of a child. It is that of Arie Oakley, the young child of the River Street wagon-maker, John Oakley, who died this morning. The family had just celebrated his lad's fifth birthday only six days ago. - fred
 

The latest term of the county court held at the Sullivan County Courthouse, Monticello, was begun on Monday of this past week when proceedings were opened to hear arguments and file motions concerning legal conflicts that were presented before the presiding judge, T.F. Bush. One case involved Bishop VanGaasbeck, the blacksmith at Purvis Post Office, who also served the township as Overseer of the Poor. Laws enacted by New York State in 1824 made counties of the state responsible for maintaining a county-run institution to provide care for its less fortunate citizens or those individuals who have become unruly. As overseer, VanGaasbeck's responsibility was to make recommendations before town justices that would allow those who qualify admittance into the county poor-house.

The case brought before Judge Bush was submitted by the guardian of "Jas. Brown" in opposition to the actions made by VanGaasbeck when performing his duties as overseer. Though little information is further discussed within the local newspaper's review of this court's proceedings, the probable scenario may have involved the solicitations of a begging child. Under the 1824 statute, town overseers were allowed to take any child under the age of fifteen who was found begging on the street or soliciting door to door, and place him or her into the poor-house. It would then be the responsibility of the child's parents or guardian to prove that they would be able to provide for the child before being released back into their custody. Whatever the scenario, the Judge decided the case in favor of Brown's guardian, securing the release of the child. - fred
 

Going on a date with Elizabeth Davis, Joel was going to do it in grand style, with the assistance of Cyrus Mott, Liz's brother-in-law. Utilizing Mott's horse and carriage, Joel went up to Captain Davis' at Old Morsston [see June 7th and 14th] to pick up his daughter to take to the dance. Cyrus was well-known as a "horse-man", owning a one of the finer horses in the area that he would show off at local race tracks, and in most cases, bringing home the day's winnings. Being all dressed up [both the horse and Joel], the horse with its fancy harness and handsome carriage must have made a fine impression as the young couple enjoyed the night on the town, the dance being held in George Hunter's Blue Fish Hotel at Westfield Flats [see May 29th]. - fred
 

Joel was getting home kind of late from last evening's date with Liz Davis, or perhaps he got home early to begin his chores. Just what time the young couple arrived at her parents home is unknown, Joel's not going to tell, or whether Captain Davis was waiting up for them to return. No doubt, there must have been some logical explanation for the dilemma, though Joel never mentioned the reason, yet.

Joel's early morning chores would begin with the milking of the family's four cows, whose rich and creamy milk produced 400 pounds of butter throughout the year of 1874. Packaged in small wooden tubs, butter was picked up by the express freight promptly on Tuesdays, heading for markets in New York City. Unfortunately, often the only prompt return upstate farmers received from these city merchants was the telegraphed reply; "Hold on, send the money soon." Payment for butter, during these early stages of the Midland railroad's use of handling dairy products, was delayed for as long as up to two months. - fred
 

Abe Mosier has ended his second term of employment with Joel. Perhaps he did not like the hard work during haying season; maybe he found employment elsewhere; or maybe he wasn't fond of the discrepancy of wages between Riley Brown and himself. Making $3.95 for six days of work was considerably less than the one dollar a day promised to Riley when he commenced working for Joel. - fred
 

Apparently the excuse the young couple of Joel and Liz Davis, who returned from Thursday's date at a very late hour, gave to her skeptical father as to why they were so late coming home from the dance, the horse's harness disappeared while they were at the hotel, was true after all. Having borrowed the horse and carriage from Cyrus Mott, Joel took immediate responsibility for the harness' disappearance by reimbursing Mott the twelve dollars the very next morning.

The mystery still remained as to why the harness disappeared to begin with. Was it misplaced by the hotel's stable hands? Was it mistakenly switched with other rigs' apparatus when the couple left for home? Or did it simply walk off in the hands of some mischievous person. Whatever the reason, Joel will never say in his diary, only that he returned to Hunter's hotel at Westfield Flats and was able to locate the missing article and immediately return it to its rightful owner. - fred