Horace Purdy Journal, January 1862 Entry

Creator

Purdy, Horace, 1835-1909

Title

Horace Purdy Journal, January 1862 Entry

Date

1862-01

Description

10pgs

Subject

Danbury (Conn.) -- History.

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal Narratives.

5th Connecticut Regiment

Alfred Gregory

Bell Purdy

Benedict and Nichols

Brother Bartram

Brother Pegg

Calvin R. Dunning

Captain Fred Betts

Charles Small

Connecticut Military Units - Civil War

David Mills

Edward Stevens

Frank Boughton

George Purdy

George Starr

Henry Crofut

Henry Taylor

Hoyt Family

Jacob Fry

Jesse Stevens

John Brush

Joseph Kyle

Mary Purdy

Mother Griswold

Mr. Stone

Oscar Serine

Peter Starr

Phoebe Palmer

Theodore Fowler

Victor Benedict

William Witherspoon

Publisher

Western Connecticut State University

Abstract

JANUARY 01 – WEDNESDAY – I paid my interest money at the Savings bank and deposited one dollar for Eddie (a gold one which I sent home from Falls Church, Virginia while I was in the army). At 2 ½ o’clock, I went with every other man in the Finishing Shop to the Disciples’ Church to see Edward Stevens married to Hattie Osborne. We then went back to the shop and worked until night. We were paid $5.00 each. In the evening, I went down to Benedict & Nichols and ground our sausage meat. A false alarm of fire early in the evening. It has been warm and pleasant. A south wind, but early in the evening, it changed to the Northwest and blew hard. JANUARY 02 – THURSDAY – Pleasant. I have worked in the shop. I got an order from Mr. Crofut on Benedict & Nichols to pay for my pork - $13.50. I went into the street in the evening to get a chimney for my lamp. JANUARY 03 – FRIDAY – Pretty cold. Jesse Stevens called at the shop this afternoon to get a block from which he claimed. I claimed it by virtue of the shop rule which was of long standing and not known to but a few of the men, they being the only ones who worked there when the rule was made. But on account of the injustice of the rule, the block was given to Jesse. I, of course, abided by the decision of the shop. In the evening, I went downtown and changed a lamp chimney and got some saltpeter for my ham brine. George came with me and spent the evening. JANUARY 04 - SATURDAY - A very cold morning and cold all day. I have worked in the shop. In the evening, I carried a pot of brine over to Abel’s to put on my hams which are in the same barrel as his. There not being enough brine to cover them, I went into the street for more salt and saltpeter to make more. I got my skates at Peter Starr’s news office (George having left them there) and went up to the bridge and skated a little for the first time this evening. I made my brine after I came home. JANUARY 05 – SUNDAY – Still very cold. George called in the morning and we went over to the Love Feast at 9 o’clock. It was a good meeting. A deep feeling seemed to pervade the assembly. Preaching began as usual at 10 ½ o’clock. Brother Pegg preached from 2nd Corinthians 5:17. At the Sunday School, Mary Rockwell, having brought the largest number of new scholars into the school during the last year, received the watch which was promised a year ago by Brother Pegg. Lucy Widman, having brought in the next largest number, was presented with a silver cup by the Superintendent, Brother George Starr. Juliette Ives, standing next in line in number of scholars, received also a silver cup from Brother Starr, but smaller than the one presented to Lucy. Curtis Hoyt, being next, received a gold dollar. The presentation was quite impressive and in Brother Pegg’s remarks to Mary, he commended her very highly for her conduct in the past year for being so active and unremitting in her efforts to bring children who did not attend Sabbath School at all into the school. After Sunday School, I came home to take care of Eddie so that Gussie could attend in the PM. George came home with Gussie to tea. Father, Mother and Bell came down just before evening church time. Mother went with us to meeting and Father and Bell stayed with Eliza who had come over to take care of the baby so that Gussie and I could attend church to hear Elder Hoyt preach. He preached from 1st Corinthians, first chapter, the last clause of the 19th and 20th verse. It was a good sermon. JANUARY 06 – MONDAY – Though it was unusually pleasant last night, it was snowing very hard this morning and has continued all day. The snow is now about a foot deep on a level. George came over this afternoon and he and Gussie, together with Cousin Mary Purdy made some molasses candy. When I came from the shop, I swept out the paths again which I swept in the morning. It snowed but little in the evening. George came in after the arrival of the train and spent the remainder of the evening. I received a letter from Cousin Phebe Palmer. JANUARY 07 – TUESDAY – Pleasant. I have about a half day’s work in the shop. In the evening, I attended the Annual Meeting of the Hat Finishers Association. Officers were elected as follows: for president, Victor Benedict; for vice-president, Oscar Serine; secretary, William Witherspoon; treasurer, Calvin Dunning. JANUARY 08 – WEDNESDAY – Very cold in the morning, but the weather moderated during the day so that it was a great deal warmer at night. No work in the shop. Mother came and spent the day. I saw George down at Peter’s news office and I had him come home with me to dinner. He stayed the remainder of the day and we helped Abel raise Father Griswold’s barn. I attended class in the evening. JANUARY 09 – THURSDAY – A little rain last night. It has been thawing very fast all day. There has been no work in the shop. I attended Prayer Meeting in the evening. JANUARY 10 – FRIDAY – Foggy. Misty and warm. The snow has wasted very fast. I have been at the shop, but did not get my work in time to do much of it. I just got it well commenced for tomorrow. Aunt Louisa and Cousin Frank spent the PM and evening with Gussie. John came in the evening and so did Cousins Mary and Anna. We popped corn and ate apples and thus spent the evening pleasantly together. JANUARY 11 – SATURDAY – Sick today from the effects of the physic taken last night and this morning. I went down to the shop in the PM, but did not do anything. George tells me that Mother is sick. It is her old spinal difficulty. JANUARY 12 – SUNDAY – A little snow last night. Warm and foggy in the morning with rain in the PM. Gussie went to church in the morning and stayed to the school prayer meeting, after which she came home and I expected to go but it being pretty late and I feeling strangely indisposed and the rain together with all the other obstacles, kept me home. The two latter excuses kept me home in the evening also. It was about 8 o’clock when I went up home to see Mother who is sick. It was bedtime when I returned. JANUARY 13 – MONDAY – It froze but little last night, but it has grown cold all day. I have worked nearly all day in the shop. I went before the Board of relief and had $400 of my place transferred to Alfred Gregory, who has the mortgage on it of that amount. I went to our Sunday School Teachers meeting in the evening at which we did away with our present mode of changing books in the school and adopting the old plan of carrying them around in the boxes prepared for that purpose. JANUARY 14 – TUESDAY - A very cold day. I have worked in the shop. Mother Griswold came over a little while in the evening. JANUARY 15 – WEDNESDAY – It snowed last night and this morning, but it finally turned to rain and continued all day which has made it very bad walking. I have worked in the shop. Gussie spent the day over at Father Griswold’s and in the PM visited with Brother Pegg and wife, Mrs. Theo Barnum and Mrs. White and Horton and Abel and Harriet. I went over when I came from work and took tea with them. In the evening, Gussie attended Mr. Stone’s lecture on the Army of the Potomac. Mary Purdy came over to take care of the baby so that I could go, but I concluded not to. JANUARY 16 – THURSDAY – Pleasant. I have worked in the shop, but as usual, have accomplished but little. The work is very hard and slow to get up and the price for doing it exceedingly small. Gussie was over home to tea, Brother George Starr and wife being there together with Mrs. Hiram Cole. I picked up my supper at home, doing so from choice. George came in before meeting time and I helped him write up his Sunday School report preparatory to commencing the old plan of distributing the library books. The road and walks being very icy, I put on my skates and went down to the Post Office for the evening mail. JANUARY 17 – FRIDAY - I have earned about one dollar in the shop. Gussie and Harriet went up to Mr. Bartram’s to visit. Abel and I went up to tea and stayed the evening. A part of the choir met there. The evening was spent in singing. Brother Bartram brought us home, babies and all. JANUARY 18 – SATURDAY – Warm and rainy. I have had work nearly all day in the shop. Susan Watson came to Father Griswold’s last evening from New York. Gussie has been over there this afternoon to visit with her. George came down this afternoon and borrowed come Aconite pills (Homeopathy) to try and break up a hard cold which he has by sweating. Bell came down in a while and borrowed six cents to buy a blister plaster for Mother who is sick with her old complaint – spinal trouble. I went to the Post Office in the evening and to the store and bought a Cape Cod turkey. JANUARY 19 – SUNDAY – Rain and very icy. The trees are loaded with ice. It rained so hard in the forenoon that I did not attend church. I went down in time for Sunday School and stayed in the PM. Gussie did not attend at all. Brother Pegg preached from Matthew 13:45-46. After tea, I went up home to see Mother and George who are sick. Mother was confine to her bed, but George was so much better that he had gone to the 5 o’clock prayer meeting. It was so very icy that it was not only difficult but also dangerous walking. We stayed at home in the evening. JANUARY 20 – MONDAY – It is still stormy, commencing to rain again this morning and continuing all the forenoon. The rain has not frozen as it came as it did yesterday, although the trees are loaded with ice, so much so that limbs have broken off from some trees on account of the weight upon them. I went to the shop on skates this morning. Our foreman (Theodore Fowler) is unable to be at the shop, he being, like Job, afflicted with sore boils. He sent word what work he wanted us to do. Mine lasted until noon. I ate my dinner and waited until nearly night for some money. We finally got the whole $3.00 and then I came home. I took care of Eddie in the evening so that Gussie could go over home and visit with her friend, Susan Watson. JANUARY 21 – TUESDAY – The trees are still loaded with ice. It began to grow cold early in the morning and was quite cold before night with some considerable wind. No work at the shop. I cleaned 15 bottles in the PM and went over home and bottled Mother Griswold’s cider for her and filled my own for pay. The papers today give an account of a hard battle in Kentucky in which the rebel general Zollicoffer was killed. The loss being heavy on both sides, it resulted in a heavy defeat of the rebels. We captured all of their cannon and many wagons loaded with valuables related to the army. George called here just before meeting time and put on the skates and skated downtown as the walks are a complete glade of ice. I went to market in the evening. JANUARY 22 WEDNESDAY – No work in the shop. Uncle Jacob Fry let us take his horse and sleigh and Joseph Kyle, John Brush, Charles Small and myself went over to Kenosha to fish. We only caught two and gave these to Mr. Fry. The Ladies’ Sewing Society met at Father Griswold’s in the afternoon and evening. I went there to tea and stayed in the evening. Mrs. Hanford was taken with a paralytic stroke last night and died. JANUARY 23 – THURSDAY – Pleasant this morning. I have worked in the shop. Major Stone and Captain Betts of the 5th Regiment came last evening. They have a furlough of a few days. Henry Hitchcock, the Captain’s servant, came this morning. He stopped in Norwalk last night. JANUARY 24 – FRIDAY – No work in the shop. I went over to George Starr’s shop and made a spit box for George designed for Father’s use. I had the headache in the afternoon. I went down to the Post Office in the evening to get the news but there was none of importance. It has been a cloudy, raw, cold day. JANUARY 25 – SATURDAY – It was snowing this morning when I rose, but it turned to rain before noon. I have worked nearly all day in the shop to earn 62 cents. There has been quite a sensation in town today over the drafting for the state militia. The law has been pronounced by all as far as I have heard without a single exception to be unjust. It gives the rich the chance to buy themselves off and the military duty to fall upon the poor. A meeting of the returned volunteers was held this evening at Military Hall to make arrangements to attend the funeral of Henry Taylor, a soldier from the 8th Regiment of this state who died at Annapolis, Maryland of Typhoid fever when his remains shall come which is expected in a few days. JANUARY 26 – SUNDAY – Pleasant, it having cleared off last night. I attended church in the morning. I came home after Sunday School and Gussie went in the PM. The walking being bad and consequently the attendance being small, the preaching in the morning was in the basement. Brother Pegg preached from St. John, 19th chapter, last clause of the 5th verse. After tea, we took the baby over to other Griswold’s and then we went over home to see Mother. She dressed herself today. In the evening, I went to prayer meeting. It was a good meeting. JANUARY 27 – MONDAY – I have worked nearly all day in the shop and earned only 60 cents. The drafting of men for the state militia last Saturday not being done right, it was done again today and I was drafted. I went downtown in the evening to see and hear the result of the drafting. It is the all prevailing topic. Some are frightened and some care little or nothing about it. I received my notification while I was downtown. JANUARY 28 – TUESDAY – No work in the shop. I moved my box of charcoal from Father Griswold’s barn to my cellar as it has become dry since I laid in my new drains. I went into the street in the evening. The paper gave reliable information of the Burnside Expedition. It is congregating at Pamlico Sound on the North Carolina coast. I saw Captain J. A. Betts on my way downtown. He is home on a furlough. I enquired after Cousin David Mills who is in his company. He says that he is well and is the Adjutant’s orderly. JANUARY 29 – WEDNESDAY – I waited nearly all day in the shop for work and then came home without any. It has been misty all day with some rain and it has frozen as fast as it came, which made it very slippery. I did not go to class in the evening on account of writing a letter to Cousin David Mills to send by his captain, James Betts tomorrow. Eddie is five months old today. JANUARY 30 – THURSDAY – Warmer today. It has snowed a little and rained some. The ice has all disappeared and not only the snow that fell in the forenoon, but also the old body of snow has wasted very much. I have had work to last me all day in the shop. I stayed home and took care of Eddie in the evening, so that Gussie could spend the evening over home. JANUARY 31 – FRIDAY – Pleasant. I have worked in the shop. On my way home from the shop in the evening, I stopped at the Post Office and paid my tax for the hydrant near my house - $1.25.