<\/p>\n
In the middle of the 19th century people made much of family gatherings, especially at Thanksgiving. On that day in 1856 Charles Keith, the Winslow diarist, attended church; then, as he puts it, “went to father’s for the day”.<\/p>\n
“We had hoped all members of the family would be present”, he wrote, “but we spent the day with one absent. At night, however, he too came with his wife and child. We had not seen him for 17 years. We spent the evening together – five brothers and their wives. We shall never in all probability all meet again on Thanksgiving at the old home. Father could not sit with us, but was very happy to see all of us on this day.”<\/p>\n
That winter of 1856-57 Charles was again teaching in Massachusetts. He tells us about a big snow storm that started on January 19. On the 20th he recorded: “Roads full of snow to the top of the fences. Men are breaking roads, but get on very s lowly. I went to the school house but had no scholars. ” On the 21st men were still breaking roads, leaving piles six to eight feet high at the roadsides. Men had been working to clear the railroad tracks between Boston and South Braintree, but hadn’t yet got a train through.<\/p>\n
On the 22nd it started snowing again. “Nobody was out til afternoon”, said Keith, “when a four ox team with five men went to South Braintree to get provisions to keep families from starvation. Many of the people here are in the habit of laying in only a few days’ supply. The Boston newspapers say there has not been so tough a day as last Sunday for 33 years. Much loss of life and property has resulted from the storm on our coast.”<\/p>\n
It was January 26, a full week after the storm began, when at last the railroad was cleared between Braintree and Plymouth. The job had taken 75 men, working from dawn to dark each day. Char I es wrote: “The mode of travels such that the public requires this road to be opened. Yet I don’t think it had to be done on the Sabbath. But I notice that companies claim the right to do what individuals would not think of doing.”<\/p>\n
Charles Keith put down one of his caustic comments about the state election of 1857. Listen to what he wrote: “State election. Lot Morrill had 126 votes, Manassah Smith 75. For town representative R. R. Drummond had 175 votes. He furnished dinner for about 100 Republicans at Hiram Simpson’s. I felt bad to think an enlightened citizen, and one in whom the town places sufficient confidence to have him represent them in the Legislature, should barter for a dinner that which cost the best blood of New England. Should this become a practice, we soon may expect to have our elections conducted in an equally unprincipled manner with those of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.”<\/p>\n
In the whole long diary Charles Keith seldom mentions his wife. One item that brings her into the diary is remindful of Charles experience with doctors two years earlier. On November 15, 1857 he wrote: “A peddlar left some pills with Mrs. Keith to take one box gratis if they do not benefit her. If they do, she is to pay him one dollar for five boxes.”<\/p>\n
The Keith diaries are not nearly so full of financial matters as are most such journals. But they do have a few interesting comments about money. On one occasion he sold sand from the farm for one cent a bushel. He says: “A Mr. Richardson, a Quaker, was here to dinner and paid me $10.20 for 1,020 bushels of sand, which was used in building a boarding house for Oak Grove Seminary in Vassalboro.”<\/p>\n
In January, 1857 Charles was teaching school again, but not in Massachusetts. Th is time his school was in Sidney, “where I expect to remain four weeks at $25 a month. There are 23 scholars, backward and small. I am boarding this week at John Bragg’s. He is 78 years old, but it is a good boarding place.” That was the winter that Keith got interested in lyceums, and he organized one to meet regularly at his schoolhouse in Sidney. At the first session on January 21 the question debated was “Resolved, that wealth exerts a greater influence on society than does knowledge. Decided in the negative.”<\/p>\n
On February 3 the question was on the advantage or disadvantage of annexed territory. But we’ll let Keith tell about it: “I never came so near breaking down as I did tonight”, he wrote. “I was the leading disputant for the affirmative. I laid my course and was prepared to follow no other in the argument, but Mr. French on the negative took different ground and nearly threw me from the track. Others joined in the debate so that we did not adjourn til 9 p.m.<\/p>\n
When the question was taken, 9 voted affirmative, 6 negative. Question for our next lyceum is: Resolved, that intemperance is a greater evil than slavery.” At the end of February in 1858 Keith visited the Oak Grove School. He said: “I have been interested in this school for some time and was anxious to be present at this winter examination. I have never visited one so satisfactory. About 40 of the Friends were present and 50 scholars. A recitation on Goodrich’s History of the U.S. was given by the pupils who were questioned separately as to what they knew of a particular period. They answered not in the words of the book, but in their own language. The whole school spelled and also recited psalms. A class in chemistry answered very understandingly. The concluding exercise was a farewell poem recited by the pupils in concert. Then followed remarks from myself and several gentlemen and ladies. Eli Jones is the principal.<\/p>\n
It is interesting to note that as late as 1859 trade was sometimes conducted in shi I lings. In fact the British monetary unit that remained longest in use in the U.S. was the shi I ling. Long after every transaction had ceased to be computed in pounds, the shi I ling remained, although there was no American coin of that value.<\/p>\n
In Kennebec Yesterdays I have explained how Dr. Ambrose Howard’s fee for extracting a tooth continued at a shilling or 17 cents right up to the time of his death. Allover New England the term “shilling” referred to one-sixth of a dollar, or 16 2\/3 cents. So it became customary to speak of anything priced at 50 cents as costing three shillings just as Westerners say “four bits” for the same value. The reason why we find 83 1\/3 cents or 84 cents often given as the price of some article in the early years of the 19th century is that for a long time that price was five shillings, and setting it down as 83 1\/3 cents was just translating it into our decimal currency.<\/p>\n
On July 4, 1859 Charles Keith made the fol lowing reference to shillings in his diary: “Independence Day – the coldest I have ever known. I carried a bushel of green peas to market at nine shillings. That was $1.33, a pretty good price for peas, even early ones, in 1859.”<\/p>\n
On August 18 in the same year Charles was selling sweet corn in Watervilie at nine cents a dozen, and at C.C. Cornishe’s store in Winslow village he bought a barrel of Ohio flour for $6.50.<\/p>\n
Some of the most exciting events of a hundred years ago were the religious camp meetings. Charles Keith didn’t think well of them. On September 2, 1859 he wrote: “Went to Fairfield to camp meeting. Some 3,000 present. have been several times and always come home with the opinion that meeting houses are for religious meetings in preference to the woods.”<\/p>\n
Strangely enough the items in Keith’s diary for the month of April, 1861 contain no mention of Fort Sumter or anything else pertaining to the Civil War. His first mention of the great conflict was on May 6, when he recorded: “We voted to hire a sum not to exceed $1,000 for the benefit of soldiers and their families.” On May 14 Charles was down at the village to see the Bangor regiment go by on its way to camp. He said they filled 14 cars.<\/p>\n
On December 31, 1861 Charles Keith summed up the year: “It has been a year of good crops”, he wrote, “except apples. The condition of our country interests all. It has been so for nine months and is now a topic of discussion with all classes. I have faith to believe that we at the North are right and shall conquer. But we have much to do besides conquer traitors. We must subdue all vile passions, cease to be unduly ambitious, think less of money and honor, and more of spiritual things.”<\/p>\n
During the whole of 1862 the diary contains very few items about the war. But again, when Charles Keith summed things up at the end of December, he could honestly write: “This year we have had no family sorrow, but it has been a time of great national affliction. Thousands have fallen and the end is not yet. From our town more than 100 have gone to war, some never to return. I think nearly 40 have died.”<\/p>\n
Charles Keith did not get into the war, but one of his brothers did. On January 20, 1864, he tells us: “My brother Richard’s fami Iy, consisting of his wife and eight chi Idren, came here from Bath. Richard enlisted in Bath Company F, 18th Maine Regiment, First Maine Heavy Artillery. He enlisted on Christmas Day, rendezvoused at Portland, and started for Washington last week. I have finished haul ing Richard’s furniture and have helped Jane and Martha fix their house.”<\/p>\n
In September they got word that Richard had been wounded and lay in a Washington hospital. Charles tells us that on September 24 he went in the cars to Portland, then took boat to New York. It was the 27th before he got to Washington at six o’clock in the morning. He got breakfast, then went to find Richard, which he did in about an hour. Charles found his brother so far recovered that he himself felt justified in doing some sightseeing. He found the city dusty, though all laid out. He visited the White House and the capitol. On the 29th he wrote in the diary: “Visited Smithsonian Institute. Towards night I bade my brother goodbye, as he was much better, and took the cars for Boston.”<\/p>\n
It was Charles Keith’s first trip beyond Boston. When it was over and he had reckoned up its cost, he wrote: “In my journey I spent $46.05. Fare to Washington $18.45; fare home $20.05; incidental expenses $7.55. I shall never regre,t taking the journey, for I have seen much. New York is a much larger city than I thought. Baltimore is pretty and so is Philadelphia.”<\/p>\n
By the end of March in 1865 the war was nearly won., and that expectation was reflected in commodity prices. Charles put it this way: “Nearly all kinds of merchandise are now falling in price., as there is prospect of speedy close of the war. Gold has been quoted at almost $3 on paper, but is now $1.50. Flour has dropped to $5 a barrel, molasses to 90 cents a gallon. Only a short time ago beef was $15 a hundred on the hoof, wool a dollar a pound, and common labor was $2 a day and board. All these things are now much cheaper. A good man can be hired for $1 a day.”<\/p>\n
On April 3 Charles wrote: “The bells are ringing and cannon firing in honor of the taking of Richmond by our troops.” On April 10 he was able to write: “The cars went up tonight with flags flying. Gen. Lee, commander of the Rebel forces, surrendered to Gen. Grant yesterday. To God belongs the praise. He has led our armies and borne with our foilies.<\/p>\n
It was April 18 before Charles got around to recording the awful news of the year. “Last Friday night the Pres. of the U.S. was assassinated in a theatre in Washington. The nation is in mourning.” And on that tragic note we must say good night for old times’ sake.<\/p>\n
Year: 1958<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #371, Broadcast on March 9, 1958<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[744,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7840"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7840\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}