Gr. Grandpa Joseph Enos Diary — December 1885
Excerpt from My Great-Grandfather’s Diary 📖
I’m sharing excerpts from my Great-Grandfather’s diary. They may not always appear in chronological order, so please bear with me as I work through them.
He lived in Nanoose Bay, on Notch Hill, and his diary gives us a glimpse into our family’s life and history.
My Great-Great-Grandfather came from the Azores to Victoria in 1862. He later married my Songhees Great-Great-Grandmother in 1876, the same year the federal Indian Act was enacted.
The diary belonged to my Great-Grandfather. My Great-Aunt Mary eventually donated it to the Royal BC Museum. I was able to have it scanned into a PDF, and I’ve also been working from the handwritten cursive to create a hand-printed transcription so that we can actually read his words.
It feels pretty special to be able to bring these pages back into the family story, more than a century later.
More excerpts to come. ❤️
Transcription Note
Please note: These transcriptions may contain errors. I am working from handwritten cursive that is more than 140 years old, and some words, names and places are difficult to decipher. Where I’m uncertain, I’ve indicated it with [brackets] or a question mark rather than guessing.
I’m sharing these as a work in progress, and I’ll continue to correct and refine the transcriptions as I learn more.
December 1885
December 1 — Tuesday
Working at the barn.
December 2 — Wednesday
Working at the cellar.
December 3 — Thursday
Cloudy. At home.
December 4 — Friday
Father returned from Victoria.
December 5 — Saturday
Clearing a road to the foot of Notch Hill to get our timber for the barn.
December 6 — Sunday
Mr. John Kenny arrived her from Wellington having come from Victoria and will remain with for a while.
December 7 — Monday
Cutting timber at the foot of Notch Hill for the barn.
December 8 — Tuesday
Fine clear weather.
December 9 — Wednesday
Frosty weather. Looking for oxen.
December 10 — Thursday
Halling timber for the barn.
December 11 — Friday
Freezing. Hauling firewood.
December 12 — Saturday
At home.
December 13 — Sunday
A. Hirst came to look for his cattle.
December 14 — Monday
Cloudy. Looking for A. Hirst cattl.
December 15 — Tuesday
Looking for A. Hirst cattle.
December 16 — Wednesday
I helped Hirst to drive his cattle to E. M River.
December 17 — Thursday
Snowery. At home.
December 18 — Friday
Snowery. Working.
December 19 — Saturday
Working at...?
December 20 — Sunday
Cloudy. At home.
December 21 — Monday
Working at the barn.
December 22 — Tuesday
I took H. Rosewall's cow to the Indian Camp for father to take to Nanaimo tomorrow.
December 23 — Wednesday
Father went to Nanaimo.
December 24 — Thursday
Raining. At home.
December 25 — Friday
Christmas Day. Father returned from Nanaimo.
December 26 — Saturday
Working at the barn.
December 27 — Sunday
At home.
December 28 — Monday
Snowery. Working at the barn.
December 29 — Tuesday
Reverend Father Durand paid returned to Nanaimo us a visit.
December 30 — Wednesday
At home.
December 31 — Thursday
Rev Father Durand returned to Nanaimo.
Places, People & Subjects Mentioned
Notch Hill · Wellington · Victoria · Nanaimo · E. M. River · Indian Camp
Barn · cellar · timber · oxen · firewood · cattle · cow · snow · Christmas · Reverend Father Durand
More excerpts from Joseph Enos's diary to come. ❤️
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