Friday, September 4, 2026

Gr.Grandpa Joseph Enos Diary June 1881

 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. ❤️

Here’s the transcription for the entries in June 1881:

June 1, Wednesday: Plowing at the bottom.

June 2, Tuesday: (No entry recorded.)

June 3, Friday: (No entry recorded.)

June 4, Saturday: (No entry recorded.)

June 5, Sunday: Plowing at the bottom.

June 6, Monday: Weeding at the spit.

June 7, Tuesday: Plowing.

June 8, Wednesday: Rainy weather.

June 9, Tuesday: Raining.

June 10, Friday: Raining.

June 11, Saturday: Hauling potatoes at the spit.

June 12, Sunday: Hauling potatoes at the spit.

June 13, Monday: Plowing at the bottom.

June 14, Tuesday: Plowing.

June 15, Wednesday: Drilling holes for potatoes at the bottom.

June 16, Thursday: Planting potatoes at the bottom.

June 17, Friday: Planting carrots at the bottom.

June 18, Saturday: Sowing turnips.

June 19, Sunday: Sowing turnips.

June 20, Monday: Transplanting cabbage.

June 21, Tuesday: Transplanting cabbage.

June 22, Wednesday: Father went to Nanaimo.

June 23, Thursday: Returned from Nanaimo.

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