Thomas Rigmaiden's Diary 1843 Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana File prepared by Connie Wise File submitted by Carlton R. Adamson, Stuart MacKillican, William Quick and Clyde Vincent. NOTE: If you have information about any of the people mentioned in this diary, please contact Jan Craven at jcraven@usunwired.net ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ THOMAS RIGMAIDEN DIARY JANUARY 1843 1. Frost. Commenced this year by profaning the Lord's day, which I sincerely repent of, by killing two hogs and doing other little jobs. 2. Cloudy. Cut up my hogs. Lent Melissa 6 small bowls of coffee. 3.& 4. Cloudy and warm. Adolph and myself cutting wood. 5. Still cloudy. Edward and Jacob went below in the cart. Employed as yesterday. 6. A little rain and warm. Jacob returned with salt and coffee. 7. Rain last night, day cool. Edward and myself cutting wood. 8. Frost. At home. Eliza at Jacob's. Coward and Adolph hunting. 9. Had rain last night. Adolph and myself cutting wood and hunting. 10. Frost. Clearing in the forenoon. Killed two hogs. Black sow had three pigs. 11. Hard freeze last night. Cloudy and little rain. Cut up my hogs. Got the cart and hauled some wood. Got 2-1/2 tin buckets of salt from Jacob. 13. Frost, cloudy with a little rain. Lent Jack 4 small bowls of coffee. He brought me two sows. 14. Hard freeze. Hauling wood all day. Adolph and George went below. Spotted sow had 3 pigs. Clearing behind cow penn. Cut Edward's hand. 15. Frost. At home all day. Melissa and family here. At home all day. 16. Fine day. Escubas and Vaughn here. Clearing. 17. Cloudy most of the day. Clearing. Went to Pontal's. He very sick. 18. Warm and cloudy. Returned home and planted out onions. 19. Cloudy with little rain. 20. Weather as yesterday. Hung up meat and other jobs. 21. Little rain, cloudy and warm. Clearing. *22. Edward went to Allen's for cotton. 23. Fine warm day. Edward went bear hunting with Jacob. 24. Fine day. Wrote to my sister Lucy. Got a knife by Jacob. 25. & 26. Fine days. Passed off the time clearing. 27. Cloudy with some rain. Went to the Post Office. Deposited my letter. Returned home at dark. 29. Reading. Did no work today. FEBRUARY 1843 1. (Wednesday) Frost. Hauling sails. 2. Cloudy. Employed as yesterday. 3. Adolph went below. Hauling till night. 4. In evening went to George's with my family. 5. Edward and myself hauling rails. 8. Went to Jacob's. Got a barrel of potatoes. 9. Adolph and myself clearing. 10. Adolph went below in company with Melissa and George. 14. Went log rolling and hog hunting with Johnson. 21. Went to Jacob's log rolling. We were ten hands. Johnson left in the evening. 23. Went to log rolling at George's. Went with family to Pontal's. 24. Had my log rolling. Finished by noon. Hurt my ankle. 25. Set log heaps on fire in the old field. 26. At home attending my log heaps. Eliza and Becky went to Alston's. 27. Fine day. Went below in company with Adolph. Took dinner at John Mallett's. 28. Took a ride with Mr. Ryan to see Paul. Thence to Pierre's and Lambert's. MARCH 1843 1. Very cold. Spent most of this day with Pierre. Thence to Mr. Ryan's. 2. Very cold. Returned home and took dinner at Jacob's. River fordable. 3. Cold. These two days cleaning up my field. 5. Went with family to Pontal's. 6. Cleaning field and other odd jobs. 7. Worked at school house today. 8. Adolph returned. Making cow penns. Pontal and Sukey here. 9. Finished penns and other odd jobs about the house. 10. Cutting wood. 11. Fine day. 12. Spent this day at Jacob's. 13. Commenced school with two from Pontal's, three from Rigmaiden's; two from Jacob's; three from George's and _______ from Adolph's. Eliza, Mary Ann and Edward went to Jack's. Louis ploughed. 14. Adolph and Edward hoeing and fishing and log rolling. 15. Went to Buchanan's. Got a letter from my sister Lucy and got my papers. Thence to Mr. Moss's. 16. Went from Mr. Moss's to Mr. Ryan's. Thence to Pierre's and back to Mr. Ryan's. Dinner at Mr. Berry's and thence to Jacob's and home. 17. Helped Jack Alston with his beeves. 25. Went to Jacob's log rolling. 26. In the evening went with family to George's. 27. Cold. From George's went to school. A gum fell across the fence. 28. At school. 29. Adolph and Edward crossed the cart. Hauled stakes and wood. 30. Rain. Adolph and Edward hauling. Turned two beeves loose. 31. Adolph and Edward not quite finished repairing fence. At school. APRIL 1843 1. Went to Pontal's log rolling. Logged a big white oak in the evening. 2. Writing. Elizabeth, Mary Ann and Edward went to Jack's. In the evening with my family to Jacob's. 3. From Jacob's to school. 4. Adolph and Edward burning logs and brush. 5. Rain. Jacob planted on this side. 6. Rolled logs in evening. Commenced potato patch. 7. Adolph and Edward moving fence from around yard. 8. Burning logs and other odd jobs. 9. At home all day. 10. -12. All hands employed making potato hills. 13. Killed a hog got from Jacob. Adolph and Edward caught some fish. 14. Eliza, Adolph and Edward went a fishing. 15. Adolph went below on Roulette. Evening at Pontal's. 16. Pontal's to Jacob's. Thence home. Adolph returned. 17. -18. Fixed cow penns. 19. -20. Went to Buchanan's. Mailed letter to Bess. Got my papers. Thence to Mr. Moss's. 30. Melissa and Becky here. MAY 1843 1. Killed yearling. Jacob got a hind quarter of George's and Pontal 1/2 of a hind. (Most of May, June and July were impossible to be read) JUNE 1843 *17. Wrote to sister Lucy and sent it to Big Woods by Joe Bilbo. 18. Got a barrel of corn from George. JULY 1843 1. (Saturday) Went to Mr. Ryan's in company with George and Jacob. From Mr. Ryan's went to. . . . No entries for August 1843 SEPTEMBER 1843 13. Very fine day. Adolph returned. Took in part of the fodder. 14. Threatening rain. Took in all of the fodder. Edward at Jacob's cutting rice. 15. A little rain. The large black fly so bad, had to keep Jack and Roulette up. 16. Fine day. Edward went a fire hunting. Did several jobs about home. 17. Very warm day. Edward brought home a deer. Went to George's. Pierre here. 18. Some rain and hard wind. 19. Hard rain. Jacob pulling corn on this side. 20. A little rain in the evening. Children picking peas in Jacob's field. 21. Threatening rain. Edward brought home a dear. Children employed as yesterday. 22. A little rain. Children did not come to school in the evening - picking peas. 23. Cloudy and warm. Mr.Ryan and Melissa here. Threshed out some peas. 24. Rain. At home all day. Mr. Alston here. Edward went a fire hunting. 25. A very hard rain. Finished picking peas in Jacob's field. Edward got no deer. 26. Rain. Put Jack in Jacob's field. Jacob commenced pulling corn in field at home. 27. Rain in the evening. Adolph and Edward pulling corn at Jacob's. William Bilbo there. 28. No rain today. Adolph, Edward and Feloneeze pulling corn at Jacob's. 29. & 30. Rain these two days. Did several jobs about home. OCTOBER 1843 1. (Sunday) through 6th. Stopped at home this week for the purpose of picking peas and pulling corn. The rain prevented my doing so. *7. Cleared off. Commenced pulling corn. Took it in bags on (?) Gardwand. 8. Fine cool day. In the evening went to George's. 9. Cool and pleasant. Pulling corn and peas. Went in the evening to Jacob's with Eliza. 10. Very fine day. Pulling corn. Put Roulette in Jacob's field. 11. Threatening rain. Pulling corn. Killed a two year old beef of Mary Ann's. 12. Rained in the morning. Hauled in all the corn I had pulled. 13. Cold day. Finished pulling corn and got in all the pumpkins. 14. Pleasant and cool. Went with Adolph to Jacob's. Sprayed 4 shoats. Roulette lame. 15. Still cool and pleasant. Spent the day at George's. He at the lake. 16. Fine cool day. Repaired bridge. Adolph and Edward hauled a load of pumpkins. 17. & 18. Both fine cool days. Adolph and Edward assisting Jacob threshing his rice. 5. Warm. Adolph went to Coward's. Received two papers - missing four. 6. Warm. George returned from the lake. Pierre with him. 7. Threatening rain. George drove his cattle below. Jacob went with him. Spayed four sows. Edward went a cattle hunting with Jack Alston. 22. Rain most of the forenoon. At home all day. Adolph went to George's. 23. Some rain in the morning. Edward returned. Jacob returned. Cut a little wood. 24. Rain. Got Roulette from Jacob's. Melissa and family here. 25. Cloudy and wet. Jacob cut a large cypress below my clearing. Dined at Jacob's. 26. Wet, disagreeable and cold today. Jacob found the cypress did not split to his expectation. George returned. James sick. Without meat. 27. Fine cool day. Finished my weeks employment. 8. Cloudy. Agreed with George for the purchase of his improvements for $200 - one half payable in gentle cattle, the other half in the instruction of his children. At home all day reading. 30. Fine day. Edward and Feloneeze digging potatoes at George's. He went below. 31. Very fine day. Edward and Feloneeze as yesterday. Had a visit from the widow. NOVEMBER 1843 1. (Wednesday) Cold and little drizzle. Took dinner at George's. Edward and Feloneeze at George's. 2. Very fine day. Got a quarter of a four year old beef from Jacob. Edward and Feloneeze at George's. 3. Cold. Edward and Feloneeze digging potatoes at George's. 4. Warm. Cut a little wood. Got 6 barrels of potatoes from George for Edward and Feloneeze's work. 5. Cloudy, threatening rain. At home all day. Elizabeth and Mary Ann at Jack's. 6. Wet disagreeable day. Could not attend school in the morning. 7. Cold. No school. 8. Commenced digging my potatoes in the evening. No school. 9. Some rain. Got a quarter (fore) from George. He started for the swamp. His family here at night. Did not teach school in the evening. Digging potatoes. REMAINDER OF THE YEAR MISSSING FOOTNOTES JANUARY 1843 22. Allen's - Allen Coward's. JUNE 1843 9. Joe Bilbo - Joseph Lawrence Bilbo, b. 12 Mar. 1812, son of Thomas Bilbo and his wife, Anna Marie Lawrence. Joseph married 12 April 1858 Georgia Elmira Hodges, b. 1842, dau. Of James Hodges. OCTOBER 1843 7.(?) Gardwand - Presumed to be the given name of an animal. Spelling uncertain in the script from which this was taken. If you have any information about any of the people mentioned in the diary please contact Jan Craven