December 25.–Uncle Edward Richards sent us a basket of lovely things from New York for Christmas. Books and dresses for Anna and me, a kaleidoscope, large cornucopias of candy, and games, one of them being battledore and shuttlecock. Grandmother says we will have to wait until spring to play it, as it takes so much [...]

December 1.–Grandfather asked me to read President Pierce’s message aloud to him this evening. I thought it was very long and dry, but he said it was interesting and that I read it very well. I am glad he liked it. Part of it was about the Missouri Compromise and I didn’t even know what [...]

Sunday. – Mr Tousley preached to-day. Mr Lamb is Superintendent of the Sunday School. Mr Chipman used to be. Miss Mollie Bull played the melodeon. Mr Fairchild is my teacher when he is there. He was not there to-day and Miss Mary Howell taught our class. I wish I could be as good and pretty [...]

November 24. – Three ladies visited our school to-day, Miss Phelps, Miss Daniels and Mrs Clark. We had calisthenics and they liked them.

November 23.–We read our compositions to-day and Miss Clark said mine was very good. One of the girls had a Prophecy for a composition and told what we were all going to be when we grew up. She said Anna Richards was going to be a missionary and Anna cried right out loud. I tried [...]

November 22.–I wrote a composition to-day, and the subject was, “Which of the Seasons Is the Pleasantest?” Anna asked Grandmother what she should write about, and Grandmother said she thought “A Contented Mind” would be a very good subject, but Anna said she never had one and didn’t know what it meant, so she didn’t [...]

Sunday, August 15.–To-day the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was held in our church, and Mr Daggett baptized several little babies. They looked so cunning when he took them in his arms and not one of them cried. I told Grandmother when we got home that I remembered when Grandfather Richards baptized me in Auburn, [...]

July.–Every Saturday our cousins, Lucilla and Mary and Louisa Field, take turns coming to Grandmother’s to dinner. It was Mary’s turn to-day, but she was sick and couldn’t come, so Grandmother told us that we could dress up and make some calls for her. We were very glad. She told us to go to Mrs [...]

July.–Hiram Goodrich, who lives at Mr Myron H. Clark’s, and George and Wirt Wheeler ran away on Sunday to seek their fortunes. When they did not come back every one was frightened and started out to find them. They set out right after Sunday School, taking their pennies which had been given them for the [...]

May 1.—I arose this morning about the usual time and read my three chapters in the Bible and had time for a walk in the garden before breakfast. The polyanthuses are just beginning to blossom and they border all the walk up and down the garden. I went to school at quarter of nine, but [...]

April 1. – Grandmother sent me up into the little chamber to-day to straighten things and get the room ready to be cleaned. I found a little book called “Child’s Pilgrim Progress, Illustrated,” that I had never seen before. I got as far as Giant Despair when Anna came up and said Grandmother sent her [...]

Sunday, March 20, 1853.–It snowed so, that we could not go to church to-day and it was the longest day I ever spent. The only excitement was seeing the snowplough, drawn by two horses, go up on this side of the street and down on the other. Grandfather put on his long cloak with a [...]

Tuesday.–I could not keep a journal for two weeks, because Grandfather and Grandmother have been very sick and we were afraid something dreadful was going to happen. We are so glad that they are well again. Grandmother was sick upstairs and Grandfather in the bedroom downstairs, and we carried messages back and forth for them. [...]

Wednesday.–Mr Cross had us speak pieces to-day. He calls our names, and we walk on to the platform and toe the mark and make a bow and say what we have got to say. He did not know what our pieces were going to be and some of them said the same ones. Two boys [...]

Friday.–We asked Grandmother if we could have some hoop skirts like the seminary girls and she said no, we were not old enough. When we were downtown Anna bought a reed for 10 cents and ran it into the hem of her underskirt and says she is going to wear it to school to-morrow. I [...]

Thursday. – Father and Uncle Edward Richards came to see us yesterday and took us down to Mr Corson’s store and told us we could have anything we wanted. So we asked for several kinds of candy, stick candy and lemon drops and bulls’ eyes, and then they got us two rubber balls and two [...]

Wednesday.–Captain Menteith was at our house to dinner to-day and he tried to make Anna and me laugh by snapping his snuffbox under the table. He is a very jolly man, I think. (December 8, 1852)

Sunday. – Rev. Mr Kendall, of East Bloomfield, preached to-day. His text was from Job 26, 14: “Lo these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him.” I could not make out what he meant. He is James’ and John’s minister. (December 5, 1852)

Tuesday.–Grandfather took us to ride this afternoon and let us ask Bessie Seymour to go with us. We rode on the plank road to Chapinville and had to pay 2 cents at the toll gate, both ways. We met a good many people and Grandfather bowed to them and said, “How do you do, neighbour?” [...]

Saturday. – Our brother John drove over from East Bloomfield to-day to see us and brought Julia Smedley with him, who is just my age. John lives at Mr Ferdinand Beebe’s and goes to school and Julia is Mr Beebe’s niece. They make quantities of maple sugar out there and they brought us a dozen [...]

Canandaigua, N.Y. November 21, 1852.–I am ten years old to-day, and I think I will write a journal and tell who I am and what I am doing. I have lived with my Grandfather and Grandmother Beals ever since I was seven years old, and Anna, too, since she was four. Our brothers, James and [...]