This came from the QUAKER LIST Thanks to Barb DB12251@aol.com on the Maggie_Ohio List Article by Judy Alberts JAlberts97@aol.com Hollywood, Florida ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE STORIES: Thanks to Bruce Wood of this list, many months ago I acquired a photocopy of an old manuscript called "The Little Home Histories In Our Early Homes, Belmont County, Ohio". It has given me such pleasure to read about the day- to-day lives and times of the families that formed the mostly Quaker community of Belmont County, Ohio from the early 1800's to the early 1900's that the manuscript covers, and I wanted to share some of that pleasure with those of you who may also be interested. Although I am related to many folks whose names appear throughout the work, the article I am posting here is mainly about individuals who are not closely related to me. I just thought the stories imparted a strong feeling of realism about our ancestors' lives. The surnames that will appear below, and the order they will appear in, however briefly, are: STEER, GREEN, PICKETT, HALL, WILSON, BETTS, NAYLOR, BAILEY, HOYLE, TABER, SMITH, SEARS, VAIL, FRAME, MILLHOUSE, BUNDY, LIVEZEY, SCHOLFIELD, DOUDNA, WALTON, OVERMAN, HANSON, EDGERTON. I warn you in advance that this will be lengthy reading. But rather than apologize for excessive use of space, I'll just assume everyone knows how to use their delete button, if necessary, and I'll plunge onward. Hope you enjoy. Judy L. Alberts JAlberts97@aol.com Hollywood, Florida ___________________________________________________________________ Anecdotes Written by William G. Steer James Steer's Oxen--Tramping Out Grain--Making A Flail--Sugar Camp--Sorghum Molasses--The 1835 Brick School House--Corn Husking--James Frame & George Washington--The Steer Name--Hazards of Farm Life--The 1910 Girl s Boarding School JAMES STEER S OXEN. When my father, James STEER, bought the Grandfather William GREEN's farm, he also bought the stock which included three yoke of oxen and twenty-five head of three-year-old colts. He sold the latter at public sale the same year and kept the oxen for a few years. He employed a colored man by the name of Sam BETTS to drive them. One of the first jobs was to have the sills for the barn hauled. They were twelve by twelve and sixty feet long, and came from the "Billy" Doudna farm on Sandy Ridge. Another thing of importance was to deliver the stone for the first bank vault built in Barnesville in 1865. The oxen were so well trained that the driver could turn the team and wagon on Main Street and not leave the side walk. At one time Father hauled three loads of coal, one hundred bushels in each, to Barnesville in one day. The coal digger helped him to load it. In hauling coal to Number Two Schoolhouse, he only used one yoke. After getting up the long steep hill and crossing the railroad with seventy bushels, he stalled on the track. After going to the rear wheel, with his lifting [up, he] helped the oxen to get across the track. The outcome of this incident caused a report to be circulated that Father had lifted seventy bushels of coal over the crossing. In his prime, it was said that he was the strongest man in the township. The names of [the] three yoke were Joe and Jerry, Buck and Berry, and Bill and Barney. TRAMPING OUT GRAIN. There was plenty of floor space in the large barns built before and after 1864, so we often used this space to tramp out grain. The sheaves were unbound and placed in a circle. Then we brought in four or six horses and colts, tying them two and two. With someone to ride the leaders and another person in the center to keep the horses in place, they soon learned how to go. Of course, it was necessary to keep a large shovel nearby to remove the droppings. It was [also] necessary to use a flail to thresh out that which was not tramped. [Continued in Part 2] !^NavFont02F0CAA0008NS99HSAC6339 Maggie's World of Courthouse Dust & Genealogy Fever http://www.infinet.com/~dzimmerm/mindex.html *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* God Put Me On Earth to Accomplish a Certain Number of Things. Right Now I am so far behind, I will never die. --- Unknown *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with good health, good friends, and more than enough good luck. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*