This is the first of what I hope will be day entries from the diary of my great grandfather, Warren G. Bean. Warren was a farmer and a Mennonite Bishop in Mongomery County in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
The diary entries are usually short, sometimes only a single sentance, and always the weather. The entries will come from diaries he kept in the late 1800's and early 1900's. There will be entries from his daily diaries that usually have his farming activities and from his diaries of his church work.
This will be (hopefully) the only time I will comment in these entries. I do not want to influence what anyone takes from these entries. Therefore, what appears here will be directly from Warren's writing unless noted otherwise. I will only say that for me, the interest and connection (besides blood) is that we are seperated by 100 years and are roughly the same age (Warren was born in 1866, I was born in 1963), and both of us are farmers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. B. F. Moyer
Mon. June 17, 1901
Clear and Cool. PM Bought Cow of Alen Imis for $38.75. Paid cash.
Very cool, project, Brian. You know me as a PASA member and homesteader. Thanks for sending it out on the listserve. I will be subscribing. A question about the diary entries...Are they in English, or PA Dutch? If the latter, would you consider putting the original alongside the English translation in future posts?
ReplyDeleteHi kate,
ReplyDeleteAll of Warren's writings are in English. In fact, any written material from my ancestors are all in English. PA Dutch was viewed as a conversational or spoken dialect. Any formal writing was in English or high German which is what their church material was printed in. Also, in the 19th century, the local Skippack newspaper was also printed in high German.
Thanks so much for your interest.
Brian Moyer
Brian,
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome treasure you have and thanks for sharing it with us! I look forward to seeing the entries each day. My only comment is that it would be most interesting to keep the postings chronological, the same year, so that maybe there is a sense of his life that comes from it. Thanks again and it was great to see you and Holley at Maysie's. Sunday was fun!
Janna