| Description | Farming diary, no. 29.
21 October - 31 December 1903
Andrew is kicked on the shoulder by one of the horses; John's ploughing on 27 October is the first start of the season; sells eight cattle to John Lyon for £150; pays Elsie her £4 harvest wages; sells the old grey mare for £4; attends Sophia Adam's funeral; buys two cattle for £27 in Aberdeen; attends showing of 'Ecco Homo' in the Music Hall; suffers badly from pain and is advised by the doctor to rest in bed for some days; pays rent at Kemnay House and pays tradesmen's accounts; snow in November; pays the folk their wages on term day; the roads bad with ice; attends prayer meeting and Deacons' Court; attends Mrs Bothwell's funeral; the Daisy cow calves; buys two queys from the Central sale; assists with the steam thrashing mill; most of the horses affected by the cold.
1 January - 31 March 1904
Attends performance of the Messiah at the Music Hall with Uncle Robert - 'we liked it exceedingly well'; attends the Sherriff Court in Aberdeen, having been cited in the case of wife-assault by John Alexander Pirie, dancing teacher - Mr Pirie is jailed for three months; attends Deacons' Court and meeting of Session; Andrew and Mary attend the children's Christmas tree event at the Church; attends displenish sale at the Mains of Tertowie; the factor visits - '[h]e was very frank & civil'; the farrier is called to a choking cow; attends Rev Dr Stark's Elgin lecture on his travels in the Holy Land; the Bell cow calves; attends prayer meeting, Deacons' Court and meeting of Session; the farrier helps with the Gip mare's hurt hind leg; Andrew joins the Scottish Horse at Inverurie; attends funeral of Mrs Reid, which 'came all the way from Glasgow'; Andrew goes to Monymusk House for drill; attends the Spring Show in Aberdeen then, later the same day, a prayer meeting and the Deacons' Court; John and Alexander Gibb leave for America; attends Deacons's Court and Session; The Topsy cow calves; Andrew and Mary attend the 'At Home' Bible class; attends displenish sale at Aquhorsk.
1 April - 30 June 1904
Attends the Children's Concert with Bella; they commence the sowing on 4 April; the voting papers for deacons are opened at a meeting of Session; attends funeral of Barbara Carney; three new deacons are ordained at Church; pays assurance premiums for servants and mare to Mr Mellis; attends funeral of Peter Clark - 'he was a black smith at the Quarries'; Ben Emslie Diack dies at the age of 28 - Mr Mathieson, Uncle Robert and Mr Emslie of Easterton attend his funeral; engages young John McPherson at Inverurie feeing market to work the horses for £13..10..0; the Lady cow calves; sells two stots for 'a very bad price'; travels to Edinburgh by train to attend the Church Assembly and visit friends - Mr Mathieson also visits the Christies in Hamilton; Jack gets his wages and leaves on the term day; visits Mr Newlands, the blacksmith in Linlithgow; Summer Flower foals; signs new lease at Kemnay House; Andrew goes to camps at Blair Atholl; hoeing for the first time in the year; Johnnie unwell in Port Erroll - Mother goes to help him.
1 July - 30 September 1904
Pays John McPherson £1 advance on his wages; buys an American stove for 35/ from Watson; attends prayer meeting and Deacons' Court; they finish the cutting of the seed hay; pays John McPherson another £1 advance on his £13..10..0 half-year wages; engages Elsie Thomson for the harvest at 18/ per week; gets two third prizes at the Cluny, Monymusk, Midmar and Kemnay Cattle Show; working on the dwelling house; Andrew, Mary and Auntie Mary attend Buffalo Billl's Wild West Show in Aberdeen - they come home 'highly delighted' with the outing; pays John another £1 in advance of his wages; Alexander Alexander visits from the West Indies; the masons finish the building; they commence the harvest on 5 September; Johnnie unwell; sells two queys to John Lyon for £33; attends Church meeting; sells four cattle to John Lyon for £80; pays Elsie Thomson for eleven days of work; Andrew attends funeral of Mrs White.
1 October - 25 December 1904
Pays John McPherson £1 in advance of his £13..10..0 for the six months; sells foal at Kinkell market for £18; buys two stirks for £18 at Crowness, Castle Fraser; they use the steam thrashing mill and assist elsewhere; takes train to Murtle 'to see a man I had not seen for 50 years', Joseph Matthew, Hillhead of Murtle; Johnnie unwell again and is taken to Aberdeen Infirmary where he has an operation; an electric bell is installed at the front door; attends meetings at the Synod Hall, Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, concerning the Church, and also a great convocation at Waverley Market; John improving in the Infirmary; the joiners finish the house; attends a congregational meeting 'at which loyalty to the Union was heartily pledged'; suffers from rheumatism in a leg; pays rent and all tradesmen's accounts; engages George Skinner at Castle Street feeing market to work the horses at £13 for the half year; pays slater for work on the house; disturbed by 'blooding of the nose' at night; John McPherson is paid and leaves; pays the house tradesmen for their work; they use the steam thrashing mill; attends Mrs Winchester's funeral; attends Hope Trust lecture on Luther with Mary; John is released from the Infirmary. |