Wednesday, March 15th, 1865

To day the boys are at work in the mill. Hicks ground 16 bushels of corn. Father [Joshua James Hall] came up in the evening but did not remain long. Nellie* [Mary Alexandrien Sharp nee Lemaire] is at work weaving. Weather cloudy & cold with occasional showers of hail & rain & a frost at night.

*This Nellie is a 2nd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog.

Monday, March 21st, 1864

To day Sam* [Samuel Houston Sharp] and Nellie* [Mary Alexandrien Sharp nee Lemaire] came up from Mother's [Mahala* Sharp Hall nee Roberts]. Billy Stewart & Mr. Fitzsimmons are still with me. I ground 5 bushels of wheat and 23½ bushels of corn. Weather cloudy & cold with hard showers of rain attended with occasional showers of hail. at night a frost and freeze.

*This Sam and Nellie are 2nd great-grandparents to the Keeper of this family history blog. Mahala is a 3rd great-grandma, and is Sam's mother. She is also the step-mother as well as the mother-in-law of JMH.

Sunday, March 20th, 1864

To day we were all compelled to remain indoors & sit around the fire in consequence of the cold and rain. In fact it rained throughout the entire day, and the rain was attended with a severe hail storm.

Tuesday, March 8th, 1864

To day the boys are at work in the new ground. Hicks ground 27½ bushels of corn. I am at work in the garden sticking the english peas. Mother [Mahala* Sharp Hall nee Roberts] & Roberta [Berta Downes Halyard nee Hall] came up and remained all night. Weather changeable & warm. At night there was a considerable storm attended with thunder and lightning. It also hailed and rained.

*This Mahala is a 3rd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog. She is also the step-mother as well as the mother-in-law of JMH.

Monday, March 7th, 1864

To day the boys are at work in the bottom field. I drove my horse and buggy over to Mr. Keen's and got him to do some repairs on the buggy and also to shoe my horse Ratler for Sam* [Samuel Houston Sharp] to ride to the army. Sam made Pet [Florence Mahala Hall] a pair of shoes. The mill ground 1½ bushels of corn. Weather changeable & rather warm. At night it clouded up and rained very hard, which was attended with considerable thunder and lightening and hail fell as large as a partridge egg.

*This Sam is a 2nd great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog. He is also the brother-in-law as well as the step-brother of JMH.

Monday, February 29th, 1864

To day Sam* [Samuel Houston Sharp] made the little woman [Margaret Hall Stewart nee Sharp] a pair of shoes. The boys done nothing but ?. I ground 7 bushels of wheat. Weather cloudy and bitter cold with plenty of hail & sleet. It rained all day when it was not hailing and also rained throughout the whole night which caused the creek to raise very high. Thus I close my notes for the month of February.

*This Sam is a 2nd great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog.

Thursday, February 18th, 1864

To day the boys are still at work plowing in the bottom field. Hicks finished the hen house for the little woman [Margaret Hall Stewart nee Sharp]. I remained at the house around the fire to keep from freezing. The weather is cloudy and bitter cold with a hail & snow storm. at night it was exceedingly cold, with a hard freeze and frost.

Monday, January 4th, 1864

To day the boys are still at work chopping wood in the new ground. Sam* [Samuel Houston Sharp] rode out hog hunting but without success. I ground 13 bushels of wheat. Weather cloudy and bitter cold with a light sprinkle of hail & snow. The mill pond is still frozen over one inch thick.

*This Sam is a 2nd great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog.

Wednesday, December 30th, 1863

To day Father [Joshua James Hall], Mother [Mahala* Sharp Hall nee Roberts], Nellie* [Mary Alexandrien Sharp nee Lemaire] and Hicks all returned from their visit to Crockett, thoroughly soaked to the skin with rain. Mr. Thomas Sharp also came to the mill with 84 bushels of wheat he too was soaked both internally and externally. they all remained with me for the night. I ground 2 bushels of corn and 7 bushels of wheat. Weather cloudy and rainy until night when it turned bitter cold. a hail and snow storm passed over leaving the ground covered with a coat of snow two inches deep, the surface of which was hardly frozen over.

*This Mahala is a 3rd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog. Nellie is a 2nd great-grandma, and is Mahala's daughter-in-law.

Saturday, May 2nd, 1863

To day the boys are still at work hoeing & replanting corn in the bottom field. Charley Hall came out from Crockett to see me. I am busy working in the garden. Charles Leaverton & Frank Stewart came up on a visit. after dinner Charley Leaverton left for Crockett. Frank & Sam* [Samuel Houston Sharp] went fishing and had some success. Frank remained with us all night. Sam ground 47 bushels of corn. weather changeable & warm in the evening however the wind hauled around to the N.E. & blew very hard at the same time it clouded up & there was a very hard rain for about one hour attended with severe thunder & lightning & some hail.

*This Sam is a 2nd great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog. Sam is also the brother-in-law as well as the step-brother of JMH.

Friday, March 13th, 1863

To day I rode my horse Gladiator home from Mr. Williams' and found Joseph Wright waiting to see me. I signed a note as security which note was executed by Joseph A. Wright, his wife, Janie Hail and myself for the sum of 3000$ Confederate Treasury Note and payable to James Collins. I also found my pet babe Fawn [Florence Mahala Hall] had gone down to her Grand Mothers [Mahala* Sharp Hall nee Roberts]. My wagon is still hauling cotton from Moreland's to McElroy's gin. The other boys are still at work in the lower field. Sam* [Samuel Houston Sharp] ground 10 bushels of corn. In the evening I went to work sticking the peas. weather clear & pleasant.

*This Mahala is a 3rd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog. Sam is a 2nd great-grandpa, and is Mahala's eldest son.

Friday, February 13th, 1863

To day the boys finished putting up the fence around the little field in front of the house. Sam* [Samuel Houston Sharp] went to Brasher's and had a balance iron made for the mill. I ground 38 bushels of corn. weather cloudy & cool with occasional showers of rain. At night it rained very hard with severe thunder & lightning and a perfect hail storm. Masoline run away some time during the night. The day was as unpleasant as to prevent any work from being done on the place.

*This Sam is a 2nd great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog.

Tuesday, May 15th, 1860

To day I sent the wagon to move Perry from the mill house. nothing doing in the crops. weather cloudy with rain & hail.

Monday, February 20th, 1860

To day I went to Hall's bluff and received the articles purchased at the sale of HERNDON'S est. and from there to Crockett. I visited Mabie's circus & Menagine [sic, i.e., menagerie], at night. I purchased in town for the little woman [Margaret Hall Stewart nee Sharp] a magic watch from J. R. SIMPSON for $175. The weather was cold with a heavy rain & hail at night.

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• To the delight of children of all ages, Mollie Bailey brought her circus, a Texas institution for four fun-filled decades, to Conroe on Feb. 10, 1913. . . . “A Texas Show for Texas People” followed the trail blazed by pioneer predecessors like John Robinson’s “Great Southern Show,” which thrilled citizens of the recently annexed Republic in 1850. “Mabie’s Circus and Menagerie” amazed audiences eight years later with a trio of elephants, including an enormous bull that nearly plunged to his death after breaking through a bridge outside Waco. . . . This Week in Texas History by Bartee Haile
• Within Kansas territory people approached the Fourth of July, 1859, with gratitude and with hope. . . . Mabie's circus of "fine living specimens of wild animals" and clever clowns gave three exhibitions at a pavilion. "Our country cousins were in in immense numbers, and the elephants, the tall woman, the fat man, the serpents, and the monkeys were almost stared out of countenance. The circus had a fat day, and the men who had the gold watch and trinket raffles had a rich harvest of halves and quarters." . . . The Fourth of July in Early Kansas 1858-1861 by Cora Dolbee