Capt Henry Truby’s Daily Diary, 1843

Farms, friendship, and the minutia of daily life

Apollo farmer Simon Truby had an older brother Henry, born in 1800. The two grew up on their father’s 400-acre farm in Butler County PA, along with other siblings. Henry was 6 years older than Simon.

Census and land records give us some basic facts about these two. For instance, by the time they were in their 40s, the brothers lived relatively near each other in Armstrong County. Henry Truby had purchased more than 100 acres in Gilpin Township, near the pinnacle of Lover’s Leap Road. And Simon bought 156 acres in Kiskiminitas Township, including land that would later become part of today’s Apollo Borough and North Apollo.

These facts are great to know. But for local history lovers, it can be a rare thrill to uncover details about the day-to-day lives of earlier generations—details that we ourselves likely take for granted in our own daily lives. It’s especially precious, I think, when the information is from the 1800s or earlier.

One of the earliest records I found for Simon Truby comes from an 1833 ledger book, which is almost like a shopping list. It shows him purchasing about a half-ton of oats over a 7-month period, including some bushels of oats “for father.” Later he buys a stylish straw hat. Meanwhile, Simon’s brother Henry was purchasing coffee, tea, and sugar. (For more about these early records, see Simon Truby in the Books)

Little facts like these can help us envision the lives and experiences of people and times long-gone. But information about the minutia of ordinary life a century or more ago can be hard to come by.

We’re so lucky, then, that Capt Henry Truby began keeping a diary on November 18, 1843. He wrote in it nearly every day until March 1845. Each daily entry is brief—usually just a few sentences. But it gives us a glimpse of what it must have been like to be an early settler, farmer, and traveler in Pennsylvania’s Alle-Kiski valley.

In 1843, Henry Truby’s activities included building a kitchen, a barn, and stables with the help of his brother John and a man named Sheesley. Henry also injures his foot, attends a funeral, and loses his pen knife. At the end of the year, he receives a summons to appear in county court, which involved a multi-day trip to Ebensburg PA. He was often hauling things or engaging in the arduous task of cutting down trees and removing deep roots to clear land for farming. Perhaps most important, he seemed to have plenty of friends and family to help him out.

The diary includes the names of many people Henry Truby interacted with—maybe even some of your own ancestors. Among the last names mentioned more than once are Ashbaugh, Parks, Hill, Hildebrand, Klingensmith, Stitt, and Hawk.

Please accept this invitation to see what Henry Truby was up to in November and December 1843. He was a man of few words. But we’re so fortunate he had the discipline to write at least a sentence or two nearly every day. I left his typos in place. And I added some comments in blue.

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Captain Henry Truby’s Diary, 1843

Sat Nov 18, 1843. Laid up my boat in Pittsburgh.      

Sun Nov 19. Slept in U.S. hotel In Pittsburgh. Wrote a letter, ec.

Mon Nov 20. Purchased some articles and left in the Freeport Packet for Tarentum.

Tue Nov 21. Stopt in Tarentum. Bought 2 horses.

Wed Nov 22. Started early in the morning with Leetion Boat Indiana. Went to Freeport. Put in 1500 fet pine boards and some scantling. Got dinner and went to Ashbaughs salt works and unloaded and then went on to Simon Trubys.

[I don’t know what Leetion Boat Indiana means! It might be a misspelled or mis-transcribed word. Scantling is related to timber dimensions used in shipbuilding.]

Thu Nov 23. John and me geered up the wagon, came down to the place. Hauled 2 loads of boards up to the house. Left wagon at Ashbaughs and rode up to Simon Trubys.

[I think John is Henry’s brother John Thompson Truby, who lived nearby.]

Fri Nov 24. I took one of the horses and rode to the place. Laid floor and left and rode to Simon Trubys and remained there that night.

Sat Nov 25. John and family moved to place in boat Indiana to salt works and we hauled him up in 2 loads with our team and 2 loads with Ashbaughs – and slept in the house for the first time, ec.

Sun Nov 26. Stayed in the house pretty much all day. Was visited by J. Hill, esq. and the J.W. Parks, John, J.B., and William. They was coming home from Joseph Klingensmith’s funeral.

Wed Nov 29. Rained all day. Hauled 3 loads of boards. Went to Parks for oats, got none. Met Sam Crosby, I. Hill, Dr. Bullard. Bought 1 bushel of oats from Franks.

Thu Nov 30. Went to Leechburg. Brought home 2 plough, grindstone, 6 bushel of oats. Went to Parks and got 104 lb beef, the sleet ice hung on the trees all day.

[I wonder why he is he buying so much beef! He buys nearly 50 more pounds two days later]

Fri Dec 1, 1843. Hauled one load of boards and lath. Helped Adam Klingensmith to calve his sheep. We then hauled 5 poles for joice. Sheesley finished barn this day.

Sat Dec 2. Hauled rubbish from barn. Cut and hauled three sleepers for kitchen. Made shave handle. John went to Parks. Got 46 lb. beef. Was visited by Capt. Hildebrand, Simon Truby, William Parks, and Miss Rose. Paid Sheesley $20.00 for building chimney.

Sun Dec 3. Was visited by Wm. L. Young, George Hawk, and John Sheldon.

Mon Dec 4. Samuel Sheesly with my help laid foundation of kitchen. Commenced grubbing in the lane. John went to Warren. Very fine day. Evening threatening rain.

In farming, “grubbing” refers to the process of removing roots, stumps, and unwanted vegetation from soil, often by using a pick ax or mattock.

Tue Dec 5. Worked at kitchen. Saul Sheesly and I helped. Very cold and blustery. Snowed between times. Lewis went to see the Stitts Mill.

Wed Dec 6. Worked at kitchen. Saul Sheesly and John and myself. Lewis went to Mill. Snowed in afternoon. Old Mr. Sheesly brought me 2 papers and a letter from Leechburg. Cleaned out stable and put in horses for first time.

Sat Dec 9. Put up trough and rack in horse stable and wheels in stable door. Killed calf. Weather by thermometer 25 deg above.

Sun Dec 10. Stayed at home all day. Wrote a letter. Weather clear. Thermometer 28 degrees above. Letter wrote to A.

[A was likely Alvina Hill, then about age 14. The two married over five years later – on August 6, 1850]

Mon Dec 11. Went to Leechburg in sleigh. John Leech and myself went and looked at a stack hay. Bought 2 crocks and pitcher, 3 bushels oats. I came home got out stuff for stable door and made ladder after night. It rained from daylight till three o’clock. Snow went very fast. Cleared up at 4 oc.           

[Looks like Henry didn’t go to the party he was invited to – or at least, he didn’t write about it in his diary]

Wed Dec 13. Went to Leechburg got paper. Made door for stable. John and Lewis [can’t read some text].  John went to Ashbaughs and got 7 bushels oats then went to William Parks and got one hay wt. 122 lb. Weather very fine. At 9 oc thermometor 12 above. This morning it was 8 degrees above.—        

Fri Dec 15. Repaired kitchen roof. John helped Earl to raise the corner of the barn. Lewis went to Leechburg and got mair and then went to mill. Rained little in the morning. Very warm day – snow went very fast—.

Sat Dec 16. Rained until 12 oc. Very warm. Until night snow all gone. Made two window frames and done some other work to the kitchen. Made a box to hold currying tools after night . John laid hearth of kitchen – Lewis went to Warren for grubben hoe . Simon Truby and Capt. Hildebrand stopt awhile with us – Samuel Metsler was at the house to sell a colt.

[Currying tools are used to groom horses. A grubbing hoe, also called a mattock, is used to clear land for farming]

Sun Dec 17. Cloudy warm weather. Ther. 40 degrees above. Leonard Arner and Levi Crofford stopt at our house.

Mon Dec 18. John and myself cut and hauled forks and poles for wagon. Then I put them up. Lewis done some excavation before the doors – then went to Leechburg. Sheeslies repaired the roof of the barn. Capts. Craig and Thompson came to see us. Philip Klingensmith was at our house same day. Thermometer 40 de above.

Thu Dec 19. Put ribs on wagon shed and then grubbed the rest of the day. Chas. Ashbaugh stopped at the barn. Lewis picked brush. Weather very fine. Thermometer 55 deg at (?).

Fri Dec 22.  Got out stuff for door and then ground tools. Hauled two loads of clapboards. Lewis went to Leechburg. Got 2 grubbing hoes dreped(?). It rained all day.

Wed Dec 20. Grubbed and burned brush all day. I went to the canal in the morning and give the post boy a letter to A. Very fine day – warm.

[A is presumably his future wife Alvina]

Thu Dec 21. Grubbed in meadow all day. Very tyred at night – very fine day – warm.

Sat Dec 23. Put shed roof on. Made small roof for sleigh. Leveled yard before kitchen door. Made shovel handle. It rained all last night and drizzled nearly all day. Very warm for this time of year.

Sun Dec 24. Warm day. Seen new moon first time. Thermometer at 35 degrees above.

Tue Dec 26. Weatherboarded one end of kitchen – put in one window – trimmed 2 locust trees – rained in the evening.

Wed Dec 27. Grubbed in the meadow and at night worked in the kitchen. John daubed the corner of the kitchen. Very warm. Rained in morning and in eve.

Thu Dec 28. Thursday grubbed until evening – commenced snowing about 2 oc P.M. John Downy served a supena on me to attend at Ebbensburg on Jan. 1, 1844. Commonwealth V. Brodsen – got 10 ½ bushels of oats from Franks – he owes for 3 ½ bushels that I paid him for.

[On this date, Henry’s brother Simon Truby and wife Sarah Woodward of the town of Warren purchased 158 acres of land from Dr. James R Speer and Hetty his wife of the City of Pittsburgh, although the purchase wasn’t recorded in the Armstrong county courthouse until July 1844.]

Fri Dec 29. Framed out door in kitchen. Repd door in house – went to Leechburg – John and Lewis hauled wood. Weather cold – toepath very rough and slippery – 28 degees by thermometer at 9 oc.

Sat Dec 30. Made the door frame and put it in and put soles on sled – John and Lewis hauled wood and tomorrow I Intend to go to Ebensburg – the weather pretty cold – 30 deg at 9 o’clock P.M.

Sun Dec 31. Started early in the morning for Ebbensberg – Let a shoe of the mare – got it put on in Warren – went to Saltsburg – got dinner – horses fed and then went to Blairsville that night – Weather very cold and rough.

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So ends Henry Truby’s diary entries for the year 1843. His diary continues on January 1, 1844. I’ll share those entries with you in the future, if it seems to be of interest to our readers. Please add comments below if you’d like.

I personally love trying to imagine what it would have been like to live atop Lover’s Leap Road, grubbing the land and hauling stuff with mules. And looking out over the Kiski River and seeing the canal boats with their passengers, and of course drinking coffee and eating lots of beef.

BTW, six years ago—around Valentine’s day in 2020—I wrote a post about Henry Truby’s diary entries for the few weeks leading up to that romantic holiday in 1844, when he was writing to his future wife Alvina. You can read about those diary entries here. And you can read more about Capt Henry Truby in these articles:

• Capt. Henry Truby House for Sale in Gilpin Twp
• Copycat Brothers?

Please consider supporting some of the local historical societies in the Alle-Kiski valley, whether through donations or volunteering. Some of my favorites are the Apollo Area Historical Society and the Leechburg Area Museum and Historical Society.