Lorette's Diary

Following is the set of footnotes associated with research of the transcription of the January 1856 diary entries by Lorette Shepard & John Hamilton. Footnotes are also interspersed and embedded within transcriptions.

1. uncle Bradners ♢ John Bradner 69 was married to Grandmother Elizabeth Powell Powers Showerman’s sister Lydia Powell 63.
2. oysters ♢ Oysters were readily available in western New York, being transported from NYC and coastal towns via railroad.
3. down to Albion ♢ Although John says “down to Albion”, Albion is north of Batavia, near Lake Ontario. This, as mentioned in 1855, is in reference to using the term “up south” when heading in a northerly direction, and “down north” when heading south.
4. spelling school ♢ In the evening, Lorette and John often went to a spelling school. The class possibly used a book similar to Cobb's New Spelling Book. As the diary years progressed, their grammar and spelling did improve.
5. Elizabeth Q ♢ Elizabeth 28, married to Israel Quance 35, lived on land he bought from Calvin Strong in 1855, on the corner of East and Putnam Roads, Batavia.
6. Mr Gettens ♢ Henry was born in England and arrived in Genesee County around 1846, the year he married Mary Elizabeth Churchill. She was born in Alexander in 1828, and a daughter of early pioneers, Ara Churchill and Sarah Hyde. Henry and Mary had two children by 1856, Oscar 7 and Helen 6.
7. Mrs. N. Hawley ♢ Mrs. Sarah Shepard Hawley 38, was visiting with her stepmother, Catherine Shaw Shepard 58, who lived on Putnam Settlement Rd.
8. Mr. Thompson & sister ♢ Charles 24 was probably one of John Hamilton’s best friends at the time. He lived on Francis Road across from the Hamilton house and may have been with one of his unmarried sisters, like Harriet 26 or Mary 18.
9. Mr & Mrs Wm Stewart ♢ William 32 was married to John Hamilton’s sister, Adeline 29.
10. Mr. Showerman ♢ Henry 23, son of Peter and Roxanny Showerman, married another of Lorette’s cousins on her father’s side, Helen Shepard in 1854, a daughter of Asahel Shepard. The couple may have been living with one of their parents.
11. Israel Quance ♢ Israel 35 married Lorette’s mother’s half-sister Elizabeth Showerman in February 1855, the same year he bought the Calvin Strong house at the corner of Putnam and East roads in 1855. This is the property that Lorette and John would purchase in 1864.
12. Leonard and his wife ♢ Lorette's cousin Maria Shepard 25 had just married Ira Leonard a month earlier, Christmas Day 1855. They were all up south to the West Bethany Baptist Church.
13. delain dress ♢ A delaine dress is usually made of fine, worsted wool from Merino sheep, which Lorette’s family raised.
14. search for John Franklin ♢ He was an English rear admiral who led an expedition in search of a northwest passage through Canada to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He and his crew mysteriously disappeared from their ship in 1848.
15. Presidential Message ♢ Franklin Pierce was the fourteenth President of the United States, elected in 1853. His weekly message was related to the British government not assuming any sovereignty in Central America.
16. Grandfather Shepards ♢ John, age 79 lived on Putnam Road across from Francis road with his second wife Catherine Shaw 71. Her first marriage was to Daniel Shaw who died in 1823 and their son Horace Shaw 44 lived across from them on the southwest corner of Francis and Putnam Settlement Roads.
17. Frank Hamilton ♢ Frank 19 was five years younger than John Hamilton. He lived on the Hamilton homestead on Francis Rd in Bethany.
18. James Quance’s ♢ James 32 lived with his wife Lucy Barney and their 4-year-old daughter Roselle in his mother’s house (Mehitable Powers Quance) on East road.
19. Father ♢ John and Lorette lived with her parents on Shepard Road, Batavia.
20. Mr. Lymans ♢ Samuel 44 his wife Charlotte Williamson lived at the corner of Shepard and Ellicott Roads. Oldest children Ellen and Franklin were about the same age as John and Lorette.
21. Mr. Thorn’s ♢ There was a 35-year-old John L. Thorne who lived at Tinsdale’s Hotel in Batavia about this time.
22. Grandfather & wife & Olive ♢ John 76 and Grandmother Elizabeth Powell Powers 67, were both widowed when they married in 1825, then had children, Webster, Elizabeth (Mrs Israel Quance), Olive (Mrs Milton Powers), and Lorinda (Mrs James Bride) . Between John and Elizabeth, they had 23 children.
23. Miss Hurty ♢ Mary was one of ten children born to John Hurty and Elizabeth Bartels. of Allegany County, NY. In 1844 a Josiah Hurty was the Principal of the Bethany Academy.
24. Mrs. Mary Putnam ♢ Mary 31 was the young widow of Seymour Putnam who died in 1854. He was son of Peter Putnam and Prudence Johnson of Putnam Settlement. In 1850 the couple lived in Alden, Erie County, NY.
25. here in the evening ♢ This group was made up of John and Lorette’s family and friends who lived in the Shepard Putnam Roads area.
26. Henry ♢ Henry Showerman 23 and wife Helen lived with his parents Peter and Roxanny Showerman on Batavia-Bethany Townline Road, Bethany.
27. Wm Stewarts ♢ William Stewart and John Hamilton’s sister Adeline, lived next to another sister, Harriet Hamilton who was married to David Knowlton. They lived on Bethany Center Road, across from widow Amanda Thompson.
28. Thompsons ♢ Amanda 58 the widow of Joseph Thompson who died in 1853, lived with many of her nine children on Bethany Center road: Harriet, Charles, Leonard, Mary and Daniel.
29. Methodist Church ♢ The Methodist Episcopal church was built in 1841 on land donated by John Lowbar on the east side of Jackson Street, Batavia.

See the Next set of footnotes.

Read the January 1856 transcription.