Note: Henry Edwin Ingraham was the eldest son of Henry Ingraham. Building him a house was a family affair, begun when Edwin was 23, shortly before his marriage to Sylvia Gatchell, Nov. 10, 1851. It was across the lawn and faced his father’s house. His father’s involvment is obvioius, as he, the journalist, writes of it as “our house.”
April 26 1850 Friday we plow & harrow & hall some timber from the point to Graves for House frame. plasent.
Tuesday 4 March 1851 Edwin hall lode logs from the point to the mill & a lode lumber home.
Wednesday 2 [April 1851] we start some timber for Mr Graves to frame our House.
May 1851
Tuesday 6 we lay out a seller. set out Liles in the garden.
Saturday 10 we put up fence on the road. the asseser here to take valuation. Edwin woork on the seller.
Wednesday 21 Edwin hall rock for seller on the drag. John plant beets. I git 18# potash of OF Fales 1 62. wife make soap.
Friday 30 Edwin diging Seller.
June 1851
Thursday 5 Mr Richerson woork on the seller 1 ½ days. set hen on turkeys eggs.
Thursday 12 Edwin hall 2 M. bourds [boards] from H Berry & 2 plank. Mr Rise came to build our House by the job for 225 dollars.
Tuesday 17 Edwin hall rock & some lumber from H Berry, boards & plank…. our sow pig 9 pigs.
Friday 20 ….git 6 casks lime of Mr Burns 62, & 6 barrels sand of Mr Richerson.
Saturday June 21 1851 Richerson woork 2 days, Partrick 1 day. hall 12 casks. send Phil woork 1 day, git the seller wall dun.
Tuesday 24 Partrick shoveling out the seller. go to see about window sash. git 2 windows to make frames by. [They bought windows in two different sizes to take home and copy.]
Thursday 26 Richerson work 2 ½. Partrick 1 day. Edwin hall rock for backing up the underpining & hall some plank & shingles from Berry. I bought some granite of Hewett 129 feet.
Friday 27 git a plank of ship yard for doar stoals yesterday.
Saturday 28 1851 we raise the House. Partrick & man shoveling out the seller part day.
Monday 30 Rise bourding house. [Mr. Rice putting sheathing boards on house.] bought of TK Kimball 3 gallons oil 3 dollars, 2 kegs led 3 50, 10# whiteing 25, 1 keg 3 peney nailes, 30# clabord nailes 92, and 2 paint brushes 92 cents, 2 quarts varnish.
July 1851
Tuesday July 1 Edwin prime sash. we have of steam mill 11 windows 7 26 cents. hall 2 M. boards from Berrys & 8 ½ M. shingles 3 25 per M.
Saturday 5 fair. Edwin hall sand from Getchells vessel 10 lode. Morel Morse help. I go to Church meeting. 2 relates their experince. George Spears son was buried.
Tuesday 8 Edwin paint the woork the joiners put up.
Friday 11 fair. Edwin hall brick from the patent kills. let John Hall have 5 hundred. he pay me 150. we hall 3 M, git 6 casks lime of Berry.
Monday 14 masons building chimneys. Mr Richerson & 2 men, Partrick, Mr Lerner, tend. we have of H Berry 9 hundred of brick & 1 ½ M. shingle of JK Kimball, 44 ½# sheet led, 7 cents per #.
Friday 25 ….hall the sash to Mr Partredges. git 2 boxes glass of JKK 1 75 per box.
Saturday 26 Mason plastrin the House between the studs. …git 5 casks lime, pay Boyinton 2 dollars.
Tuesday 29 no hay weather. we git 20 feet plank of Berry. git of JKK 2 gallons oil 2 00 yesterday, 3 buts & screws 8 cents. git 3 dours [doors] of LC Libby, one 3 25, one 2 50, one 2 25. 8 dollars.
August 1851
Tuesday 5 git 2 side lites* [to go by the front door] of Libby 1 25.
Saturday 9 git our windows of Partrege.
[Meanwhile, they are doing the annual haying:]
Monday 18 Lerner woork, hall 1 lode hay & 1 lode barley from the back field. we are dun haying. we have had 12 lode from the Marsh, 1 in the barn, 4 in the stack by the barn, 5 in the outher stack, 1 to E Perry, 1 to Dr Merril. we git 14 casks of lime of J Kallock 75 cents per cask, 10.50. …
Tuesday 19 we slack lime [mix quicklime with water] to plaster the House. I git some hare [horsehair to mix with plaster] of S Deen, 11 bushell, 35 cents per bushell, pay him 4 dollars 30 cents.
Thursday 21 Richerson & 1 man plastring House. Lerner & Partrick tend. have 4 barels of sand of Richerson.
Monday 25 Richerson smothe the plastering 2 ½ days. …Edwin shingle the shed over the carrige.
Friday 27 pay WE Tolman 40 dollars in part for my tax. Edwin clean up round the new house. Mr Cox fix Anns grave.
Wednesday 27 Edwin shingle the pourch. we git 1000 shingles of J Berry, 3 dollars.
September 1851
Tuesday 2 we git 12 hundred flour [floor] boards of H Berry, 12 dollars per M. 14 40, 2 wt. No 2 boards, 32 dollars per M. 40, 20.80. git 17 hundred of boards planed at the mill for Mr Rice, 300 cents per M. 5 90 cents. git of PK Kimball 50# flour nailes. rain a little, verry much wanted.
Wednesday 3 Edwin bank the new house.
Tuesday 9 boys dig potatoes. we git a stair post of Mr Burpee, 1 50 paid.
Thursday 18 Edwin building back House*. dry & verry dustey.
Wednesday 24 we git of JKK hangings for doars, $11.17. git of steam mill 17 doars,
1 50 per. (1 50 x 17 = $25.50). Ed pick the plums, 1 bushel.
Tuesday 30 Rice finesh our house at noon. I pay him 80 dollars in gold.
October 1851
Thursday 2 Kiths man L Robbinson come here to paint the new House.
Thursday 9 wife, John & Achsah go to Balfast. gave wife 5 dollars. git of JKK 3 pints S Terpintine, 18 squares of 8 by 10 glass for seller windows. git of Steame Mill six seller windows & 1 over the doar 1 40. 2 schooners lanched* Staret & Dyers.
Tuesday 14 git of JKK 10# French yellow 50. 1 gal wite 1 00. 2 quarts spirets terpentine & 1 pint jappan. I carry Achsah home. Edwin painting flours. Git 2 quarts of varnesh of Sawyer not long since 1 50.
Wednesday 29 E Smith put the bats on the blinds. git 30 pair of JKK 23 cents a pair, 6 90. Edwin git of Mr Sawyer 6 chaires 3 00, one table 2 00, one glas 3 25, put them in the new house.
Thursday 30 Edwin puting his things in the new house. Sylvel Getchell here.
November 1851
Monday 10 … Edwin was married to Sylvo R. Gatchell. Joseph [Kalloch, Rev] Marry them. git a glass of Mr Wakefield 84 cents for Edwin. snow. Ed have 200. git 2 dishes of E Perry 1 84.