April 9th Friday Have made the skirt of my Delaine
dress and Orinthia has been sewing on her own
clothes most of the day I have done but very
little sewing this spring. Have had some one staying
here for the last few weeks and have been upon the
go a great deal of the time. Abby came about four
this afternoon and spent the evening
Evelina was trying to catch up on her sewing today, admitting that she had been distracted by “someone staying” at the house for several weeks. She had been “upon the go” with visits from her sister-in-law Amelia Gilmore, her mother, and her former boarder, Orinthia Foss. As a consequence, her sewing had suffered. It was time to get busy.
Her father-in-law, Old Oliver, was busy, too. After noting that“it was cloudy all day wind north east + snowd a little,” he went on to report the purchase of several animals. “[W]e bought 12 pigs to day that weighd 2041 lb at 7 ½ cents a lb – paid 143=00 cents for them [and] we bought a black hors[e] to day of Mr Feild of North Bridgewater which he cald 5 years old for 125$ if he proves good we are to pay 25$ more for him”
A few days ago it was oxen, today it was pigs and a horse. Old Oliver was filling the barn.
evelinaames 
Now THAT is interesting to me…..in 1852 a good horse cost $150!! That must have been a fair amount of money in those days as I paid $150 in 1956 for one of the best horses I have ever had. He wasn’t 5 yrs. old, but he was only 8. I think what must have caused this is in 1940, the American Quarter Horse Ass’n was formed. Its rules allowed artificial insemination and the numbers of QHs grew exponentially, therefore devaluing the purchase price of the breed. Today, a similar good horse, if not being given away (often the case) would cost $2500.
Thanks, Caroline. Interesting that the 1852 cost was so close to the 1956 cost. Another factor may have been that horses were IT. They were what people rode to get anywhere, so when they were good, they were worth paying for. Old Oliver would have known that. I wonder what the introduction of the automobile at the start of the 20th century did to horse prices.