Buck article
Louis A. Buck
By Karen Cuccinello
I found this diary in the Stamford Historical Society archives. It was written in 1869/70 by Louis A. Buck while he attended the Stamford Seminary. Louis was 18 years old when he used a pencil to jot down his daily activities in a fairly legible cursive.
Louis was born 1851 in Harpersfield to David S. (1818-1910) and Adaline Jerusha (Dayton 1830-1910) Buck. He had two younger sisters.
Some of his often-used entries in the diary are: mentioning the weather; if he went to school; did his chores at the family farm; cutting down sticks of timber 40 feet long for wagonhouse; drawing (collecting and bringing to the necessary site) rocks for the wagonhouse foundation; visits to Hobart or Stamford; attending spelling school; whittling or burning out sap spiles to tap trees for maple sap; boiled sap day and night; drawing up hay, fire wood, manure and corn; killing calves (for meat, I presume); going to the mill in Hobart; shot a crow; and churned then brought butter to Stamford (I presume to sell).
Single entries: Father bought a Melodeon (pump organ) for $165; February 26, 1869 last day of school for the winter; March 13, put up sap buckets; went to Mr. Warner’s to get his gun (I believe this was Asa Warner as he lived next door) and made 160 pounds of maple sugar.
Names mentioned: Robert Hastings worked for his family on their farm; Strat Wilcox; Sarah Efner; Smith Buck; Silas Stoutenburgh; Tommy Tompkins; George Owens, carpenter for the wagonhouse; and Henry Sherman, a hired hand at the Buck farm.
Louis’s father’s obituary gave the rest of the story about his short life. Louis attended the Stamford Seminary when Dr. Stephen E. Churchill was the principal, then entered Eastman’s Business College in Poughkeepsie, and while there was taken ill, returned home and died two weeks later, age 23, in 1875. His sister Ella (1857-1878) married Allen D. Rowe and died a year and a half later of consumption (tuberculosis). His other sister Carrie/Caroline (1861-1922) married Daniel W. Peters and lived with her parents.
The family is buried in Harpersfield Rural Cemetery and posted on findagrave.com.
I was hoping to find a photo of Louis in the Stamford Village Library history room photo collection, but alas no luck.