St Thomas’s Day. Fine and cold. Divine Service at 9.15 am when Austin Hillman’s wife was churched. Drove to Banbury this evening and preached at Christ Church. Only 30 present. Took supper afterwards with Mr Henderson who is very unwell, and has been for some months, with a bad cough. Cold, bright, frosty night.
My dear mother has been buried 38 years today. And 28 years ago today I was married.
Stevens was born in October 1832, so his mother died when he was 11.
Went over Sibford Ferris allotments to give instructions respecting temporary stopping of gaps in hedges made by felling trees, Coles of the Elm having sent boy Scruby to say that his cattle were getting in. I found ten or a dozen enjoying a pleasant luncheon of turnip tops, savoys and cabbage. Gave old William Harris 1/- to stop up the gaps.
Met Blind Keene and had a long talk with him. He has killed a bullock this week and I therefore bought 37 lbs of beef of him for £1.7.9.
Vere went home. Harry went to Sutton.
Visited Sylvia Sabin, Widow William Keene, Eliza Barnes who is much grieved at the loss of her money, and thinks Mr Routh must have known when he took her £70 that his affairs were in a bad way. She applied to him far back in the summer for her interest and a portion of the principal, as she had to pay an account, but got no reply from him. When the Doctor and Mr Minchin of Hook Norton called on her a few evenings ago she thought it was to bring the money – but was almost overwhelmed with astonishment and grief to find that their business was practically to tell her it was lost. It appears that her husband, James Barnes, my late Clerk had placed his savings with him from the first, 30 or 40 years ago, being a forehanded man. When he died these had accumulated to £30.
Visited Thomas Barnes, J. Adkins, Widow Aris, Thomas Meadows, Sarah Green, Thomas Wilks, Tay, Joshua Lines, Sarah Gough, Hannah Keene, Jane Haynes, Richard haynes, William Haynes.
Met Mr Richard Lamb who walked with me across the fields from Sibford Ferris to Sibford Gower.
Mrs Woolgrove, Miss S. Dix and Mrs Way called.
Joshua Lines’s wife came this evening and asked me to give her the Children’s school half-crowns out of the Penny Bank to pay her rent with, as they owed over £3. I told her I could not do that as the Trustees placed the money in the Penny Bank for the Children in order that they might have a little sum to use when they leave school and need clothing to go out to service.
The Rev J. Daniel Hopkyns of Chichester sent me a guinea for “Poor Communicants of the parish.” I have bought 50 two shilling parcels of grocery which I am distributing. I gave away 11 lbs of beef today.
Click on an entry date to view an image of the original diary page.
Read about the Rev Edward Stevens here.
