James Monroe Woodson (1880-1970) and his wife Laura Ellen Rowland Woodson (1887-1963).
She is seen using a tall metal Dazey Churn to make butter outdoors.
Photos courtesy of Michael Barbour, a relative.

Historic journals can be captivating resources for learning about the past. It has been my recent undertaking to transcribe the journal of a local tobacco farmer James Monroe Woodson (1880-1970). He lived on Chalk Level Road near the junction of Hurt Road. Together, he and his wife, Laura Ellen Rowland (1887-1963) raised five children. As a farmer, Woodson kept a farm journal to remember when he planted certain crops, the quantity, business transactions, weather, and otherwise notable events. This primary source provides valuable insight into the endeavors and annual duties shared by tobacco farming families across the Virginia Piedmont region.

The journal begins with the entry “Carried cow to Jim Rowland’s August 16, 1917.” The first presence of frost appeared on Oct. 7, and the following day Woodson paid a visit to Galveston Mill to have his wheat ground to flour. Two big frosts occurred over the following week before ultimately one of the most destructive natural events in the county took place. He noted rather casually, “cyclone at Gretna Oct. 29, 1917.” In reality, this horrific storm destroyed several dwellings, businesses, and a church in town. Several people were thrown from their homes and the event resulted in the death of a three-month-old baby. 

The following month, Woodson ordered pigs on Nov. 19 and Dec. 14 was hog-killing time. Two hogs weighed a combined 770 lbs and the smokehouse was packed for winter. In February 1918, he purchased two barrels of flour at B. R. Powell’s department store for $25. This is notable since Powell’s store was ruined by the recent cyclone, but had reopened in a nearby building. Woodson was diligent in recording when he opened a new flour barrel. According to the entries, a barrel lasted two months for this family of six (and one on the way). 

The old fashioned farmhouse of J. M. Woodson & family, part log construction. Photo courtesy of Michael Barbour.

On Feb. 16 and 26 he sowed a plant bed for his tobacco. He planted three rows of onions, then snap peas and cabbages throughout March and April. A week later, five inches of snow fell and surely affected the garden. Woodson “put out a hot bed” to combat the weather. In May, he sowed cabbage seed, planted Irish potatoes, snaps, beans, and corn. Woodson’s nonchalant entry about the birth of his son, Hyrum, simply reads, “Baby May 13, 1918.” Toward the end of May, it was time to transplant tobacco. Over the following two weeks he planted over 25,000 hills of tobacco. All the hours of toil are evident in his brief entries: “Planted 4,000 tob. June 5, 1918…Planted 4,400 tob. June 6…Planted 5,000 tob. June 7…Planted 1,350 tob. June 8…”

As the sweltering heat of July rolled around, Woodson sowed two acres of peas. He thrashed 66 ½ bushels of wheat and hauled it to the wheat mill six days later. He sowed a turnip patch on July 23 and then sawed wood the following week. Journal entries were scarce until October, when he sowed oats and vetch for the hogs. At the end of the month he sowed 5 ¼ acres of wheat in one day and an additional 2 ½ the next day. He then made a purchase of 35 lbs of beef from his cousin Frank Irby for seven dollars. Soon after, Woodson purchased a basket from Coleman Rowland (a relative of his wife) for $1.75. He visited Galveston Mill once more in November to make flour. In broader terms of history, Woodson documented the end of the Great War in one brief note that stated “Germany surrendered Nov. 11, 1918.” Life continued on the farm, and more than 22 barrels of corn shuckings were produced by Nov. 14. The last few chilly weeks of the year conjured big storms during the nighttime. The final project of 1918 involved the customary hog-killing time. The three hogs of choice weighed 338 lbs, 334 lbs, and 298 lbs, for a total of 970 lbs. 

Woodson’s journal continued in a similar fashion until 1924, when entries became more brief and recorded only weather data between 1925-1928. Many decades later, the farm journal ended up in an antique store. Local historian Bobby Ricketts found it there, purchased it, and it has recently changed hands to my collection. It was not obvious who wrote the journal, but after a bit of investigation and genealogy research, I discerned the journal to be written by Woodson.