At a distance of eighty or one hundred rods from the house lay
the Whalom pond, a body of clear, deep spring water, of more than a
hundred acres. The farm contained one hundred and thirteen acres of
land, somewhat rocky, but in quality better than the average New
England farms. At the time of the purchase one-half of the acres were
woodland with heavy timber.
My father relied upon that timber to meet the debt of one thousand
dollars which rested upon the place. In those days wood and timber
were abundant and money was scarce. If the building of railroads could
have been foreseen and the timber saved for twenty-five years it would
have risen to twice the value of the farm at the time of the purchase.
My father's anxiety to be relieved of the debt was so great that he
made sales of wood and timber as he had the opportunity, but the
proceeds, after much hard labor had been added, were very
insignificant. As a result, the most valuable part of the timber was
sold for ship-building, or to the coopers, or converted into boards
and shingles, and a remnant of the debt remained for twenty years.
The farm yielded ample supplies of meat, milk, butter, cheese, grain,
fruit, and vegetables, but groceries and clothing were difficult to
procure after such supplies were had as could be obtained by barter.
Once or twice, or possibly three times a year, my father drove an ox-
team or a team of one pair of oxen and one horse to Boston with cider,
apples, a hog or two, and poultry.
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