Selected diary entries of Rev. Frederick Dibblee, an Anglican minister in Woodstock Parish, central New Brunswick.
Tags: New Brunswick, weather, cold, warm, crops
29 April 1816 – Clear and never a Warmer Day in May …
7 May 7 1816 – Ploughed the Old Garden – first Ploughing …
20 May 1816 – Clear and very warm – The first warm weather after 36 days
29 May 1816 – Cold Indeed after a Small Thunder Shower just at Night – Sowed 2½ Bushels of Wheat on the New Ground – Jack & Henry came in having Sowed 4 Bushels of Wheat on his Place; New Ground. Mr. Smith Sheered my Sheep 27 – Never was there so Could a Day at Time of the Year. With My GreatCoat Buttoned up – I could scarce keep myself warm in Sowing
31 May 1816 – Clear and very Cold Morning – The Ground Froze Hard and Ice were ever there was water – The Frost has Destroyed every thing that will not bear it – Began to Plant corn – William finished Harrowing Wheat on New Ground – Sowed some Cabbage Seed – The Frost having killed my old ones – The River has Rose a little Some Days Past; but now falls again …Afternoon quite warm and Pleasant. We hope for good wheat.
3 June 1816 – A Cloud Cast night – brought the Wind Nor-west and very High – and therefore very Cold – Boys finished Planting Corn – William Harrowing above the Spring for Wheat – Planted my last Pole Beans
4 June 1816 – Clear and Cold Indeed – This Morning the Ground Froze Considerable Hard – and Ice in all the Ponds. Boys Dunging & Planting Potatoes – Sowed 3 Bushels & a Peck of Wheat above the Spring – William Harrowing it
7 June 1816 – Cloudy and Cold as Winter. Snow Squals all Day. The Snow fell last Night So as to Cover the Ground – Terrible Indeed – Never knew Snow in Summer before… Never was there such weather – People Ploughing & Harrowing with their Great Coats on – Wind High Norwest.
8 June 1816 – Still Cloudy and very Cold; Wind High at North – Planting Potatoes – Lockwood came for 2 Bushels of Seed Wheat.
9 June 1816 – Trinity Sunday. Cloudy and Colder if Possible. Wind very High at North – This Morning the Hills on the other side of the river were covered with Snow
10 June 1816 – Still Cloudy and very Cold – it Rained last Night mixed with Snow – and this Morning the Hills on the other Side were Intirely Covered – Never was there such a June. The Boys finished planting Potatoes on the Intervale and then Planting in the Old Garden – afternoon clears off.
11 June 1816 – Clear and Still – a very heavy Frost, the Ground all White – Some Fog – 10 o-c- grows warm, and we laid aside our Great Coats, which we have worn for 11 days. Sowed 1½ Bushels of Oats – the Wheat is now just coming up – Nothing has grown but Peas; the Rest of the Seeds remain in the Ground – But Some Beans in Sight.
16 June 1816 – Sunday – Clear and very warm at last … We hope now things will grow.
20 June 1816 – Clear, wind very high indeed at North – and of Course very Cold – We fear a Severe Frost – …
15 August 1816 – From the last Date [2 July] we have had Some few Cold Nights, but in general never warmer nor more growing … Everything Grown Astonishingly and all look very well, but from the cold till July very Backward – Corn is now in the Silk, but little Planted – People have just begun their Haying – Grass is much better than Expected …
Altho’ the Salmon have been very Scarce at Fredericton and on the River, we have been very Successful and Caught more than for Several Years Past – Wheat now looks very Promising. The Cold Dry weather kept it back and the Fly never more Plenty – But after the Warm Weather began we had a very Heavy Warm Rain, and the Fly Intirely Disappeared – and the Wheat grew almost beyond Belief – Peas, Barley and Buckwheat look as well as we could Wish – Potatoes also good but late; If we have no early Frost, we may yet, with the Blessing of God – have Good Crops. Beans good but just fit for Picking. …
7 September 1816 – From the last date we have had Cool Nights but Warm Days – never Better Season for geting Hay – and never Hay yet in Better Order … – The Wheat to all appearance very Good, but Exceeding late – There being None at this Date fit for Cuting – But changing fast – The Weather at this Date warm enough, and every thing now ripens fast – Cut our Barley this Day – Jack went to fredericton with Jacob Allen yesterday – Mr. Slocum also went from here Yesterday
October 1816 – From the last Date we have had very Uncommon Cold Weather and some Frost as severe as the last of Novr. in Common Years – Never was there such a Summer and Fall – The Cold Weather Prevented the Wheat from Ripening and the Frost has Destroyed the Wheat throughout the Province – and Almost the Oats – The Potatoes not Half a Crop – and then not Good – We never had so bad a Prospect, Corn Intirely Killed – No Vegetables, Scarcely a Cabbage Head – Turnips very poor – only a little Barley and Peas for our Hogs – The Country was never in so distressed a Situation – By Good Judges not Three Months Bread. … Wind Norwest and never Colder this Time of the Year.
4 October 1816 – … Very Cold and a Severe Frost.
6 October 1816 – Sunday – Cloudy and Rains and Snows. The Ground is now Covered with Snow. …
15 October 1816 – … The River was never so Low before – The Dryest Fall ever Known.
10 December 1816 – Sunday – Clear and Cold Indeed; Wind North – We never had So much and So Severe Cold weather before and So early.
11 December 1816 – Clear Still and never a Colder Morning
12 December 1816 – Cloudy Wind South and little Snow, it is now Quite Moderate again after one of the Coldest Weather, for 5 Days, that we ever knew before Christmas.
2 January 1817 – … Never was there a finer Night in Winter.
3 January 1817 – Clear and very Pleasant – Never knew such Weather in Winter Before
11 January 1817 – Cloudy and moderate after a Severe fall of Snow – more than we have had this Winter Before, but yet hardly Sufficient for Good Slaying -…We never had a better Winter to this Period – Moderate Weather and little Snow, good for Timber.
22 January 1817 – From the last Date we have had Five days, Still and Severe Cold Weather …
16 February 1817 – From the Last Date we have had, in general, Still Clear and Very Cold Weather – But one Bad Storm, and that only one Day – the Snow is not more than one and one-half feet on the Ground – It has Snowed these two Days Past, but little, and the weather is more Moderate. We can not call it a Bad Winter to this Date; it has been Excellent for getting Timber …
6 March 1817 – From the last Date we have had in general good Weather, but one Heavy Snow Storm, it fell about 1 foot 8 inches, the Snow is now 3 feet and Half on the ground …
21 March 1817 – From the last Date we have had very Good Weather to 18th when we had a very heavy Wind from the Sou-East – which Ended in Snow and Continues to this Day – The Snow has fell 1½ Feet, and is now deeper than we ever Knew so late in March…
25 March 1817 – From the 21st We had Moderate Pleasant Weather, but Cloudy and a little …
12 April 1817 – A Clear Morning after a Severe Cold Night; Cold Enough for February – Too Cold for Sap – No appearance of the Ice Breaking – The Snow has not Melted any these Two Days – Never So Bad Before – …
14 April 1817 – Cloudy and very Cold; Wind High at North – Never was there Such a Spring – The Ice as Strong as Winter and the Improvements all Covered with Snow
15 April 1817 – Never a Colder Morning in April, Wind North
21 April 1817 – Cloudy and Snows fast till it Covered the Ground 2 Inches … There never was such as spring as this, not the least appearance of Summer; The Ice and Snow is like Winter 21st of April.
25 April 1817 – Cloudy Snowy Morning – It Snowed all Night and Continues the Whole Day. The Snow is almost over Shoes… – Never, no Never such a Spring.
2 May 1817 – … The Ice Remains but the River Rising Fast Indeed, and the Snow never went Faster – The Ice yet Strong – They Crossed at Streets on Foot last Evening – Mr. Hazen brought Two Yoak of Oxen a Crost the River on the Ice above Shaws, Down to Peabody’s. Yesterday the 1st of May – Never was the River Crossed on the Ice by Oxen in May before – But if the warm Weather Continues we may yet have Good Crops – Which God of His Infinite Mercy Grant – Dug the first Parsnips; but the Frost in the Ground Prevented my Getting more than Half of Them – Richard and George Boiling Down What They Caught Yesterday – which We believe and Hope is the last – Half the old Garden is only Now Bare. There never was so late a Spring for Ice and Snow – Neither Grass nor anything Else, have started in the Least – to this date; and there is a great quantity of Frost in the Ground – The Small Brooks never Higher and we look for a Very Great Fresh; and greatly fear that the People below will be Injured.
3 May 1817 – Clear and Warm as June
24 June 1817 – Clear and very Pleasant, Wind Norwest but warm, Sowed More Turnip Seed on New Ground, where the Wheat failed – This finishes all sowing and Planting for this Season, and everything looks now Promising tho’ late; and if the Warm Weather Continues Thro’ the Blessing of Heaven, We may yet have Good Crops – Which God – off his Infinite Mercy Grant, to his Distressed
30 July 1817 – From the last Date, June 30th Never – no Never – Thank God for his Great Mercy – was there so fine a Month for the Benefit of the Country – Continual warm Days and Nights and Sufficient Rain for Vegetation; which has been Great, almost beyond Belief – Everything looks Exceeding well, but Grass – altho Backward – But another Such month will make everything as Forward, as in our Former Good Seasons – which God Grant.
15 August 1817 – From the last Date, Continual Warm Days and Nights – as much So, as we ever Experienced – and every thing has grown accordingly – The Earth has become very Dry; but for 5 Days We have had very heavy Rains …
6 September 1817 – From the last Date; Never Finer and Warmer Weather. The Crops of all Kinds as good as ever we had them; People now begin to Harvest their Grain; Winter Ry in General very good – Wheat very well filled – but some complain of Smut – The Grass only Midling; the last Mowing Best – owing to the Wet Wheather, which brought up a Thick Undergrowth. Never a better appearance of Potatoes – Barley and Buckwheat very good – This Day the first mess of Corn; What little we Planted never Better. Two Days Past – the 4th and 5th – Never Warmer both Days & Night All Kinds of Garden Produce good indeed – and we never had a Greater Prospect of Turnips – Thanks be to God for all these Blessings
15 September 1817 – From the last Date – Never finer warmer Weather; both Day and Night,…
28 October 1817 – From the last Date – Good Weather till October when we had some Severe Frosts – Crops all gathered in and good – The Wheat never better where the Seed was good; but Some have Considerable Smut. Great Crops of Buckwheat and very good – and never such Quantities of Potatoes and very Good …