Copyright Paul LaDuke 2005
These are the writings of Nettie Marie Grandy Andrews (1856-1918). She was at the time of writing the widow by some eight years of Able Andrews Jr. She was the mother of Minnie Fredonia Harrington, Gertrude Mae Beach, Clara Grace Parrish, Florence Engartha Lumley and Jay Leon Andrews.
The following passages were penned in her own hand in three, four by seven-inch red books titled Date Book for 1916 (and 17 and 18)
Be forewarned this is not easy material to read. Each daily entry starts with a brief weather report and ends with something like "Gertie came up for a while". Not exactly spellbinding stuff. But if the reader sticks with it, a lot of little sub-plots come to the light - business dealings, lawsuits, suicides, drunkenness and infidelity.
One soon begins to gain a rewarding insight into Nettie's character and to life in rural America during the First World War.
Nettie's husband apparently left her relatively well off but threw her into the role of a female businessperson in a world where men did not take kindly to taking orders from a woman. For those old enough to remember Grace and Gertie these writings will shed a lot of light on where they got their spunk.
Transcriber's Notes
While a few scattered typographical errors may persist, these passages were transcribed as nearly as possible to the way Nettie Andrews penned them. Spellings and mis-spellings are hers as are the uses of capital letters, abbreviations and punctuation or lack thereof.
She tended to write the way people spoke and it often requires two or three readings to determine where one thought ends and another begins. Major world events and matters of life and death are often sandwiched between floor moppings and the fact Gertie was up for a while.
Where the writing was illegible words are represented by xxxxx. Where she left blanks there are em-dashes —. Any items preceding the daily weather were actually written above the day and date on the page either as an afterthought or because she ran out of space. And while they are few, to retain the flavor of the writings, the transcriber's insights are offered in italics.
Paul LaDuke
Wiarton, Ontario, Canada
Christmas 2005
Online version compiled by Nicole Toohey
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Spring 2006
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