Advertisement for Comstock’s Horticultural Implements

There were a number of agricultural magazines and journals during the 19th century. The magazines printed advertisements for companies that manufactured and sold agricultural implements. These publications offered farmers a chance to see new technological advances, learn scientific farming techniques, and stay connected to a larger group of like minded people.

The American Agriculturalist for the Farm, Garden and Household, 1870, v. 29,illus. p. 118, Orange Judd & Co., New York. The Farmers’ Museum Library, Cooperstown, New York, 630.5 A512, F51.1954.

Hops Pickers

This photograph shows a group of hops pickers in the nineteenth century. They are sitting on a box that holds the hops they picked. Men usually took down the poles on which the hops grew, and women usually picked the flowers from the vine.

Advertisement for Deck Boat Service

Farmers could learn about transportation services, including boat transportation on canals and rivers, from advertisements placed in magazines, journals, or in this case, the city directory.

Residence of Marshall A. Fairbanks

The Fairbanks family moved to Evans, New York (Erie County), in 1832. Marshall Fairbanks was born to John and Mary Fairbanks in August of 1835. They lived in a frame house on one hundred acres of land. They grew wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, corn, potatoes, bran, and apples, as well as making maple molasses, wine, butter, and cheese on their farm. They also raised cows, swine, and sheep. Many of the goods they produced were used in their family home.

Sometime between 1861 and 1869, Marshall married Jennie, and they lived on his father’s farm. During the years 1870 to 1875, Marshall’s mother died and his father retired, leaving Marshall the farm and making him head of the household by his late thirties. By 1880’s, John had died and Marshall’s nephew, Frank, worked on the farm with him. Marshall and Jennie never had any children.

Woman Operating Three Hinman Units

Companies that made agricultural equipment often stressed how efficient their machines were. This photograph from a trade catalog demonstrates that by using the company’s milking machine, one woman can do the work of three milkers.

Combine — Patented 1879

In order to harvest grain and process it to be used for food, farmers must cut the grain from the field and separate the grain from the plant. Cutting the grain in the field is known has harvesting or reaping. Separating the grain from the plant is known as threshing. Harvesting and threshing were two separate jobs, but machines called “combines” save farmers time by both cutting and threshing in one step.

This combine was patented in 1879. Notice the machine was powered by steam, but the farmer still relied on horses to move the machine through the fields.

New Cow Barn, Fenimore Farm

The Main Barn at The Farmers’ Museum began as a cow barn at Fenimore Farm, owned by Edward Severin Clark. The stone barn had stanchions for eighty cows, enameled stalls, two silos for hay and grain storage, and a separate stone creamery for processing the milk. The barn’s grand opening included a celebration on June 15, 1918. Edward Severin Clark is standing in the middle with a cane.

Diary of Marshall Fairbanks – October 29, 1878

From the years 1878 until 1888, if not longer, Marshall Fairbanks kept a daily account of life on his farm in Evans (Erie County), New York, including his accounts of the weather, money coming in and out, and any other events of interest. He wrote about driving into Buffalo to sell crops and about laborers that came to the farm to work for a few months at a time. According to the census in 1875, Marshall’s farm had expanded to 126 acres.

OCTOBER 29.
Cool and clowdy snowed and rained some with a west wind Webster and Frank husked corn I helped Jennie in the house
Frank finished working for me by the month

Diary of Marshall Fairbanks — October 28, 1878

OCTOBER 28.
Cool and clowdy with a west wind rained and snowed some last night. I helped Jennie wash and chored around Frank cribed 54 bushels of corn and plowed part of the day Webster went to Buffalo To cash paid for preaching at the Corners $1.00 Webster came home
To cash received for five bushels of wheat $5.00

Diary of Marshall Fairbanks – July 16, 1878

JULY 16.
Very hot weather with a west wind We drew in 4 loads of hay riged the machine in to a reaper and cut some winter wheat and bound some