Trent Valley Archives (TVA) will present a Zoom talk by historian and TVA archivist Elwood Jones on a year in the life of an Otonabee farmer, John Graham Weir. The topic, “John Graham Weir 1884: The Farmers’ World” will focus on Weir’s life and community as recorded in his diary for that year.

Through forty-five diaries, a chronicle of the years 1880-1925, we get to know Weir as a mixed farmer who farmed a wide range of crops, had cows, horses, and pigs, and bought and sold farm products directly from the farm, from farmers’ markets, or by direct contact with merchants. His diaries, which have been lovingly transcribed by volunteers at TVA, reveal a life which included hiring various farmhands (often children of neighbours) and trips to town to buy or sell produce. The diaries also speak to visits from friends and neighbours and excursions to their property on Stoney Lake. Weir’s wife, Lovina Tennyson Weir, played a major role in running the house and hiring domestic help since they had no children.