Charles begins his diary upon deciding to leave his job as clerk to the Thames Tunnel Company in Surry County, England and migrate to Canada.  He describes his family’s voyage to Montreal and his purchase of farmland near Cobourg.  Diaries often serve as account books and Charles’ entries concerning “Vale Farm” focus less on the activities of his wife and several children and more on paying hired labour to clear the land, the number of bushels harvested, and the prices and quantities of farm-related purchases.