It is rare to find a diary written by a farm woman with young children. Elizabeth doesn't have time to write with much detail and focuses on keeping records regarding the farm and her husband's work. On occasion though, we learn about her life, her daughters, Clara and Olive, and her son, Brock.  Sadly, her two other little boys die, one in infancy and the other in a terrible accident.  In 1902, her daughter Clara takes over writing the family’s farm diary, and by 1915 it is Olive writing. Elizabeth, however, fills in when the girls are away. 

Eliza's husband, Robert

Old barn on Philp farm, 1909

Photos courtesy of Diane Mikoleit