William is a general merchant in the small hamlet of Ravenswood.  He records the general tenor of business each day and how weather and road conditions affect it.  He also notes the activities of others living on the shores of Lake Huron such as the fishermen who are cutting ice and the women who are hosting oyster suppers and rag-rug-making bees. He is a family man, alert to the activities of his wife and children and taking time to write to his relatives.