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January 1, 1775

   Today was a hard day at work. I had to go to the barn and shoe a horse. The people there were very rude. My biggest fear is someone finding out I am a women. If they do then I can lose my position as a blacksmith. I would like to get married someday, but I know it will never happen. My ma and da passed away when I was eight years of age. I will never forget them. Someday I wish to go back to Ireland to see if I have any family left there. Tonight for dinner I am going make corn and potatoes fresh from the market.

January 1, 1775- Night

   I went to the market and some of the men from my profession were there, and they called me by my man name. I almost told them that my name is not Sean it is Elva, but I stopped before they found out that I am a woman.

January 5, 1775

   I have been too busy to write. I have had to stay at work and finish up my duty. They make me do all the work. They always ask if I can finish up what they were doing because they need to go home to their families. I wish I had one that I could go home to. I imagine I see joyful faces greeting me at the door.

January 6, 1775

   When I got to work today, they told me to deliver the tools to our customers at their homes. Then, when I got back, I heard a l loud voices in the back. It was the men. They were all talking about how I should not deliver the tools to our customers because I was too young. One man said that I was responsible enough, but another man raised his voice and said that I was only 17 years of age. All the men there are older then me, and sometimes it makes me feel like a little child.

January 10, 1775

   Today was a much better day. All the men finally realized I am strong enough to do all of the harder work. One of the men there, Demond, is very good looking and is not married. But he can never know that I am a woman.

January 13, 1775

   I am alone in the world and if they dismiss me, how will I live? They are now firing the people that do not work hard enough. The boss has been watching me like a hawk. Time to go to the Shop wish me the best of luck. I will show the boss how skilled I am, and I am as strong and able as all the other men.

January 13, 1775

   I was not one of the men to be turned out. I sitting there asking God to not let me lose my career, and He did not let me down. Was a good day! I would not of known what to do if I was turned down.

January 15, 1775

   I have been working much longer days than I normally do. Most of the men are very impressed with the kind of strength I have. They used to think that I was a skinny weak boy, but they where wrong.

January 16, 1775

   This morning I went to church and some of the people there fell asleep. The children were hit on the head to wake them up. The adults were tickled with a feather if they fell asleep. I shall never fall asleep in church for I would be letting down God , and He has never let me down. He has helped me along the way in life, and He has watched over me. I would not be here today if it was not for Him. God has helped me live through the fire when I was a little child at my house, and the plague that killed my ma and da.

February 1, 1775

   I have missed writing. I was so relived when, I found it in my trunk today when I had to get my other pair of work gloves. Because I gave one of my pair to Demond when he forgot his. He could not go home and get a pair or the boss would be furious. Demond is so nice to everyone and very good looking so I was glad to give him my gloves.
   I have been noticing that a lot of horses are not well mannered these days. When I told one man that I was charging him more for shoeing his horse because the horse had bit and kicked me, he was so mad that he hit the horse really hard. I find it cruel to be hitting an animal because it hurt someone. I shall refuse to shoe that horse ever again. The boss can give him to another blacksmith. I could not wait to get back to the men and tell them what happened, but when I got back all they did was laugh because they said that I felt bad for a stupid animal. They said that the man probably did not hurt the horse. I do not believe them . The poor animal reared up and screamed and also spooked all of the other horses in the barn. I did not tell the men that. I just went back to work.

April 18, 1775

   I have been too busy to write. I have had so much to do and I have been very tired. All I have done is go home eat dinner and go to bed. Today I was at work and I thought that I have not had enough time to write in my journal and now I am.
   Today at work I shoed the most beautiful horse. Its name was Brown Beauty and it was The American Quarter Horse, I wish to have on some day. The American Quarter Horse is a very fast horse and are good for ridding long distance and are average size. The horse owner asked if the shoe would last the long ride to Lexington. I assured him the she would.

April 19, 1775

   This morning I heard someone yelling that the British were coming and I shell see if it is true. After that I could not go back to sleep.

April 20, 1775

   This war has led me to leave Boston and move to New York I shell join all my workers there and we shell rebuild the store and we shell go back to the way it was.

April 21, 1775

   The reason why we are in this war is because New England began taking the colonist witch led to the Boston Tea Party and then three months later America became America. The British got mad and planed to attack us. We people in America are very scared of the British army and that is why we are now in this war. Why cant we just make piece.

March 1, 1775

   The building is back to its original was and I have a home here in New York, I shell not go back to Boston even when the war tis over.

March 17, 1775

   HAPPY SAINT. PATRICK’S DAY

Love,

Elva Moore

or

Sean Moore

* America Quarter Horse is a very fast horse and are good for ridding long distance and are average size.

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