Today was Farmers Day

Today was declared Farmers Day.    

Since you look on a census and so  many people put Farmer as the occupation this may be a good topic to address.

 Abraham Lincoln created the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1862.  

We do not know when this day was first created, many say it came about during the mid 1800's.
Reason was, as I stated above, was so many people then were farmers.  They were the backbone of our country.

 The things I learned about some of my farmers were,  they were anything but farmers. Multi talented human beings that cared and shared with their neighbors in a manner we some how have forgotten.

One farmer ancestor build several bridges with his sons and a couple of neighbors, he build homes, he built the first free standing stairwell and I have the article of it being in the paper. He also built churches in his community.  I suspect that maybe building was his hobby, since he did not say it was his profession.  A talented man he was. I have pictures of some of the bridges, houses and a church he build.  Yes, he did a covered bridge or two and some with out covers.

I also know he grew food  crops and had hay fields for the animals.  He raised pigs, sheep, chickens, and had a few cows not  to many. I think cows were  mainly for milk to make butter, buttermilk and
use in cooking and feeding the pigs. I found his name in the tax lists for selling products in the town.
It also listed what he sold.

Many of my ancestors listed them selves as Farmers but were they really farmers or other professions?
I even noted that Mr. Gallentine in State Office listed himself as a Farmer not a statesman.  His family married into this family.  When French nobleman came to visit he was out working in his fields and the nobleman was stunned.  That was also written up in the newspaper.

His son called himself a Farmer, but he was a Lay Minister in the church of his calling. Yes, he farmed but it was not what he spent his spare minutes on.

I had a relative that was a Farmer and they lived the life of a Farmer, up early by 5 a m. Out in the fields and working until dusk and some times taking only a short break for snack and daily  needs.
It was hard grueling work but he seemed to enjoy it. He also shared his tools with neighbors and helped them to cut the grain and run their grains to the grain mills.  Long days from like 5 am until at least 7 pm in the evening and sometimes longer if the machinery broke down and the next day was already planned.

So what was your Farmer?