Abstract
In the nineteenth century many farmers kept a diary of the farming year to record such features as the weather, crop yields, animal husbandry, and prices. Research into church and people in the parishes of Fordyce and Portsoy in North East Scotland led to the discovery of a four-volume journal kept by James Wilson, a farmer in the Banffshire Parish of Deskford between 1879 and 1892. This journal provides a detailed picture of many aspects of rural life including farming, family, neighbors, religion, friends, and entertainment. Moreover, Wilson wrote poetry and kept a record of his lectures given to the local Mutual Improvement Associations. Taken together, the journal, poems, and lectures provide a significant body of literature giving insights into rural society. The journal also covers an important period in farming at the nexus between a time of “high farming” and the agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century.
