27 through 31st — Fed cattle. Went to Reading Cirlce held at Mrs. Selplughs. Quite a crowd — about 15 there. Mary & I went to S.S. The Supt. was not there so I took charge. There was quite a few out of S.S. today.
There is no November 31st! Jesse does not mention if there was a Thanksgiving dinner on the 28th, nor does he say anything about his father’s birthday on the 29th. He only talks about Thanksgiving once in his diary, and that was last year (1900).
Joseph and Caroline Finke Stelplugh (Stelplug) were German immigrants who came to Utica between 1858 and 1861. Both were dead by the time Jesse kept a diary, but they had many children and grandchildren. For that reason, it difficult to know exactly which Mrs. Stelplugh Jesse means. The one that he mentioned before was the young widow and mother, Katie Stelplugh, who was Charley’s teacher last year. It’s possible that she was the one hosting the reading circle.
