Silas’ diary

The pages pictured at left were written by Silas in 1843, when he was 27 years old. The quality of his handwriting is striking, and the words are easy to read. In these pages is recorded a series of visits to church, called (in the Quaker terminology) “monthly meeting”, a single local gathering, and “quarterly meeting”, a group of nearby monthly meetings. “Tenth month” refers to October; Friends did not use the names of the months or the days of the week, since they were of pagan origin.

The keeping of such a diary is indicative of Silas’ interests – obviously he felt that church gatherings were of high importance.

Silas’ diary for March 1, 1868

3rd month, 1, 1868

I have been this night (First day) studying the scripture lesson about Solomon’s wise choice, that the Lord would give him wisdom, & an understanding heart, which seems to take a deep hold upon my heart, and I can acknowledge that my efforts, for a time past, have been somewhat slackened to lay hold on that choice.

And now I do this night covenant with thee, O God, with thy assistance to double my diligence, in thus endeavoring to obtain this great blessing, that of a wise & understanding heart, that I may go in and out acceptable in thy sight. Help me, oh God, for I am poor, weak and frail, and altogether unworthy of the least of thy favors. I know without thee we can do nothing for our advancement, or that would redound to thy glory. Father: help us!

Silas’ family record

The photo at the top of the page is of a framed document that hung in my parents’ house as long as I can remember. (It’s now hanging in my house.)

The document is the family record of Silas Stout. It shows birth and marriage dates and places for Silas, his wife Martha, and each of their children (including their “adopted” daughter May).

Silas’ Arithmetic Problems

In one of his letters, Silas’ son Lewis Stout tells us that Silas received formal training in math. Writing about the Washington Co. Academy in Salem, Indiana, Lewis says “Father got his mathematical education here in winters of 1837-38 and 1838-39… Without this training father would never have been surveyor of Howard Co. and the most accurate one the county has ever had.”

Two handwritten arithmetic problems have been included in the family archives. They are undated, and there is no explanation given; we don’t know if these were part of a competition, schoolwork, or just for fun.

Transcriptions of the problems are below. The image at left includes most of Silas’ solution to the first problem – it’s over my head, so I did not transcribe it.

Math problem #1 (image at left)

Three men owned a grindstone one foot in diameter, 4 inches thick at the circumference, and 6 inches thick at the centre, with a uniform increase from the circumference to centre. How many inches must each grind off to get an equal share?

Math problem #2 (image above)

A says to B and C, give me one half of your money, and I will have one hundred dollars. B says to A and C, give me one third of your money and I will have one hundred dollars, and C says to A and B, give me one fourth of your money and I will have one hundred dollars. How much had each?