Photo from ‘Zoe Hillard Teenager of Hearts Content’ The wedding photo of Zoe Hillard and Frank Lay. The couple was married in 1908 when Hillard was 18. Below, A photo of Zoe Hillard Lay’s father, Andrew Jackson Hillard, at Hearts Content.

Going back 100 years or more, that typically means well-educated individuals, many of which came from a position of significant means.

If those are the sources we have then those are the sources we have. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with that.

But it can leave some demographics of society under-represented.

And it can make the reality of life for the average person, if you will, a little harder to decipher.

A photo of Zoe Hillard Lay’s father, Andrew Jackson Hillard, at Hearts Content.

That’s what makes the diary of Bertha Zoe Hillard, known as Zoe, all the more remarkable.

Zoe Hillard was born in May 1899 to Andrew Jackson and Lavina Hillard. She was raised with two brothers — Claude and Andy.

Her granddaughter, Margaret Lay-Dopyera sent us a copy of Hillard’s diary a couple years ago. She digitized her grandmother’s diary and provided some valuable family background that helps tell the story of Zoe’s life.

Procedurally, Lay-Dopyera notes the diary includes entries between 1903 and 1906 and was in a school notebook, which also included school work and some recipes.

Before we get into the diary, though, let’s take a look at what more traditional sources can tell us about Zoe and her family.

1900 Census records indicate she was 11 years old and living with her parents and two brothers in Hickory Township, Forest County.

By the content of the diary, it’s clear the family had moved to the area of Hearts Content by 1903.

1900 Census records list her father’s occupation as “jobber woods,” which was essentially an independent contractor, and shows that he outright owned a farm.

Those records show he could read, write, and speak English, Census questions that weren’t part of the 1910 form. Clearly, disagreement over Census questions isn’t anything new.

A few other tidbits in 1905 just to set the scene: Theodore Roosevelt was president, Henry Fonda was born and Jules Verne died, and it was Ty Cobb’s rookie year.

The average income in 1905 was $687 annually, a loaf of bread cost seven cents, and a stamp cost two cents.

Lay-Dopyera, Zoe’s granddaughter, explained that Zoe’s father, Jack, had been a “jobber,” essentially a long-time independent contractor with the Wheeler & Dusenbery Lumber Company. She attended a one-room school when it was in session.

She cites the History of Forest County which notes that Jack had applied for a “patent for an improved cross cut saw handle. The handle is so constructed that it can be used in any position in sawing either fallen or standing timber.”

Lay-Dopyera also notes a 1902 newspaper report from Tionesta that indicated the family was going to move from Endeavor to the Hearts Content area “for the next couple years” which turned into the rest of his life.

Most of the diary entries are less than 10 words.

And they’re an interesting look at life in Hearts Content in the early 20th century… through the eyes of a teenage girl.

The first entry is dated April 30, 1903: “When the fire went through this hollow about 2 1/2 miles.”

Initially the diary entries are pretty inconsistent. But starting in late 1905 and into 1906, the writings become much more regular.

There are many comments on the weather:

¯ May 18, 1903: “Father went to Warren. First thunderstorm of season.”

¯ Jan. 7, 1904: “About 2 feet snow and snowing yet.”

¯ Oct. 12, 1905: “Snowing to beat the band. Going sleigh riding tonight. The snow, the snow, the beautiful snow. I dearly love you. I love you so.”

¯ March 20, 1906: “About 19 inches snow and snowing still.”

And other entries on illness:

March 13, 1904: “Sunday, 10 p.m. Today has been like a summer day, but the wind is cold, not quite all the snow is gone. Mother is not well, has got the grippe. Well, it is growing late and almost bed time. Still I didn’t get up this morning until 8 o’clock.” (Grippe is an old term for influenza).

But many focused on what the social life was for a teenager in the 1900s.

July 28, 1904: “Wednesday. A stroll through the woods. We were a gang of 13, 4 boys 2 women 5 girls and 2 men. We started from the camp at 8:30 o’clock. Went about 3/4 of mile on an old log road. We went dense pine and hemlock wood. One place there was a little log bridge. We all sat down on the bender and had our pictures taken as there was two girls who had snap shots…. We went on til we came to the cave. We all took a good examination of the cave. We got a very good drink and sat down and rested. We ate our dinner beside a fire we had built. We sat and talked about an hour and started back home about 3 p.m. There came up a storm when we got nearly to camp but did not last long.”

This certainly wasn’t the norm, though. There are many entries that comment on students coming in and out of school – or when she changed seats at school – and other mundane aspects of life.

Jan. 18, 1905 stood out as the date of her first music lesson. Two days later she went to an oyster dinner at Hickory. Jan. 28 saw a trip to Warren and an “ice cream supper” at Endeavor.

One thing is clear – Zoe loved to dance.

That first shows up on March 18, 1905. “At Glade. Nellie came down. Went to Warren in afternoon. Went to Party at Elliot’s.”

On Nov. 3 she went to a dance at the Tompson house and at “Wusling’s” two weeks later.

The dances picked back up again in May with a dance at the Hollabaugh residence on May 11, Tompson on June 13 and, on October 19, 1906 she “Went to party dance at Critclow’s for Blanche. Rainy. Old Dan Tucker.” (Old Dan Tucker is a song title.)