topic Re: What life was like in the 1800's in Community Chat

What life was like in the 1800's

SeaMaiden — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:15:57 GMT

I found this this information off of the Ancestry website Interesting! Thought I would share! My how things have changed since the early 1800's! Can not fathom what life will be like in another two hundred years.... what do you think it will be like?

Population:

By 1815, the United States had grown into a country of 8,419,000 people, including about 1.5 million slaves. (Official estimates are available for the entire population in 1815, but slave counts were conducted during the censuses of 1810 and 1820. In the 1810 census, there were 1,191,362 slaves; by the 1820 census, there were 1,538,022 slaves). While a population of less than 10 million seems small compared to today’s count of over 320 million people, the population in 1815 had more than doubled since the country’s first census, taken in 1790, when there were 3,929,214 people. The population would continue to increase by more than 30 percent each decade for much of the 19th century.
Almost all of this growth was due to high birth rates, as immigration was low in 1815, slowed by European wars that raged from 1790 to 1815. Only about 8,000 per year entered during this period. The 1820 census counted 8,385 immigrants, including one from China and one from Africa.

Food:

Because these innovations in transportation were still in their infancy in 1815, however, most Americans ate what they grew or hunted locally. Corn and beans were common, along with pork. In the north, cows provided milk, butter, and beef, while in the south, where cattle were less common, venison and other game provided meat. Preserving food in 1815, before the era of refrigeration, required smoking, drying, or salting meat. Vegetables were kept in a root cellar or pickled.
For those who had to purchase their food, one record notes the following retail prices in 1818 in Washington, D.C.: beef cost 6 to 8 cents a pound, potatoes cost 56 cents a bushel, milk was 32 cents a gallon, tea 75 cents to $2.25 a pound. Shoes ran $2.50 a pair. Clothing expenses for a family of six cost $148 a year, though the record does not indicate the quality of the clothes.

Life Expectancy:

The boom in native population in the early 19th century was even more remarkable considering the low life expectancies of the time. By one estimate, a white man who had reached his 20th birthday could expect to live just another 19 years. A white woman at 20 would live, on average, only a total of 38.8 years. If measuring from birth, which counted infant mortality, life expectancy would have been even lower. A white family in the early 19th century would typically have seven or eight children, but one would die by age one and another before age 21. And, of course, for slaves, childhood deaths were higher and life expectancy was even lower. About one in three African American children died, and only half lived to adulthood.

Disease:

was rampant during this time. During the War of 1812, which concluded in 1815, more soldiers died from disease than from fighting. The main causes of death for adults during this period were malaria and tuberculosis, while children most commonly died from measles, mumps, and whooping cough, all preventable today.
Housing: More than four out of every five Americans during the early 19th century still lived on farms. Many farmers during this time also made goods by hand that they’d use, barter, or sell, such as barrels, furniture, or horseshoes. Cities remained relatively small and were clustered around East Coast seaports: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and Charleston, South Carolina. In the 1810 census, New York, the largest, was home to 96,373 people. By 1820, the population would reach 123,706.

Employment:

Industrialization would soon accelerate urbanization. In England, the Industrial Revolution had begun in the mid-18th century, and despite attempts made to restrict the export of technology, in 1789, a 21-year-old Englishman memorized the plan for a textile mill and then opened a cotton-spinning plant in Rhode Island. By 1810, more than 100 such mills, employing women and children at less than a dollar a week, were operating throughout New England. By the 1830s, textile production would become the country’s largest industry.

Wages

for other industries during the time ranged from $10 to $17 a month for seamen. Farm laborers after the end of the War of 1812 earned $12 to $15 dollars a month. A male school teacher earned $10 to $12 a month; a female teacher earned $4 to $10. In Massachusetts, a tailor and printer could both expect to earn $6 a week, while a servant might earn only 50 cents a week.

Transportation:

Industrialization affected the country in other ways, of course. In 1815, there were no steam railroads in America, so long-distance travel was by horseback or uncomfortable stagecoach over rutted roads. Cargo moved by horse-team was limited to 25-30 miles a day. But in 1811, Congress signed a contract for the construction of the National Road, the first highway built by the national government. By 1818, it had crossed the Appalachian Mountains, fostering westward expansion.
In 1815, Americans were also discovering steamboat travel. In 1807, Robert Fulton had opened the first steamboat ferry service, between Albany and New York City. By 1815, advances in technology allowed a rival to ferry arms and ammunition to General (later President) Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, the last battle of the War of 1812, and then to steam back up the Mississippi and then the Ohio to Pittsburgh, proving the feasibility of steamboat navigation of the mighty river.

Entertainment:

For recreation, horse racing became increasingly popular by the time of the War of 1812. Singing and sheet music became widely popular, particularly “broadside songs,” or lyrics printed on a sheet of paper and sold for a penny. The sheet had no music, but instructed the purchaser which popular, well-known tune the words could be sung to. The songs often had to do with current political or military events. At the other end of the artistic spectrum, the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, formed in 1815, performed Handel’s “Messiah” in its opening concert.
Finally, singing played a large part in one of the most significant social movements of the time — and in all of America’s history — the Second Great Awakening. From 1790 to 1830, wave after wave of Protestant evangelism swept across the country. Tens of thousands of people would attend a single camp meeting, marked by enthusiastic preaching and audience singing and participation. These more informal services, led by itinerant preachers, also helped tie settlers on the Western frontier to the cultural life of the rest of the country. The Second Great Awakening also fostered greater participation by women and African Americans, who continued developing their artistic traditional of spiritual music during this period.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Noel7 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:41:21 GMT

Hi @SeaMaiden

Thanks for posting this information. I've always been fascinated by the 1880's, here and in England for some reason. My paternal grandmother was born then, I loved hearing about her life. The earlier times would have fit her parents and grandparents.

BTW, I love your new icon

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

StylishLady — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:52:05 GMT

This reminds me of a "Twilight Zone" episode where a man got to go back to the late1800'sas he thought it was such a great time to be alive. Then things happened like a house on fire and no firemen to put it out and a child getting pneumonia and no antibiotics, etc. For me this is the best time and place to be.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

SeaMaiden — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:54:48 GMT

@Noel7 wrote:
Hi @SeaMaiden

Thanks for posting this information. I've always been fascinated by the 1880's, here and in England for some reason. My paternal grandmother was born then, I loved hearing about her life. The earlier times would have fit her parents and grandparents.

BTW, I love your new icon

@Noel7 Hi! I got heck for the sig on another thread....guess I said something not nice in their eyes.... what can I say? I am a work in progress....not perfect!🙂🙃😉

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

qualitygal — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:07:07 GMT

Today, I was in the 1900's. I am looking at the jewelry (and fashion) of the early 1900's, it includes the women who were on the Titanic. That's what got me there. How'd you get in the 1800's, I have to go and look again. LOL

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Noel7 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:11:40 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:

@Noel7 Hi! I got heck for the sig on another thread....guess I said something not nice in their eyes.... what can I say? I am a work in progress....not perfect!🙂🙃😉

@SeaMaiden

The sig line you have now? Really? I think it's wonderful and true!

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Noel7 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:15:59 GMT

@qualitygal wrote:
Today, I was in the 1900's. I am looking at the jewelry (and fashion) of the early 1900's, it includes the women who were on the Titanic. That's what got me there. How'd you get in the 1800's, I have to go and look again. LOL

@qualitygal

I like the early 1900s also, my other grandmother's time.

If you are interested in the fashion of that time, I suggest you look at dresses made by The House Of Worth. That designer started earlier, but you should be able to narrow down dresses from when you are interested.

IMO they are incredibly beautiful.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

qualitygal — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:19:30 GMT

Thanks @Noel7, ok, that will be my JOB for tomorrow. This is such fun.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

SeaMaiden — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:38:22 GMT

@Noel7 wrote:
@SeaMaiden wrote:

@Noel7 Hi! I got heck for the sig on another thread....guess I said something not nice in their eyes.... what can I say? I am a work in progress....not perfect!🙂🙃😉

@SeaMaiden

The sig line you have now? Really? I think it's wonderful and true!

@Noel7 No no no... something "I" said about a Fired QVC host who is hawking her bronze Italian costume jewelry on Evine now.... I guess I offended the poster and she thought the sig I had did not match what I said about the ex host.

Guilty I guess😜

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Noel7 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:37:07 GMT

@qualitygal

If you google "House Of Worth Dresses" and then click on images, you will get A LOT of examples. I just gave it a try, this one is lovely imo, but I don't know the date:

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Noel7 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:38:05 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
@Noel7 wrote:
@SeaMaiden wrote:

@Noel7 Hi! I got heck for the sig on another thread....guess I said something not nice in their eyes.... what can I say? I am a work in progress....not perfect!🙂🙃😉

@SeaMaiden

The sig line you have now? Really? I think it's wonderful and true!

@Noel7 No no no... something "I" said about a Fired QVC host who is hawking her bronze Italian costume jewelry on Evine now.... I guess I offended the poster and she thought the sig I had did not match what I said anout the ex host.

Guilty I guess😜

Oh! I can guess @SeaMaiden

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Mominohio — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:48:53 GMT

I live in an area heavily populated with Old Order Amish, and these people live in a world much like this describes (very interesting to read and thanks for posting it @SeaMaiden).

Some Amish in other areas are more modern, but these definitely are not. Their living doens't go back quite to the beginning of the 1800's, but definitely their way of daily life hasn't changed since the latter 1800's.

No electric, no tv, no phone, and battery radios are frowned upon.

Little indoor plumbing still have outhouses, heat with wood, cook with wood stoves or kerosene stoves, no refrigeration, although some have ice houses and ice boxes (a truck used to come up and down the road in the summer and deliver ice, but I think many are now cutting ice and storing in ice houses....they do anything they can to not rely on the outside world.

They don't vaccinate, they don't go to the dentist except to have their teeth pulled and get dentures when the are young adults and their teeth have already rotted.

If they get very sick they will go to a hospital, but most births are at home, unless there is a problem pregnancy, so little prenatal care.

All farm work is done without machines, just horses and horse drawn equipment.

Much food is grown, raised, butcherd, canned and preserved at home. They do buy some things in the grocery, but are able to get by without doing so if they chose to.

They seem to be happy, and live what they consider a full life.

I guess my point in this post is to just say that when you witness this lifestyle up close and on a regular basis, it doesn't seem as far away and long ago to me, as I'm sure it does to many others. This kind of lifestyle does still exist (sort of) both here, and in other parts of the world.

I though, enjoy a mix of both The opportunities of today with the traditions of the past mixed in.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Mj12 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:54:01 GMT

@StylishLady wrote:
This reminds me of a "Twilight Zone" episode where a man got to go back to the late1800'sas he thought it was such a great time to be alive. Then things happened like a house on fire and no firemen to put it out and a child getting pneumonia and no antibiotics, etc. For me this is the best time and place to be.

ITA with @StylishLady.

This was really interesting to read, thank you@SeaMaiden.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Noel7 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 21:33:53 GMT

What I would like is a Star Trek device where I could go back and visit any time and if anything got hinky, I could just beam up.

I love time travel movies and stories. I would like to go back to the early 1900s and see my paternal grandmother as a young woman, she was so incredibly smart but there wasn't much she could do with it at that time. And my maternal grandmother, fighting for the woman's vote. I'd love to have been there with her.

That's just one fantasy I've considered with time travel

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Vivian — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 21:46:00 GMT

The good old Amy’s weren’t very good when it cane to health, communication, transportation, and other things we take fir granted. One of my grandmothers was born in Europe in 1900, lost two siblings to diseases that are unheard of these days. I also recall touring the magnificent châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Royalty may have gone potty on what looked like a throne but it just led to a putrid hole in the ground. Yuck!

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Catiele — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 22:43:38 GMT

My father was born in 1898. Was the oldest of thirteen children. They had a farm and of course everyone had a job. When my father was twelve my Grandfather went to his school and told the principal my Dad was needed on the farm. That was the end of my fathers schooling. One positive thing is that when Christmas Baskets were done he would go to Florida until early Spring. This is when he was older of course. He would go to market with a horse and buggy to sell the produce at about three in the morning. He loved what he did and of course we always had a big garden. He passed when he was 95.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Scooby Doo — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 23:32:18 GMT

I didn't realize that there were that many slaves. Shocking.

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

Noel7 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 23:41:22 GMT

@Scooby Doo wrote:
I didn't realize that there were that many slaves. Shocking.

@Scooby Doo

I didn't realize there were slaves in South America. Ana Navarro, the political commentator, is from Nicaragua and just recently found out a great great grandmother of hers was brought to South America from Africa as a slave.

I hope I have the great great correct, around there...

Re: What life was like in the 1800's

viva923 — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 22:03:11 GMT

wow, this is neat reading the article. how times have changed.

i could have never lived back then. I need creature comfort.