As we wish our family and
friends a Happy 2018, I thought it would be interesting to look back on
everyday life in 1818. Like many of our Sweethearts, as an American historical
western author, I’ve researched a plethora of facts and information about
lifestyles in 19th Century.
Some might say their simpler
life could be envied compared to our fast-paced, technical-driven, media-saturated
world of today. Still, in 1818, life, though slower, was much harder. Below are
a few reminders of what American home life was like back then.
In many of the regions of the
country, especially on the frontier, folks lived in a one-room cabin with dirt
floor, fireplace for warmth and cooking, homemade pinewood table and chairs,
straw mattresses, and candles for lighting. Not until later in the 1820’s did some
have the luxury of cast iron cookstoves.
Housewives preserved foods by
drying, salting and smoking. It wasn’t until the 1860’s that home canning came
into use. A tin smith from New York by the name of John L. Mason invented a
glass jar with a threaded lip and a reusable metal lid – the Mason Jar. Ice
boxes didn’t enter kitchens until mid-1800’s.
Common pastries like oatmeal
cookies, crackers, gingerbread, apple, cherry & pumpkin pies and even
doughnuts were eaten throughout the 19th century. Drinking tea was preferred
over coffee until after the Civil War.
Local saloons and taverns
offered all kinds of alcohol. Hard cider was a favorite in the North, while
corn liquor was favored in the South. Cocktails were offered at social
gatherings and in some homes. However, men imbibed far more often than women.
Electricity came late in the
century, as did telephones. Without electricity, women did all their chores by
hand … the cooking, the cleaning, the washing, and the sewing. Until the
1840’s, when clothing became more available in stores, Americans wore hand sewn
clothes.
With no built-in bathtubs
until the second half of the century, the typical family used a round, wooden
or tin tub filled with hot water from the fireplace. All their water was hauled
or pumped from a cistern or well. Toothbrushes became available in country
stores by the 1820’s, though few used or realized their importance.
As far as filling
their leisure time, the entertainment and amusements we take for granted today
wasn’t in their world yet. No televisions, no radios, no stereos. No bicycles,
no baseball, no basketball, no golf, no tennis, no football yet. But they
enjoyed such games as cards, checkers, chess and billiards and sports like bowling
and horse racing. Children played with homemade dolls, blocks and other simple toys. (I wrote two in-depth
blogs, Childhood Toys of Yesteryear, posted last year in February & March
on SOTW.)
Music, singing and musical
instruments provided entertainment in churches, taverns and at home. Fiddles
and violins were most frequent at socials and dances. Harmonicas and banjos
were often enjoyed. The piano was owned by a few in the middle class and young
women were taught how to play from 1800 on.
On New Year’s Day, 1818, the 3-volume
novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley was published; the next year Rip
Van Wrinkle by Washington Irving. The popular classics by James Fenimore
Cooper, Leatherstocking Tales and The Last of the Mohicans would
be published in 1823 & 1826.
Saturday Evening Post first
appeared on August 4, 1821, making it the oldest magazine in U.S. history. Not
until 1830 was Godey’s Lady Book published, becoming one of the most popular
women’s magazines.
It’s hard not to compare our way of life with
all the inventions and technical luxuries we have now to living without them in
19th Century America. But I would imagine folks in 1818 were content
with their everyday life. After all, “they wouldn’t miss what they never had.”
