Essay On New England Family

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New England Families Roles of the families in the 1700s A simple life: mother spins wool into cloth, father cuts the wood, the sons are away at grammar school for the day, and Ellen makes candles while her younger sisters do easier chores. Minimalism and simplicity are key to frugal life of a New Englander. The above scene was most common in a farm. The women married young, in their twenties, (potential husbands were from a group of suitable acquaintances who shared their religion and social standing) and had 6-8 children, most of whom survive to adulthood. The role of the mothers was mainly to raise healthy children, support their husbands, and primarily to provide for the family. Mothers made soap and candles, sewed clothes and blankets,…show more content…
Girls did chores like sweeping, feeding animals, milking cows, watering horses, running errands, picking berries from the forest, gathering vegetables and spices from the garden, taking eggs from the chickens, making candles and soap, helping make meals, cleaning, and caring for babies. Girls’ education was not very elaborate, they were taught to read the Bible (religion was very important to New Englanders). Boys, alternatively, helped their fathers hunt and harvest dinner and chop down trees for firewood. When the boys turned seven, they became apprentices to a cooper (worked with wood and fixed wooden furniture), a silversmith (worked with silver and made silverware), or any other common job. Boys schooling included math, Latin, and other subjects needed to get into college. They also taught trades if their fathers had a family business. Overall, New England families can set an example of how to live simply and wholesomely. The value of a simple life endures in our culture today, such as in the magazine, Real Simple. This best-seller espouses a simple lifestyle and economy and is a testament to the values and simplicity of the New England family. Bibliography Andrews, Charles, The Colonial Period of American History. (Vol. 1-3) New York: Simon Publications, 2001. Erickson, Paul, Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001, 4-48.

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