Barbara K. Smith
Because of the lack of what we would consider common conveniences, light, running water, refrigeration and heating or cooling systems the colonial family structured its daily routine somewhat differently from the way we do. They would rise very early, probably before sunrise to get the house warmed, the fires ready for cooking, and some water heated, in order to take full advantage of daylight. Usually the wife, or perhaps the hired girl would get up first to get the fire going. The wood would have been set out by the men and boys the night before to expedite the process. Kindling and logs were readied each evening, while embers were carefully preserved in the ashes to last until morning. This method made it easy to restart the fire. If by chance the embers had burned out it would be a chore to start a fire anew from flint and straw. It was more commonplace to go to a neighbor’s home for some live coals, than to reignite the fire.
Once the fire was started, the preparation of a hearty breakfast was underway. Men and boys were probably already working outside while the women and girls prepared the breakfast. The boys were responsible for bringing fresh water to the house. Surely, there were many differences in family tastes and appetites but generally breakfast was ample and hot. Besides porridge, bread and warm milk, some enjoyed eggs, fish, ham or sausages and potatoes. If breakfast followed a baking day, a crock of baked beans might be served after being kept in the slowly cooling bake oven overnight. Following the meal, the men would go back to their outdoor activities and the women would proceed with the routine tasks: straightening the beds, arranging the furniture for the day’s use, sweeping, especially the ashes which would accumulate around the fireplace, cleaning candles or small, iron fish oil lamps, called Betty lamps, readying the lighting for the evening, then preparing the main meal of the day which was eaten in the early afternoon.
The mid-day meal was served hot. This required expertise in the use of the fire tools, cooking utensils, judging temperatures and the physical strength needed to juggle the heavy iron cooking pots above the heat of the fire. Because women’s skirts were ankle length it was not unusual to have one’s clothing catch on fire. A bucket of water was kept at the side of the hearth to quickly dip smoldering hemlines. A typical meal would include some kind of meat with root vegetables, sometimes cooked as a stew and more that one baked item, as cornbread and a cake or pie. Dairy products provided puddings and cheeses and well as butter and cream. The woman was usually in charge of the dairying because she used the milk products in cooking or neighborly exchange and had to be fully knowledgeable about caring for her animals and procuring and preserving the milk products. For similar reasons, the woman managed the chickens and eggs. Eggs were also used for exchange and that money was her own. A favorite purchase with the money from eggs was pins, which were used in sewing but also to secure clothing. It became known as “pin money”.
In the later part of the evening the family would have a light supper. This was often the leftovers from the mid-day meal, but if none were to be had, smoked or salted meat with bread would suffice. Cider was the common beverage. This was due partly to the absence of refrigeration and partly to impurities in the water.
The tools and equipment which furnished a cooking fireplace were slowly acquired and expected to last a lifetime. Some of the cookware would have been provided by the bride’s family in her portion. These would include very basic pieces, like a water kettle, which would be multi-purpose, a stew pot, and a ladle. Some pots were hung over the fire from a lug pole, which was a greenwood log across the back of the fireplace, or they might be hung from a crane, which was an iron arm attached at the side of the fireplace which could swing out away from the fire. Assorted trammels or S hooks would permit the raising or lowering of the kettle to control the heat. Other parts of the cooking could be done by moving the coals to make several small fires, within the total hearth space. With a few specially designed cooking pots, several recipes could be cooking at the same time. One such pot was a spider, a three-legged frying pan. Cod fish cakes, made with salted dried cod, which was soaked overnight, combined with boiled, mashed potatoes, minced onion, seasonings and rolled in cornmeal, make a delicious recipe when fried with a little oil in the spider. Another unique method of cooking in a bed of hot coals was with a Dutch oven set upon a trivet. Cornbread, for instance, was placed in a baking dish, then set inside the Dutch oven. It is covered with an indented top, and then the top was filled with more hot coals. The cornbread then baked inside the Dutch oven absorbing heat from both the top and the bottom, not unlike the process of cooking in a modern oven. A reflector oven, which was introduced in the mid eighteenth century, was a tin, drum shaped, container, placed horizontally with an open side in front of the flame. The food could then cook by the heat of the flame on one side and by the heat reflecting from the tin on the other. When used with a spit this was an excellent method of preparing meat or poultry. A proficient, energetic, and strong cook could utilize various methods of cooking in an open hearth all at the same time.
Baking was another task which was usually done on a specific day of the week. It required the heating of a beehive or brick oven which was part of the fireplace. In the earlier part of the eighteenth century it was at the back of the fireplace. Later designs placed it on the side of the fireplace. Hot coals were placed in the beehive from the main fire. When the bricks on the inside of the oven had sufficiently absorbed enough heat, the hot coals were removed. The food to be baked was placed on the inside with the recipes requiring the longest baking time at the back, and those requiring the least amount to time in the front. A frequently used type of bakeware was called redware, a type of glazed pottery which was a deep red color. Tin, in various shapes was also used for baking. If a woman didn’t have enough bakeware, the last of the batters were placed on green leaves. When all the recipes were in order in the oven, which was quite deep, a heavy wooden or an iron door was placed to seal the oven heat. A peel, a long handled flat shovel, was used to remove the redware and tins when the baking was completed. Sometimes a crock of baked beans was left to continue cooking in the cooling oven overnight.
Laundry may have well been the most time consuming of the routine household chores. Large tubs of water had to be collected for both wash waters and rinse waters. Some families collected barrels of rain water so as not to have to carry the water too far. A common source of household water was the river or a stream. The men and boys would carry the water and would prepare the drying areas. Drying areas would consist of protected lawn on which to spread clothes, some ropes strung to hang clothes and sometimes trimmed bushes or hedges that the clothes could be rested upon to dry. Clothes were sorted by whites and darks. The water was heated over fires and some types of laundry were actually boiled. The clothes were moved to a hot rinse tub with a large washing stick and then were moved to a second rinse tub. After hand ringing the clothing the articles were set out to dry. Whites, especially, were placed in the sun on the lawn so they would bleach naturally. All clothing was not washed regularly. Undergarments, aprons, socks, and babies’ hand stitched diapers were most frequently laundered items. Bed linens and children’s clothing were washed less frequently. Men’s and women’s outer garments were seldom laundered. Heavy woolen garments and some household items, like blankets may have been washed annually and some items like bed curtains and valences almost never. As difficult as this process was, it was much harder in the winter months. The laundry would have to be done inside. Drying couldn’t be done outside as it would freeze. Some items were hung on poles placed between ladder back chairs to dry in front of the fire. Sparks from the fire would damage the fabrics and of course, created another fire hazard. Some clothing was placed in attics to dry from the radiant heat from chimneys but this was a slow process and frequently took away space from children who slept under the rafters in the attic where there was enough heat to keep them warm during the night. Much of the family laundry had to be postponed until the spring.
Sewing, mending and knitting were among the routine tasks which simply never ended. As long seams of garments needed finished edges to sustain the long life and rigorous cleaning procedures, sewing seemed to be always in progress. Also, to extend the life of garments mending was done regularly. So much time and effort went into spinning and weaving cloth that people had few outfits and they were not able to get new garments readily. Not all fabrics were woven on home looms. Some fabrics were imported from England, but these were more costly. Some women would prepare their skeins of linen or wool at home but would then bring them to a local weaver. Once the cloth was prepared it would be cut into sections to be stitched together into garments. Some people choose to bring the fabric to a cutter for the desired size and style of a garment but would then stitch the sections together themselves. The fact remains, however, no matter how much they had done and how much they did themselves an extraordinary amount of time and labor went into the creation and maintenance of every garment.
Children’s clothing was usually constructed with a number of hemmed tucks. Girls’ and boys’ clothing was very similar until they were about five or six years old. This made garment construction for young children somewhat easier and also allowed for growth. The garment could be lengthened with growth spurts and when it was outgrown it could be hemmed to start all over again regardless of the gender of the younger child. When adult garments had reached a point where stress points could no longer be repaired the pieces were taken apart and cleaned. New patterns for smaller individuals were cut from the good sections and a new garment was ready to serve another person through many more wearings. Nothing was ever wasted.
Certain garments, like caps and socks or stockings were knitted. As a mending basket was never empty, neither was a knitting basket. Socks wore out rather quickly, so it was not only important to have several pair if possible, but also to the keep the existing ones mended. Sometimes, worn heels and toes were replaced in socks rather than knitting a new pair. Caps and socks were both worn to bed in the cold winter months. Every member of the family needed them. Soft shawls and blanket throws were used regularly during the winter months. Mittens were necessities for children and adults doing the daily chores which brought them into the bitter cold outdoors.
All the household operations which the wife, as manager, performed with the help of hired girls, neighbors on occasion, and daughters, were expected in time to be completely learned by the young girls. They, in turn, would mature to be wives and managers, thus perpetuating the family cycle. The chores which men and boys performed were generally outside the house proper. They built and furnished their homes. The men worked the land, they tended the livestock, and they practiced their individual specialties within the community. They assisted the women with the heavy work inside the house. They handled the affairs of their families and helped in the decision making of the community. Their sons were expected to learn from them and become future household heads.
