Colonial Essay: Home Life In Colonial America

Home Life In Colonial America Life in colonial America was different for each of the colonies, however, one thing remained the same: home life. Every person had a different job or task, whether it was on the farm, in the home, or elsewhere. Everything each person did made a huge difference in the home, community, and even the economy. The roles of each family member widely varied. Fathers, children, and spouses had their own duties that no one else could fulfill. The mothers would stay around the house and tend to the home needs. They made candles so the family would have light; they also had to clean day to day because of the dust from the open fires. Fortunately for the rest of the family, the mothers knew how to spin, weave, and sew so

Church and religion was huge in the colonial times among the people. Before churches, these committed people would meet under trees or in a house if someone volunteered and called them meetinghouses. The people started building meetinghouses out of clay, and then eventually started using brick. The first and most famous brick meetinghouse was named the “Old Ship” which is placed in Hingham, Maine. These meetinghouses did not have pews, but had wooden seats that resembled shelves. They did not have heat so some people would bring in foot stoves, which were just small stoves, and set them in front of their feet to keep warm. Some people got permission to bring in their dogs, if they behaved, and have them lay on their feet. There was no music for the hymns, so most of the people were off beat and sounded terrible, although, some wooden instruments were introduced later. The services usually lasted four to five hours and the prayers were just one or two hours shorter than services. Most interesting is the law that stated everyone had to attend church or they would be punished or fined. Everyone also had assigned seats in the church. The young boys would sit in the pulpit with a chaperone while the young girls usually sat at their mothers’ feet. If someone were not in their assigned seat they’d also be punished or fine. Doing anything else on a Sunday, fishing, working, etc. was