The article below is an interesting piece that I saw on a genealogy Facebook Group that was shared from an Orange County California Genealogical Society newsletter from Sep 2016.
LIFE IN COLONIAL AMERICA
Many Americans may find it hard to imagine the lifestyle of their ancestors in Colonial times, but "...like modern generations, the colonists dealt with premarital sex, pregnancy, and blended families, along with some hardships (short lifespans, dying children) that we might have a hard time understanding..."
Here are some facts to help you find similarities and differences between you and your ancestors.
1. COURTSHIP PRACTICES
"Although modern Americans imagine Colonial era sexual morals to be, well, Puritanical, in the mid-to-late 1700's, more than one in three girls was pregnant when she walked down the aisle. So don't be surprised if the birth or baptismal record of a progenitor that you discover...is dated fewer than nine months after the parents' wedding certificate...
2. BLENDED FAMILIES WERE COMMON
During the Colonial era, marriages lasted, on average, less than 12 years because of the high mortality rates. In Colonial America, death visited earlier and often: In 1700, the average age of death for English men in Virginia was 48. One-third to one-half of all children lost at least one parents before the age of 21; in the South, more than half of children 13 and under had lost at least one parent. As a result, remarriages were frequent in Colonial America.
Marriages during the Colonial era, however, were not always legally formalized. For many colonists, the cost of a formal, legal marriage was more an aspiration than a reality. In colonial North Carolina, for example, a marriage certificate cost £50 -- a year's salary for a teacher, or six months' salary for a minister. As a result, many people formalized their relationships simply by posting 'banns' announcements read weekly to the community for several weeks.
3. PARENTS EXPECTED SOME CHILDREN TO DIE
While death was not uncommon for marriage age adults, it was almost expected for children. With most Colonial women marrying around the age of 20, they would often have about seven to 10 children.
Many children, however, did not survive until adulthood-- or even to toddlerhood. One in 10 infants died before they were a year old, and four in 10 children died before the age of six. For slave children, not surprisingly, the outlook was even grimmer. Up to half of all black children in the 1700's died before their first birthday. But even the wealthiest parents had to endure their children's deaths. First Lady Martha Washington, for example, had four children, all of whom she outlived. Two died before turning five; one died at age 17; the last died of an illness at age 26.
Accidents also claimed older children, not a surprising fact considering the size of families and the risks of life on a farm. Colonial court records available to historians and genealogists show children drowning in tanning pits or mill ponds, falling into hearth fires, and down barn ladders..."
My Mendenhall Family in Colonial America
After reading this article, I wanted to take another look at my ancestors and their journey- deaths at young ages, etc.
My 10th great-grandfather was John Mendenhall (1659-1743). In 1685, he immigrated to America from England with 3 of his siblings- you can read more about that Here. John married twice and had 3 sons.
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| John Mendenhall |
~John Mendenhall (1659-1743), died at age 83
m. Elizabeth Maris (1664-1705), died at age 41
-3 children:
1. George Mendenhall (1686-1758), died at age 72
2. John Mendenhall Jr. (1688-1765), died at age 76
3. Aaron Mendenhall (1690-1765), died at age 74
m. Esther Maddock (1661-1713), died at age 52
~John Mendenhall Jr. (1688-1765)- my 9th great-grandfather
- died at age 76
m. Susanna Pierson (1687-1765), died at age 77
-7 children:
1. Mary (b. 1712), unknown age at death
2. Mordecai (1713-1803), died at age 90
3. Martha (1714-1800), died at age 86
4. John III (1715-1771), died at age 56
5. Moses (b. 1718), unknown age at death
6. Stephen (1721-1779), died at age 57
7. Sarah (1723-1815), died at age 92
~Mordecai Mendenhall (1713-1803)- my 8th great-grandfather
- died at age 90
m. Charity Grubb Beeson (1715-1809), died at age 94
-10 children:
1. Richard (1737-1773), died at age 35
2. John (1739-1773), died at age 34
3. Thomas (1741-1783), died at age 41
4. Moses (1743-1835), died at age 91
5. Stephen (1744-1822), died at age 78
6. Mordecai Jr. (1746-1818), died at age 71
7. Maris (1749-1750), died at age 1
8. Aaron (1751-1793), died at age 42
9. Charity E. (1754-1836), died at age 82
10. Isaac M. (1756-1833), died at age 76
~Richard Mendenhall (1737-1773)- my 7th great-grandfather
- died at age 35- was actually killed by Indians along with his brother John.
m. Jane Thornbrugh (1737-1796), died at age 59
-8 children:
1. John (1759-1835), died at age 76
2, Richard (1761-1845), died at age 84
3. Jane (1763-1793), died at age 30
4. Benjamin (1765-1835), died at age 70
5. Charity (1767-1853), died at age 86
6. Margaret (b. 1768), unknown age at death
7. Joseph (1770-1833), died at age 63
8. Aaron (1772-1840), died at age 67
I feel like, compared to the article above, that my family was pretty lucky that so many lived to old ages and that not many died as children.
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