Home Life In Colonial Days

Could you identify a sausage gun if you had to? How about a plate warmer or a well-sweep? Any idea how the term log-rolling really originated? Alice Morse Earle, a prolific popular historian and the first American to chronicle everyday life and customs of the colonial era, describes what these and many other obscure utensils were and how they were used. She also conveys a vivid picture of home production of textiles, colonial dress, transportation, religious and social practices, the care of flower gardens, colonial neighborliness, and other aspects of early American life.

st enticing and familiar style. He said in his Description of New England:—

"What pleasure can be more than to recreate themselves before their owne doores in their owne boates, upon the Sea, where man, woman, and childe, with a small hooke and line by angling, may take diverse sorts of excellent fish, at their pleasure? And is it not pretty sport to pull up twopence, sixpence, or twelvepence, as fast as you can hale and veare a line? If a man worke but three days in seaven hee may get more than hee can spend unless hee will be excessive.

"Young boyes and girles, salvages, or any other, be they never such idlers may turne, carry, and returne fish without shame or either great pain: hee is very idle that is past twelve years of age and cannot doe so much: and shee is very old that cannot spin a thread to catch them."

His accounts and similar ones were so much read in England that when the Puritans asked King James of England for permission to come to America, and the king asked what profit would be found by their emigration, he was at once answered, "Fishing." Whereupon he said in turn, "In truth 'tis an honest trade; 'twas the apostles' own calling." Yet in spite of their intent to fish, the first English[117] ships came but poorly provided for fishing, and the settlers had little success at first even in getting fish for their own food. Elder Brewster of Plymouth, who had been a courtier in Queen Elizabeth's time, and had seen and eaten many rich feasts, had nothing to eat at one time but clams. Yet he could give thanks to God that he was "permitted to suck of the abundance of the seas and the treasures hid in the sand." The Indian Squanto showed the Pilgrims many practical methods of fishing, among them one of treading out eels from the brook with his feet and catching them with his hands. And every sh

I loved every chapter except the last one. It was more about the author's experience with flower gardens and felt disconnected from the rest of the book. Otherwise, I loved it. People in Colonial days didn't have easy lives, and it reminds me that modern daily life isn't as hard as we sometimes make

I appreciate this book if only because there aren't many social history books about this place and era.
My enjoyment of it was very uneven depending on the subject at hand. For example the chapters on spinning and weaving were slogs but the ones about neighborliness and gardens were great. The many d

I was surprised that this book written in 1898 which we bought for Homeschool was going to be dry but Earle filled it with anecdotes, poems, songs and personal reflections that made me enjoy it almost all the way through. We were also consecutively reading Lois Lenski's "Ocean Born Mary" and noticed

Very comprehensive coverage of all aspects of home life, with detailed explanations of practices, techniques, and terminology, plus some scholarly researched background of history.

As dry as it is informative, and it is very informative. 10/10 will read again.

I read this book for research purposes. Very informative!

Alice Morse Earle

Home Life in Colonial Days

Alice Morse Earle

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