Life in 1770s Connecticut
(Part of educational pages for children)
In colonial days, West Hartford was the West Division
of Hartford. By the 1770s, the town was 100 years
old. The town had blacksmiths, schoolmasters, doctors,
weavers, shoemakers, a minister, farmers, cabinetmakers,
millers, servants and merchants. Some of the African-Americans
who lived in town were slaves (called servants)
and some were free. Most were farmers and some
practiced trades.
Boys learned by helping men with chores on the
farm. They cleared land, built fences, butchered
animals and split wood. They also planted, cared
for and harvested crops. Most boys grew up to farm
land and work at skills like weaving and shoe making.
Some, like Noah, went to college to study law or
the ministry. Others became merchants who ran shops.
Some became apprentices who learned trades like
blacksmithing and printing.
Women trained girls to be wives and mothers by
having them help around the house. Girls helped
with cooking, preserving food, caring for children,
cleaning the house, washing clothes and gardening.
They milked cows, churned butter and made cheese.
After
the men and boys grew flax and sheared sheep,
girls and single women did the spinning, knitting,
sewing and sometimes weaving. Girls spun wool and
flax so that it could be woven or knitted. They
usually brought yarn to weavers to have cloth woven,
and then used the cloth to make clothing and sacks.
Girls sewed by hand, with strong, tiny stitches
that would hold clothes together during washing
and years of wear.
Most
girls became wives and mothers who worked on
the farm and in the house. Some became midwives,
servants, tavern keepers or schoolmistresses.
Girls could not go to college.
Just
like us, colonists played and worked hard and
counted on others to get goods and services needed
to live comfortably. For more about life in 1770
follow this link.
The Noah Webster House &