Home Life in Colonial Days

by Alice Morse Earle

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 (1851–1911), 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.
Widely read when it was first published in 1898, this fascinating and wonderfully readable guide was instrumental in promoting a renewed interest in everyday life of bygone times. Today, it offers history buffs, collectors, and other interested readers a feast of delightful information.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Reference, Writing, Anthropology, Crafts

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1898

About the author

Alice Morse Earle was an American historian and author from Worcester, Massachusetts. She was christened Mary Alice by her parents Edwin Morse and Abby Mason Clary. On 15 April 1874, she married Henry Earle of New York, changing her name from Mary Alice Morse to Alice Morse Earle. Her writings, beginning in 1890, focussed on small sociological details rather than grand details, and thus are invaluable for modern sociologists. She wrote a number of books on colonial America (and especially the New England region) such as Curious Punishments of Bygone Days. She was a passenger aboard the RMS Republic when, while in a dense fog, that ship collided with the SS Florida. During the transfer of passengers, Alice fell into the water. Her near drowning in 1909 off the coast of Nantucket during this abortive trip to Egypt weakened her health sufficiently that she died two years later, in Hempstead, Long Island.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

The descriptions start without preamble or overview, launching immediately into detailed discussion of the shapes and sizes of the Colonials' homes. It is a dense reading, usually difficult to wade through, with only the broadest sense of structure: this chapter is houses, the next is food, then the tools, then the cloth, and so forth.

This crowd of facts and their relentlessness march is an unyielding reminder: life was harsh and full of work, and the people who lived during this time were both made of stern stuff and were possessed of skills that is awesome to consider.

It certainly makes it clear to this reader--who, on this lazy Saturday evening in August, sits in air conditioning, sipping a yogurt smoothie made of out-of-season fruit transported across continents and watching dancing cat videos--that we sit at the top of a long climb. At the base of this is the unending labor of Colonial times.

Just the production of clothes is something. Going from the flax plant itself to linen thread is twenty step process.

The author herself speaks from a nearly lost era itself, at a crossroads between the Colonial and the recognizably modern era. She seems almost wistful, with a sense of loss of the practical skills of the era--they made their own ribbons, for crying out loud--as well as its sensibilities in terms of the personal relationships that was its foundation. It seems to be a complaint made by all who yearn for the old times: these people now don't care for one another and nobody knows how to make anything themselves.

Occasionally a difficult read, but a worthwhile or even necessary one. It certainly puts many modern hardships into perspective.

[Reedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

disclaimer: i'm fascinated by colonial america.

i would generally assume that if you're looking this book up in the first place, you'd also be interested in the subject. still, if you're not into the details of life during colonial america, you won't like this. this has a lot of great detail. a great source of information from a time that was as far removed from the colonial period.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this to round out my list of references for a report. I remember being amazed by some of the details in this one, and disappointed at how badly cited it was. We had to hand in our written summary and sources to the teacher, give a verbal report to the class, and provide visuals. There were things I wanted to use from this book but couldn't because I couldn't verify them with other source materials or properly cite them using this one. That was frustrating. This is not written in the formal academic style the teacher liked us and our sources to use, which was also frustrating. I suppose these would be minor problems now with museums being so available on the internet and such. Overall, I'd say it's worth keeping this one available.

[Dejanet · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 similarities in her descriptions of everyday life and, sure enough, Earle's book was in the bibliography.
One of my favorite parts of 'Home Life' was her personal perspective on the dreary bleakness of New England winters that lasted for 2 pages (233-4). Every metaphor and simile you can imagine to say "I hate winter!"

[Diann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: This book was written in the late 1800's, and so unless you are truly peaked by learning about Colonial life (as I am), this book will likely not be for you.

If you are interested, this book is more approachable in print, because you can so easily open it up at random, or search for your topics of interest by hand and eye. It is fascinating to do the former.

There are a lot of details explored in this book, and it is a great resource for those interested in how people lived back a hundred years (more or less) than Alice Morse Earle wrote.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more comprehensive than I expected going in! I loved the long chapters. I also very much appreciated all the references, both to written primary and secondary sources, as well as to extant artifacts from that time that were at least at some point in a museum. I’d love to see some of these things in person someday.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 differences between the New England and southern colonies were particularly interesting.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 it out to be.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for research purposes. Very informative!

[Tim Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it mostly for the quilting part.

[Joshua]

(Notes refer to the Project Gutenberg edition http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22675 )

Charming, non-scholarly introduction to lifeways in Colonial America. I really enjoyed reading this one day while in bed with a cold, and it fits in with my recent viewings of the BBC Victorian Farm, Edwardidan Farm, etc. series.

Does anyone else see the "proto-maker" sentiment, on the boy with the jack-knife section? Would we rewrite this as a boy with a CNC machine or a 3D printer?

Also, was encouraged to read that local economies and local investment are not a new idea, in the section on the communal sawmill in Gloucester, and other examples, such as "Other towns ordered certain persons to buy provisions "of the towns-men in preference." and Reading would not sell any of its felled timber out of the town."

[Coralie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book was written in the late 1800's, and I know a really lot about colonial life, I loved this book. Mrs Earle goes over all the mundane details of running a household in early America, and never once is it dry and boring. I learned a few new things and I was reminded of a lot of things I knew and had forgotten. I read this book at the perfect time, since we're doing American Heritage in school this semester. Really, really interesting book. This is a women's history without being "Women's History". The descriptions of everything are good enough that you can picture everything the author describes, without being overly wordy. There were two full chapters on weaving and spinning. I read the first one, and read half of the second one, and decided I'd had enough. If you skip some stuff in a book, that's okay. Highly recommended.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not an easy read and it spent too much time on stuff like telling the reader how to make soap when I was more interested in stuff like how often they used the soap to wash their clothes - which was also included but I just could have done without the soap making instructions. So I wound up skimming over some parts like that. But there were some details here and there of interest. I am finding the modern textbook Family Life in 17th- And 18th-Century America much more focused on things of interest but of course it's expensive whereas this is free as an ebook.

[Maryclaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written in the 1890's. The author covers the daily life in Colonial America. She writes about their customs, their different type of homes, the raising of the food, it's preparation and it's serving style. Their are chapters on the style of lamps, from Betty lamps, Bull's Eye Lamps and of course tinder box and candles. It is a very informative book in all aspects of early life. I will refer to it many times.

[Lexish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read through a few of these because I used to teach units on colonial America and was interested to see how this author (writing in the late 1800s) portrayed this period in history that was much closer to her than it is to us! Unless you're very interested in this topic, though, I wouldn't recommend it as a casual read.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book more times than any non-children's book I've ever read. This is the bible of everyday life in colonial times. The detail, the coverage, the research are all so thorough and well written. I LOVE THIS BOOK. (quirky, I know, but what the hell....)

[maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it....
but I'm obsessed with anything related to Colonial America.

[Gene McAvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and enjoyable if you are a history buff like me! :-)

[Genetta Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY useful to me, as I normally write and read historical fiction. Love it!!

[Chapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want to really learn how easy we have it today as women? And how much more our opinions matter. Free Ebook on Gutenburg site.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One can't really judge this book by modern historical standards (hello, romanticization of [white] colonists and casual racism), but worth reading as an example of early social history.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry but interesting.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, but sometimes the author belabored the point a bit.

[Rhenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1898 about "Real things, works and happenings of olden times." Very interesting and informative. I enjoyed it.

[Renata Shura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read and a reference book of great value. I expect to come back to this tome time and time again.

Indispensable for one interested in the "other side" of history.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Competently and unbiasedly written; interesting anthropological notes, such as husband and wife used to share a dinner plate as a sign of their intimacy and love. Never find that in a novel!

[Steven Yenzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this 1895 history of Colonial times. Earle's 19th-century nostalgia for the 18th century is all the more interesting from a 21st-century perspective.

[Christine McCloud · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was excruciating to read. I mean, it contained a lot of information, but having been written originally in 1898, it contained terminology & references that I didn't know or understand. What I did understand, however, was interesting.