EVERY DAY LIFE IN THEMASSACHUSETTS BAYCOLONY

EVERY DAY LIFE
IN THE
MASSACHUSETTS BAY
COLONY

BY

George Francis Dow

Massachusetts Bay ColonySeal, 1675

ARNO PRESS

A New York Times CompanyNew York / 1977

First Published in Boston, 1935Reissued in 1967, by Benjamin Blom, Inc.Reprint Edition 1977 by Arno Press Inc.LC# 77-82079ISBN 0-405-09125-7Manufactured in the United States of America

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PREFACE

A picture of some phases of life in the early days of theMassachusetts Bay Colony is presented in the followingpages; lightly sketched, as much of the detail has becomedim or has disappeared with the passage of years, it neverhaving been placed on record even among the traditions. For whykeep an exact record of doings with which every one is familiar?It follows that many of the every day happenings, the mannersand customs of daily life—much of the intimate detail ofexistence in the Colony, in the seventeenth century, have been lostforever.

Few realize how modern are the furnishings and comforts of ourpresent-day houses and how different was the home life of ourancestors. Chairs were unknown in ordinary English householdsuntil a generation or so before the sailing of the Mayflower. Hatswere worn at meals and the use of table forks did not become generaluntil the last of the 1600s. Food was placed in the mouth withthe knife or the fingers. Washing the hands and face was not consideredessential on rising from bed in the morning and few ofthe laboring classes in any country in Europe washed their facesevery day.

This is a collection of source materials, somewhat digested, ratherthan a comprehensive, well-balanced narrative of daily life in theColony—an impossible task at this late day. Moreover, the exactlimitations of the Colonial Period have not been observed tooclosely as it has seemed desirable to include some material fromnewspapers and other later sources.

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CONTENTS