Early Bird Milks the Cow

It is 6 A.M.--so where are your 1800 ancestors? What was a typical day for them? That depends on what they did for a living. If they were farmers, like most of our ancestors, here is a daily schedule similar to what theirs possibly would be.

Farmer
5:00 am -  feed animals
6:00 am  - breakfast
7:00 am -  out to the fields
8:00 am--noon depending on the season the farmer will be sowing, planting, fertilizing, weeding, pruning, harvesting, etc.
12 noon lunch
1:00 pm -  repair/build fences, clean barns
2:00 pm  - chop wood, fish or hunt
3:00 pm - out in the fields again
5:00 pm  - evening chores: feed animals, milk cows, etc.
6:00 pm -  supper
7:00 pm -  clean guns, mend bridles, whittle
8:00 pm -  bed

Farm Wife
5:00 am - milk cows
6:00 am - cook breakfast
7:00 am - sweep house, make beds, wash dishes
8:00 am - work in garden
9:00 am - wash clothes by hand, hang to dry
11:00 am - prepare lunch for family
12:00 noon lunch
1:00 pm - lessons with children
3:00 pm - start preparations for supper: gather wood, start fire, kill and clean chicken, etc.
4:00 pm - 6:00 - prepare meal for family
6:00 pm - supper
7:00 pm - clean up after meal
8:00 pm - mend, sew, knit; put children to bed
9:00 pm - bed

Child
6:00 am - haul water, start fire
7:00 am - gather eggs, feed chickens
8:00 am - work in the garden
9:00 am - gather firewood/buffalo chips
10:00 am - slop the pigs
11:00 am - sweep the yard
12:00 am - lunch
1:00- pm - lessons with mama
3:00 pm - free time
5:00 pm. - help prepare meal
6:00 pm - supper
7:00 pm - sew, read, arithmetic
8:00 pm - bed

Online source: Ancestry Magazine; by staff writer; published 28 Apr. 2008

Clara's Book

Clara's Book

      To learn what life was like on an

      Oklahoma homestead in the

      1890's and early 1900's, read this

      little booklet, "Clara's Book". 

      It was written by Clara Louise

      Stone McDaniel about her early

      years living and growing up on

      a farm near Stroud, Oklahoma,

      1889-1913. I think you will enjoy

      it as did I. It will give you an 
idea of how our own ancestors were living during the same era.

Click on the above title "Clara's Book" to read this endearing little book.

Used by permission
Copyright 2009 by Judy Stevens