The colonists' lifestyles, daily activities, and occupations in this area depended upon where they lived and when they lived.

In the 1600s and early 1700s, most of the people came here to have a better life, but there were few settlements and people did not live near each other.  At that time there were two ways to make money here: farming or fur trading.

1. You first had to eat, so farming was the choice of many hard working people.  It was easier to own land here than it was in Europe.  You could use your crops for your family and sell or trade the rest to others in order to get needed supplies.

2. Some people came to be fur traders.  They got furs from the Native Americans and gave them supplies that they needed. Europeans still wanted furs too.

These early colonists' lifestyles were very simple.  They worked almost all the time just to survive.  Life was hard. There was little time for pleasure or education.  Religion was important and was the reason many of them came here, but churches were very far apart, so little time was spent worshipping with other people.

Families were often large, with five or more children; many children died during their childhood because there was little medicine and few doctors.  

If you were a boy during this time, you certainly helped with the chores, such as milking cows, plowing and harvesting fields, and even building houses and barns.  If you were a farm girl,  you helped with the cleaning, sewing, cooking, and even some of the farm work.  If you learned to read and write, it was because your mother or father taught you at home during any spare time.

In the early and middle 1700s, people started to live closer to each other and could do things other than farming and fur trading to make a living.   People were not so far in the wilderness.  

Villages and cities were forming.  If a family lived in the city, they did not farm, but did something else so they could buy or barter for whatever they needed. This was largely the middle class.

1. Some were merchants or worked for merchants.  This would include innkeepers, tavern keepers, and shop keepers.  

2. Still others were skilled artisans.  Some of their important skills are listed in the table below:

This is a wheelwright.

The people started to have some free time for some entertainment. Their children (especially their sons) probably got some education.  Churches were a very important part of their life; in fact, many homes were built near the churches.

Some people made a lot of money being a successful merchant or business owner or even landowner/farmer. If you were  rich, you bought whatever you needed, and probably had servants.  Your children were probably well educated.

And finally, there were many poor workers such as servants and slaves.  They owned no property, got no education, and probably had a very difficult life.  Church and religion were probably still very important to them, but their daily activities centered around making a living.

DEFINITIONS

occupation: job

wilderness: an area where few people live

barter: to pay for an item with something other than money, such as furs, or with another service

artisan: a skilled people who worked with his/her hands, such as a carpenter, shoemaker, and blacksmith

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