Lives of The Downtrodden in Early America

[@sarahpride5556]

My Granny told me how they lived. Cabins and wagons. Lye soap and iron wash tubs. Shake roofs and corn shuck beds. Handmade clothes and shoeless summers. She lived it and talked often about it to me. I appreciate our pioneer history.

[@nowrec5692]

Your grandmother lived 300 years ago?

[@amk1689]

My grandmother was born in 1897. Sad to say, she so rarely talked about the past. I have gleaned a few facts: when very young she lived in a dug-out, which was evidently a source of shame for her; Deadwood (SD) was too wild to go into; she explained the use of a washstand, pitcher, and bowl; she hated converting from a wood stove to an electric model. I wish she had been more talkative like yours was!

[@trudymaenza9672]

Yes my Grandma described how her n her family in a wagon going across the Mississippi on a ferry, early 1900's, and she had Scarlet fever at the time.

[@bettymiller1929]

Well even in the 50s in California my parents who had gone through the Great Depression didn’t buy us 6 kids shoes in the summer… we didn’t get a pair until school started … and if I wanted new clothes I had to make the myself… I’m actually glad I learned the sewing skill.

[@donaldcoday4765]

I find that period of our history very enlightening thoughts of this period had to be so tranquill.

[@karlt8233]

My dad was born in 1933 and had childhood memories of living on a farm in the late 30's thru the mid 40's before they moved to town. My grandfather was born in 1901 rural Alabama and moved to rural Louisiana in a covered wagon as in 1902. I remember all his tales of rural life up till they moved to town. His father was born in 1881 and I got to hear his stories thru my grandfather. My grandfather's grandfather was born in 1848 rural Alabama so I also had those stories passed down thru my grandfather. I was born in 1965 and a kid of the 70's so we have it made compared to the rural farm life of my direct ancestors.

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

Do write a book for kids to read. The youth has no idea

[@Pizzacat345]

Make a book!!!

[@daftfreak13]

I was born in 1776 and I remember life back before the internet

[@OanhSchlesinger]

@@daftfreak13 a great year to be born!

[@karenfitzpatrick6256]

I'm your generation and my mother's mother was born in 1899. She lived to 102, clear headed to the end. I wish I had asked her more about her early life. She was born in a tiny village in upstate NY in her grandfather's Amish/Mennonite home and wasn't raised to dwell much on the past. Mostly she taught us her values through her actions. Hard work. Large garden, putting food up for the winter. Homemade clothes. Never wasting a penny. Education was very important to her with her Master's in Education. First in her family to go beyond 8th grade With eight grandbabies of my own, I'm not seeing them connect with the land or God for their needs. So much of life today is on the Internet. (Ironically where we are now!) But this isn't "real" life to me. I'd be fine without it. But how would this upcoming generation do?

[@AldousHuxley7]

My great great grandpa in 1841 took a steam ship from New Orleans up to Cainsville Iowa now known as Council bluffs. From there he decided to travel with the mormons. He bought a wooden hand cart put all his belongings in it and dragged it over 1000 miles to Salt Lake City Utah. He thought mormons were crazy so 2 years later he walked back to Colorado and built a log cabin north of Denver that is now a museum.

[@scottmantooth8785]

respect

[@casey7130]

Kainesville I believe is the former name of CB

[@no-kz8wk]

@Mario Salinas I did it in like 3 days 🙄

[@StoicObserverS]

They are crazy and pedophilic, deceptive, perverse, greedy, villainous, and wicked.

[@muhammedin6yasindakiesi514]

I dont even know who was my ancestors and look at you u knoe every single detail in his life i dont even know some of my family members i was tryin to flirt with my cousin that i didnt know it was my cousin 😂

[@blueridgebushcraft8294]

My grandpa was out on his own when he was only nine years old after his mother died. Couldn’t read or write and was taken in by a family to work on the farm for room and board. A stall on the back porch with a pallet to sleep on and may some old wore out hand me down cloths. Even my dads family didn’t have running water much less electricity. Sometimes you don’t have to go back that far in time.

[@TraceyAllen]

In high school I lived in a log cabin with an out house. This was in South Dakota in the 1990's.

[@MrBrownnn696]

Right my mom told me when she was a kid they used candles for light in there house...

[@mjona1754]

Count yourself lucky my father's family got evicted from their home, (a hole in the middle of a road) and had to go and live in the middle of a lake. A porch? That would have been luxury.

[@janonthemtn]

Prob a lot the same now, that's why they want to come here. Mexican gov't does not care about their citizens.

[@gaarcemail]

@@janonthemtn As far as i am concerned, citizens are the only ones concerned with citizens. Governments are concerned with controlling citizens. Only if there is enough outcry from the public will you see government intervention.

[@sparky6086]

These scenarios are familiar to me. I remember visiting my grandparents in central Alabama in the 1960's, before mobile homes became popular. Some of the children, whom I played with, lived in what might be called "dirt floor shacks", because they had no floor. Some had tar paper for walls. Others, you could see the light through the cracks in the rough hewn boards. It only stands out to me looking back, because the architecture of someone's house was of little concern to me as a 6 year old. As an adult, when I hear people complaining about mobile homes and calling their occupants "trailer trash", I comment to them; they wouldn't criticize or ridicule people for living in a trailer, if they saw what they used to live in.

[@roberthempker3931]

There is a difference between being poor and being trash.

[@Cd5ssmffan]

@@roberthempker3931 There is no difference. All poor are trash and need to be depopulated for the sake of our environment

[@ExpandDong420]

​@Robert Hempker and many people don't seem to understand the difference despite it being pretty obvious

[@erikhendrickson59]

I complain about the mobile home *_industry,_* not their occupants. It's a viciously predatory industry.

[@godofuwu9905]

This video gave me such a sense of peace and comfort. Watching this is like a warm blanket.

[@Moriartart]

I admire the fact that you don’t just do videos on the middle/upper classes from the 18th century as I see many channels doing. You give a more human aspect to the past that most people think is cold and without character.

[@Charlie-502]

Alexia you are beautiful

[@Moriartart]

Charles Hardison haha thank you ❤️

[@Moriartart]

Brooks Smith thanks 😀

[@jamesrobiscoe1174]

If they think about it at all

[@rfoehn5215]

...AND it gives a grown man an excuse to play "dress-up". LOL

[@cameronkelly7725]

I love how passionate he is about history. I would love going to class if he were my teacher lol. You just got a new subscriber!

[@willbecker5632]

Ikr i could see him running a mock town with only gear and structure types from the 1700s ... It would be an amazing way to learn the realities of life

[@admiralsnackbar2811]

History is fascinating. It's to bad most history classes are just a string of event's delivered as "who, what, where, why" memorize that, rinse and repeat.

[@justinward3218]

You ARE in class and he IS your teacher.

[@lepmuhangpa]

@@justinward3218 Life is a learning experience.

[@WhispersFromTheDark]

I wholeheartedly agree!

[@stefanpigford6891]

My father was born in 1912. His father my grandfather died in a truck accident. Dad was 7. He had to work just like a man doin hard farm work to support grandma & brothers & sisters. My dad came thru the great depression. He made $00.50 cents a day.

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

Don't take your roof for granted.

[@soysauce4767]

Yes indeed! And in comparison - running water and flush toilets are luxuries.

[@fortbumper]

roof over your head now ,does not mean the same thing its fancy expensive house the latest car and a big bank account

[@manictiger]

I find it interesting that, in some ways, our building skill actually devolved. Before we even had farming, we had dugout shelters. It was a hole in the ground, lined with rocks or wood. It makes putting a roof on easy and it has extremely good insulation, since the 'walls' are surrounded by earth, instead of air. The hardest part is actually flood and rain control. A trench and mound going around the structure is pretty much mandatory.

[@rich2583]

Sadly, some people in America still think they are somehow "opressed" in 2018 with running CLEAN water and toilets that flush.

[@zooflebean]

@@soysauce4767 yes they are. I moved to the countryside a couple years ago to live the primitive life. Living without running water and indoor plumbing had given me great appreciation for the generations before me

[@GetMeThere1]

I can tell you from personal experience (living on the ground in the high desert in winter for two months) that the experience of NEVER getting completely warm from an external source of heat is one that you just can't appreciate until you've had it. It's a TREMENDOUS hardship. Thinking of that, the well known practice of families before the 1800s sleeping all together in one bed is easy to understand -- life would have been almost unbearably cruel without that opportunity to snuggle and be warm without having to produce all the heat oneself.

[@71kaye]

potable water on tap for cheap or free too. we are fortunate

[@tanukiZoot]

Dude same. It's so easy to stay warm that I'm inside but being outside and never being able to warm up, you get chilled to the bone...

[@dbmail545]

Easy to forget how good we have it. The stories my mother's parents told about the Great Depression sound like fiction today but conditions could revert back to worse.

[@gordanazakula4927]

GetMeThere; Thank you for sharing your experiences! However, how can it get COLD in a DESERT? I have always seen deserts as hot places. Please reply to me.

[@d.a.stratton3026]

@@gordanazakula4927 I grew up in desert lands. All desert means is dry. Some deserts are hot, some are temperate, some are cold. But even a desert that is hot in the day can get dang cold at night, even in the summer. There is nothing to hold the heat to the ground and it radiates into the sky. Cold air sinks to the ground. People die of exposure if they are not prepared. And winter in the desert is something else. Same kind of thing, only more so. The winds are severe because nothing to break them, so you lose heat fast. That is why desert people seek shelter in sheltered rock formations and caves. Sod huts sometimes, because they hold heat. Hope this helps you understand about deserts. They are beautiful, but they can be deadly.

[@mikebrisebois]

Gratitude for what we have is so very important Thanks for this

[@ghosttgirlghosttspook5478]

when I was a kid we didn't have a toilet or hot water, we finely moved in a nice big house in 1966, we then had a bathroom and hot running water, it was so nice to have my own room, it was greatly appreciated,

[@ValeriePallaoro]

I'm thinking you mean inside toilet. Hot water, yes, totally understood; if you can't pay for heating - gas, electric, oil, firewood; you would only have cold water. Just keen to know where this was and how your family managed.

[@AG-ev3hj]

@@ValeriePallaoro... this is how Allot of people in Arkansas and Oklahoma lived in the 50s and 60s My dad was born in 1954 in Oklahoma He first had electricity and indoor plumbing when he was 12 after his family temporarily moved to Oregon

[@danielasefa1884]

Dang, you must be very old

[@anthonykiser7962]

Come on people. Do you really believe some who refers to themself as ghostt girl ghostt spook ever grew up that long ago or that poor. Im not buying it. Sounds like bs to me.

[@AG-ev3hj]

@@anthonykiser7962 allot of people in the baby boomer generation were poor when they where kids Our economy really took of in the 50s, 60s and 70s where people who used to be poor were now middle class Honestly you sound really young and naive

[@JackHaveman52]

I live at what the government says is below the poverty line, retired and living on a fixed income. Strangely though, I probably have a more comfortable life than that rich woman who wrote that travel journal in the early 18th century. Couldn't even imagine what it would have been like for the poor people of her time. She travelled, on horseback, which must have been tough on the back, battling the weather and bugs. A rich woman. Here I am, a poor retired guy, and last year I flew to the Caribbean and then a couple of months later, to Europe. I complained about having to wait around the airport and how slow the lines were moving. 21st century complaints. Going to Cancun in January. I'm a poor guy, worked in construction, factories and tended bar all my life. I'm sitting here comfortably, just finishing a grilled cheese sandwich and watching the end of Monday Night Football on my 42 inch, flat screen TV. I'm one lucky guy when you compare me to those that were living 200 years ago.

[@tanukiZoot]

Jah caveman speaks the truth

[@cindycraig3164]

Amazing, isn't it? I'm 65 and remember no indoor plumbing and beds moved downstairs next to the coal stove once the chamber pots started freezing at night. I'm very comfortable with my 3 bathroom house, regular showers, and a pillow top mattress, thanks - the "good old days" aren't what they are cracked up to be.

[@0101018888]

I wish I was poor like you.

[@kimberly25christinesmith72]

This post inspired me to make a grilled cheese

[@miaomiaou_]

jdl 96 I was going to say the same thing. Recently I went part-time at work and so technically I am also below poverty line (in NYC). However that does NOT negate all the things I own or the conveniences I already have. I may not be making much money right now but I’d be kidding myself if I said I live in poverty.

[@JoshTube]

Everyone experiences two deaths. The first is when your heart beats for the last time... The second is when your name is spoken for the very last time. I love how he keeps Sarah's memory alive by telling a piece of her story. I love this!

[@pilotswife06]

JoshTube thats a beautiful sentiment!

[@marktroddyn3351]

So true...I never met either grandfather and so when my parents go so do they.

[@louc3268]

@@stormy8092 Ruth, you are very sweet for this. 💕💕

[@doctorgoodguy1]

Thank you all for these beautiful thoughts!

[@jebsmith323]

After my brother died, my father's name is never spoken unless my elderly mother dreams about him. My oldest child remembers him the best. My other sons and daughter have fainter memories. My grandchildren will never know him.

[@charliesmith6137]

For anyone interested, John Woolman wrote extensively about poor and oppressed people in colonial America. He died in 1772. His writing was at least a century ahead of his time.

[@juliar8462]

Is it in his diary or something else?

[@oldben5772]

@@juliar8462 He left a journal of his travels and some essays about slavery and about how Christians should live. Look for the Phillips Moulton edition. Many people have found his works deeply moving, so don't miss it!

[@Ephesians5-14]

Oooo thanks 💗

[@Ephesians5-14]

@@oldben5772 nice!

[@kristopherbeer5422]

I wrote that information down thank you!

[@wntu4]

Nails were not a commodity you go to Home Depot for. They had to be hand made by a smith and were not cheap.

[@peglegnoid6139]

If a house would burn down they would pick the nails out of the ashes.

[@homertalk]

I thought they had the Ye Old Homestead Depot

[@MrJinxyBuster]

@@peglegnoid6139 They would sometimes burn a structure simply to recover the nails.

How stupid they are, if they couldn't find a Home Depot closeby back then, they could have ordered on Amazon ! That's so simple, these elders don't know a thing smh !

[@YAUUN]

Well you could order from Amazon the only problem is it was incredibly expensive, the range was terrible if you wanted anything other than coffee, it took a minimum 4 months to arrive and often wouldn't arrive due to hurricanes & piracy. In all seriousness though, while they didn't have mail order as we know it until Montgomery Ward in the 1840's, your nearest grocery store (which could be several days away) would have a catalogue from which they could order stuff for you. If you were rich enough and needed it enough.

[@zappawench6048]

This is why I like Thomas Hardy's novels - he wrote about the working folk, farm workers and dairy maids in particular.

[@kristinradams7109]

I love Thomas Hardy's novels, too! I find the lives of the ordinary folks, with ordinary lives far more fascinating than the rich and famous. Cheers :)

[@carylhalfwassen8555]

Thanks for reminding me of him. I read him in high school lit class, The Mayor of Castorbridge.

[@lindainglis8506]

I also love Thomas Hardy. But Mr. Dickens, before him, is the absolute greatest novelist.

[@dylanmcdermott1110]

Before him, there's George Eliot.

[@viviennedunbar3374]

The world that Thomas Hardy described had already disappeared in England, I love his books very much but as a Brit we were told how he was romanticizing a world in the late 19th century that had already disappeared. After the Industrial Revolution and the emptying of the countryside there was a lot of longing and nostalgia for a romantic agrarian world that had dramatically changed. A lot of the customs and traditions he described where already dead by that time.

[@simonmaguire5250]

People with out always seem to give the most.

[@AsocalRedneck]

D B who are YOU to judge?

[@Smackosynthesis]

@D B but if they've always been wealthy and never had to want, it stands to reason that, though they may be able to empathize and speculate what it's like, they don't *really* know what it's like, no? That doesn't mean they take what they have for granted, that they're bad people or they don't want to help.

[@scarletletter4900]

D B True, but personal experience has shown me that this does weighing of which bill to pay actually happen. I've been without water of power at times so as to have a roof over my head.

[@merlemorrison482]

DB - not really, but you seem out of touch.....

[@merlemorrison482]

seems to me you have never been poor and had to choose which bill to pay - while being laughed at by the well to do....

[@moosemaimer]

In New England nowadays you can wander miles out into what is essentially uninhabited wilderness and find the remains of foundations and stone walls. It makes me think about who piled those rocks up hundreds of years ago and what it would have been like when they were trying to scrape together a living from the hard ground.

[@davem5308]

Moosemaimer - As a New Englander Mass. NH. Maine, I agree. I remember being deep in some woods in Maine with and associate, and to find stone walls way out in the vast nowhere, does get you trying to imagine the place, not as the woods it became, but as tilled land, once, under all the efforts of some ancient humans or other species! Mind bending stuff! Even ancient, and not so terribly ancient houses, way the hell out there in no place, is just crazy! How the landscape has continuously morphed throughout time. I haven't been in the deep, surreal woods for a long, long time. There is a specific sort of feeling and mood, the deep woods gives off in a unique vibration.

[@VasilyKiryanov]

> they were trying to scrape together a living from the hard ground New England is quite a hospitable land, i must tell you. Much better than barren Scottish highlands or Irish swamps.

[@draconus15]

You can here in nc as well if you know where to look although most of the old sites i know of have been dozzed either by loggers or developers

[@PeterChoyce]

A lot of those in NH were put up in the 1930s commissioned by a guy named Siefurt who was putting people to work during the depression

[@notsure6187]

right behind my housing development in the woods there was a large farm or possibly multiple farms. there's got to be a mile of rock walls out there.

[@dragunovbushcraft152]

Keep in mind, the difference between living in poverty, and living primitively, are skillsets. Sarah Kemble Knight's story, may be describing a "primitive" hut, but people satisfied with enough to eat, acceptable comfort level, and acceptable accoutrements, due to adequate skillsets, where the second story, may be describing "poverty", as the father, didn't have the skillsets to be living that way. For example: I was an outdoor survival instructor for the DoD for 25 years, and have been on MANY outdoor survival outings, with nothing but a good bushcraft knife. Sara Kemble Knight, may have described my camp as "retched", however, the medium sized debris hut I had constructed, was warm, cozy, and comfortable, albeit, a little small. Inside she would've found a nicely done, Dakota firepit, primitive tools, traps, and weaponry, primitive cookery/crockery, and water storage, a bundle grass chair that was as comfortable as any modern chair, and a nice, comfortable, draft bed that would keep you warm even on the coldest nights. I spent two weeks in this shelter, when the winter weather, was between -10, and -20 degrees f. Never once did I get cold, short of my trips to the latrine. My debris hut, stayed between 70, and 80 degrees inside, even on the coldest nights. I had plenty of food stores (Purslane that grew under the snow), did a bit of ice fishing, and trapped small animals, had a "nut cache" with Hickory nuts, black walnuts, pig nuts, had rose hips aplenty, so I never went hungry, as I managed to find plenty of calories. In case you're wondering, this was in South Central Ohio, near a medium sized lake, not far from the Ohio river.

[@DieNibelungenliad]

Poverty is often the result of barriers to gaining knowledge and waste is often the result of barriers to applying knowledge to resources

[@radford76]

I love your cooking videos, but this is just perfect and what anyone who loves the study of history is seeking. You have made KZbin a better place because of what you and your friends do. I wish this was shown in schools and homes everywhere in America. Thank You!

[@ericp9479]

This is so interesting! This kind of content is exactly why I love your channel, sir! Thank you.

[@pulseweld]

its amazing that just a story or shared history can get so many good views. Its KZbin working properly.

[@hoppas77]

Yes, I agree and would love to see more on the ordinary people during this time.

[@LostLakeLass]

Sad

[@markmadrid5098]

moo

[@QueenBee-gx4rp]

This was fascinating. I live in the country in the northwestern corner of Connecticut and wonder if she could have traveled through here. There are still dirt roads around, often following a brook, that were Indian trails and still look as they could have back then. I love to think who went before me along these beautiful old roads.

[@TheHekateris]

Those poor women, having to clothe, feed, and house so many children. I grew up in rural New England in the 70s in a one room shack w/out running water or electricity, and life was a real struggle, especially for my mom, but damn, we had nails and a front door!!

[@kikicamacho6761]

Oro The Nymph grandmom had 16 children in the 50s-60s. It’s crazy now but the norm on the farm

[@silverstar4289]

Yes, with no distractions of one’s time, Improving their home was a matter of choice.

[@StoicObserverS]

Incompetent men who convince a foolish woman to marry then cannot actually build anything or take care of her or the kids he helps produce. More like that in the world today than not.

[@mac11380]

@@StoicObserverS Or he woman could learn to build and take care of herself.

[@jerrypeukert5732]

@@StoicObserverS Could also be described as foolish women who are attracted to the bad, exciting, boys do not respect and marry the decent ones. Ya think?

[@vh2337]

I watch all your videos and I think, 'If only history teachers made learning as interesting as you do'. Really. Well done.

[@julied.8277]

Mr grandchildren have learned nearly nothing of history from school. Couldn't even find Europe on a world map! We make sure they learn as much as we can find on places like this. For English history Time Team is great too on KZbin, plus the Ruth Goodman historical archeology series.

[@davidtogi5878]

Sadly for those who are not interested with the topic then he is no different than your history teacher. In the end its all about personal interest.

[@arthurf8591]

As a history teacher I like his videos, too. But reading out personal reports is not exactly what I would describe as the main goal of history classes. It can be a part of it, but children need context and the ability to question the objectivity of such sources.

[@julied.8277]

My grandchildren are in high school, well able to understand more than dry facts. They want to know the whys and how of history. This channel and the Ruth Goodman Farm videos, plus the old Time Team digs have done wonders for them. When we find any good subject matter we jump on it. This channel is a great part as it covers not just cooking but tool making, clothing, living conditions, customs, etc., as evidenced by those who lived it.

[@williamdaniels6943]

history teachers in the 50s and 60s did make it very interesting. now they have changed and omitted so many things its not very interesting any more. remember NATHAN HALE he said: I ONLY REGRET THAT I HAVE BUT ONE LIVE TO GIVE FOR MY COUNTRY!: and then the british hung him. SAD

[@LisaCupcake]

The preface of Sarah Kemble Knight's book says it was published in 1825. Kind of funny to think that they were probably reading her journal as a book of "the old days", too.

[@jackkennedy_1963]

Why would even one person give this video a "thumbs down," never mind 564? I just do not understand how anyone could be critical of this free gift of historical insight by Mr. Townsend.

[@themightyparthos]

Be glad that you are not one of the aforementioned number as it shows you are not bitter and have a thirst for knowledge. I used to be an angry person.. I used to be young and dumb, but I am not young anymore.

[@sharonallen6921]

It isn't about Mr. Townsend or his wonderful videos. Most likely those folks got a recommendation for this video because at some point in their youtube history they clicked on some kind of history video. They vote it down so that history videos won't show up again. Most likely they were looking for car videos or video games or something else that interests them. 564 down votes with almost 1 million views represent a drop in the bucket.

[@jackkennedy_1963]

@@sharonallen6921 Partial plausible explanation. And the down votes are, as you say, "a drop in the bucket." But we also must acknowledge that there are some simply nasty people out there who nitpick and trash anything they feel moved to -- simply because they're jerks.

[@asmith7876]

@@jackkennedy_1963 Well said. I watch some bushcraft/outdoor/camping channels and there's this guy who trolls them all and leaves nasty comments. What a bizarre and pathetic hobby.

[@jackkennedy_1963]

@@asmith7876 Thanks for your comments. I watch lots of those kinds of videos (Nessmuk) but I've not noticed that particular character. Sounds like a really unhappy soul. Yet many people are unhappy and never resort to nastiness, so bad on him. I agree. Bizarre AND pathetic. Tramp on, friend!

[@smctunes]

I've been watching your channel for years, wondering all the while, "why haven't these guys been picked up by The History Channel," or something similar. But, truth be told I think I'd hate to see your show watered down by tons of commercials and the inevitable PC glazing-over from script writers and producers. I guess I'm just saying thank you for what you do, and I'm glad we have this platform to appreciate you on (even if youtube is now being complicit in censorship.)

[@inkblotCrisis]

It's going to turn into a 18th Century Pawnshop

[@the-chillian]

inkblotCrisis "I know naught of such goods as this fine blade of Japan you have brought before me. I pray, grant me leave to summon a boon friend of mine who has made deep study of these matters, that we may both profit by his sage advice!"

[@veryberry39]

Don't worry, that would require the History Channel to talk about history.

[@johnambrogio9585]

It seems that all The History Channel has on is American Pickers 24/7. It started out as a good channel to learn about American History, but not anymore.

[@chelinfusco6403]

If they did, we couldn't enjoy the real honesty of it. Also, it will be filled with commercials and who know, propaganda. No, I'm glad they are here. I guess I'm selfish that way. ;-)

[@terrywestbrook-lienert2296]

This was compassionately and thoughtfully done. Thank you for making this historical look on poverty in Early America.

[@glowinggold9488]

Here I am 2019... living in a slightly chilly house. ITs a paradise compared to what thease sad poor people....

[@6stringgunner511]

My father told me a story of how his mother reacted to having electric for the first time. She went around the house, screwing corn Cobs into all the light bulb sockets. She was afraid that the electric would run out.

[@TootieProduct]

I could listen to you read for ages

[@notsure6187]

Christopher Horan you met Ron Paul? cool!

[@gorillaau]

Audio books as read by Townsends.

[@dumbcat]

"crossing the proverb" means that the wife was an exception to the proverb. even though she had no house to clean, she kept her family clean. she was not dizzy with idleness

[@serenepeacefulrelaxingmusi3874]

A Proverbs 31 woman.

[@lucianf89]

It’s surreal watching this video, listening to a story written about a simple family who lived 300 years ago.... their story being heard by people all over the world today.

[@chrisresnikoff1741]

If you want to learn about rich people, study history. If you want to learn about poor people, study archaeology.

[@artfact2]

In either way you will probably practice poverty.;)

[@PeteZa92]

Oh, I like this comment

[@zachmiller9175]

@Modern Woodsman archaeology is a lot more than just graves... Many artefacts are just random things dropped or left behind by random people, and since the majority of the population through history would be poor or middling at best most artefacts would have belonged to poorer people

[@zachmiller9175]

@Modern Woodsman do your own research im just saying your premise is incorrect

[@RickSanchez-jr1ef]

zach miller Ladies! Ladies calm down. We are all civilized women here.

[@TheRousler]

Many people in that time were driven from England by the Enclosures Act which, combined with improvements in farming efficiency, left many ordinary people jobless, homeless and in grinding poverty. Many just starved in hedgerows. The alternative of crowded inner cities competing for jobs in the new industries was just as bad. To them the grinding poverty in America would have been an improvement over the alternatives. You can see why so many despised the Crown. We really need to feel for our ancestors and what they endured. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_England_(painting)

[@DieNibelungenliad]

The Crown was far from fault by the 1700s in England and her colonies. That buck would pass to the big landlords dominating the parliament after the Wars of The Three Kingdoms

[@CarolGasses]

My grandparents immigrated to the US in early 1900s living in a 1770s NH farmhouse. My dad said he chased the horses down in the field so he could work the fields with them. It wasn’t that long ago!! How soon we forget.

[@briarrose5208]

My ancestors cleaned out a chicken coop to live in when they came to this country in the late 1600's. They handed down their resourcefulness and creativity, so centuries later I know how to make something out of nothing. I'm so grateful and proud of my heritage.

[@Yodumeee]

That's amazing. There were less than 100,000 people in the US at that time. Astonishing the account of where they lived was documented and passed along for 350 years.

[@Joemondaking]

I’m sure they did

[@Truth_Be_Bold]

Appreciate your being so very humble even to acknowledge that today 👍

[@lizlanman47]

It's a good story, but I think it's just family legend. Peace!

[@TheBatugan77]

That's still going on. My next door neighbor in Missouri rented out his converted chicken coop to poor folks, for a very low rent.

[@vi683a]

You would make a great teacher. I am learning so much about history through such a humbling aspect as cooking can be!

[@jeffmorse645]

I can't imagine what my indentured servant ancestors went through in Virginia in the late 1600s and early 1700s. I feel so soft and spoiled by comparison.

[@grantarmbruster6591]

My grandmother cried when I told her I wanted to have a self-sufficient ranch one day. "They fought so hard to get off the farm." They were Irish and German share cropers. Think grapes of wrath.

[@hollyp9811]

I find learning about how people in the past lived fascinating. Many years ago, I read a book that talked about peasant life by looking into obituaries and how people died. It was so interesting. I’m so thankful to have found your channel!

[@2380Shaw]

After I went to college and got my BA in Computer Information Systems and didn't get an IT job for a long time I felt like crap. After finding about my 4th great grandfather who studied to be a doctor in England in the 1830s and was from a wealthy merchant family from Poole Dorset. I read a journal he wrote after he moved to Michigan and ended up farming instead of becoming a doctor. In his letter he sounded very disappointed just like I was after getting my degree and getting nothing more than factories or restaurants. Eventually I had some IT jobs like tech support call center and some programming.

[@ValeriePallaoro]

You've spotted it. The man who could read and write and yet has no paper and pen cause he can't afford it, dire, indeed. To move out to another nation with hope of changing your life and then not even to be able to provide roof for your house ... wow.

[@charlesmiller9589]

Study is Self Discipline, You Just May get a Job you studied for but sometimes it just doesn’t happen and you end up working for Walmart a Great company BTW..

[@ms.whitefolks1223]

@@charlesmiller9589 💉💉💉💉💉

[@MugenASMSi]

Hello, I read your post and acknowledge that you graduated with a CIS degree do you recommend that degree? Are there many opportunities ? I ask because that is the degree I am currently working on.

[@timothygeaughan7110]

In school I hated history, I binge watch this almost everyday, this is history done right.

[@zhinka1]

I grew up without running water or indoor toilets. We had a loom, gardens, and only went to town for church and school. You do not have to go far back at all.

[@brianwalsh1401]

A lot of people around the world live in these conditions now. I watch a video of a young lady in Tokyo living in a small room in and internet cafe because that was all she could afford. She said she had to leave her home because her parents couldn't afford her to live there. This is like the tech version of poverty. I felt for her. She seemed melancholy.

[@Teresa-L.2024]

I went to rural Mississippi in 1990 and visited people who lived not much better than this. Very sad to see the extent of poverty in the world's richest nation.

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

People in many other countries do not realize that. Not at all. They have the pictures portrayed by TV and Hollywood in their minds.

[@1973Washu]

Primary sources from poor people are somewhat rare since they only get written by people who managed to extricate themselves from poverty and have the spare time and resources to write a memoir.

[@patrickmccurry1563]

And many were likely ashamed, so either avoided mentioning it or remembered things somewhat differently than how they actually happened.

[@edmundooliver7584]

i was very poor with seven siblings but that was the best time of are live

[@hanniballecter4283]

In the age of the internet and with widespread literacy, their voices will surely not be as silent.

[@thekingshussar1808]

@@patrickmccurry1563 Paper and ink were expensive.

[@scottharkness6076]

Plus most poor people then couldn't read no less write.

[@timgulley9513]

Literally a treasure to youtube. This man is too pure for this earth.

[@dr.froghopper6711]

Poverty hasn’t changed much in its requirement for versatility and out of the box thinking. What has changed is what people considered to be poverty!

[@ericclayton2549]

I enjoy this channel. You are always sharing different views of life in history. I find it refreshing to learn something different about the past. I for one love history, but I can see why some people are uninterested. Some things are retold and regurgitated to much in to many different lessons. I feel that this kind of history is so important. Just like today there was way more poverty in the past then anything else.

[@dbmail545]

Kings could not buy the things poor people enjoy in this country. And I don't mean a warm bed in the summer and ice water in the winter.

[@SurrealisticSlumbers]

What we call homeless people are the modern poor. They live in shacks in the woods such as this.

[@DieNibelungenliad]

Poverty is relative to what riches are available. So, you could have a ton of gold as an Egyptian pharaoh, but if your baby is born preterm, there will be no ventilator to save the child's life sadly :(

[@jeffreyrobinson3555]

I was at an event at Fort Osage in Mo. One of the men there had a camp of just what was in the estate of a French boatmen who died about 1750. A blue duffel coat two blankets, a ‘mosquito net’ that was a thin cheese cloth like affair about the size of a pup tent with ends. A ‘mess kit,’ ‘house wife’ and fire kit. Small items such as a couple of knifes, fusil and-shooting supplies, pipe and tobacco, a brandy jug and some extra clothing. It seems he was in late forties when he died.

[@swagatron9477]

I'm 26 from the Appalachian mountains and I often talk to my memaw about her life growing up and her parents and their lives were not too different from these men and women, over 200 years later. Poverty and location do a lot to people's lives and we've often times had to dig coal out the side of the hills to heat our homes, many families here still do. I try to learn all I can from them, the wild plants that can be cooked up, small tricks and tips, those things mean far more to me than all the gold in the world.

[@MommiDonni1]

Wisdom can't be bought. It must be earned through life. Thanks for sharing!

[@boostjunkie2320]

My grand father didnt have electricity until he was 18 year's old. Great grandma's house that he grew up in did not have running water until 1992. This was in West Virginia on a 200 acre farm with two 3 bedroom houses that was purchased for only $500.

[@MrsMwl2004]

My family grew up just like this. My great grand ma never had those. She died in 2005.

[@60cmad]

I looked at a piece of land down around Hinckley a few years ago...There are some parts of West Virginia that STILL don't have electric because it would cost in excess of $200K to run power lines to the nearest place they could connect to...a lot of people just don't have that kind of money...

[@glowinggold9488]

I was born in 1964 so things were decent for me. I do recall though my gram having one of those old washing machins that have a ringer u put the clothes in, She also warmed the kitchen with one of those stone gas heaters . We ha one huge window on the floor in the living room id stand on to get warm in the morning before school...

[@cm01]

"My family owns a farm with multiple houses but we're poor because their infrastructure was bad (and isn't anymore)" Ok boomer

[@alsaunders7805]

Same here. My great grandparents lived outside of Blue Jay W Va. They never got electricity that I know of and didn't get indoor plumbing until the 70s. They died in the 80s, her at 98 and him at 103.

[@ghettomama4299]

I 🖤 how rich travelers needed help from those in poverty. Just goes to show that every body has something to offer😉

[@321scully]

At that time in history almost everybody needed help from somebody. Maybe that's why folk seemed friendlier than they do now.

[@stikupartist3698]

That's why slavery was in style!

[@officetechtyping]

@@stikupartist3698 b i n g o.

[@starsiegeRoks]

@@321scully plus there was no extensive law enforcement system back then. If you were a rude and combative person, you may just end up dead in a river and no-one would even bat an eye. Often times manners and decorum protected you more than guns did.

[@tayninh69]

I sure love this stuff. Great work.

[@Sean-jc6cu]

My family were poor Irish Catholics who immigrated to Boston and Ulster-Scots from West Virginia

[@noname0192837465]

I like videos like these. Real people doing real things . Just living life

[@tompalmer5986]

Makes me appreciate the many comforts I have.

[@jlangkowski]

This has got to be one of the most enjoyable channels I've ever seen on KZbin. Townsends videos are informative, well edited, and fun to watch. He's like the Bob Ross of 1800s living. Kudos guys, keep up the amazing work

[@oakstrong1]

The sad thing is, I have seen the same kind of poverty today in developing countries (living in a ditch next to a road and no money to buy grass in order to build a roof after a storm), with equal contrast of wealth. It makes me think: How do we define development and have we really developed at all when we let that happen? My family lived in a house with no running water and which was so cold on the inside that we had to break the ice of the drinking water bucket at breakfast and when coming home in the evening. When we built a new house, we moved into it before it was finished and slept on the floor before it was even had all the indoor walls: we took an advantage of the central heating that had to be on anyway, prevent pipes freezing and bursting. It was wonderful to wake up in a warm room and the following year we had flushing toilet indoors and tap water! 50+ years on and I still appreciate every day of having clean water coming from a tap and dirty water disappearing down the plughole or when flushing the toilet.

[@ourtechwriter]

I enjoy seeing and hearing your pleasure in relating these stories!

[@lonelyzombie3128]

You should do weekly journal readings. I really enjoyed you sharing this thank you.

[@lamoinette23]

second this suggestion..

[@trevorh6438]

make it so.

[@sarai2116]

I find your demeanor so calming and humble. Thank you

[@patrickdingman6934]

Used asked my grandpa to tell my about the good old days. ( Born 1907). He Said: "Boy they weren't good, they were hard ,we worked hard just to eat. I wouldn't wish that on anybody." He left school in 5th grade to work They were really frugal. My grandma saved Everything, Might need it later, she'd say. buttons, screws, fabric, etc....My great grand parents born 1880s were even more frugal they were alive yet when I was a teenager I was born 1959.

[@johng4250]

Nails were so valuable that if moving the family would burn their old dwelling to retrieve the old nails to use again on their next dwelling.

[@johng4250]

Frankly I wasn’t there, I have read the method of retrieving nails was to burn the structure down and retrieve the nails. I suspect a claw hammer or cats paw just weren’t options.

[@casey7130]

Saves you from the time dismantling, plus the process of straightening all the nails you bend as you pull them

[@averycarroll9011]

Casey Presnall it would take just as long as searching for those nails in a pile of ash and burnt wood with no light lol . Not to mention the smoke will make the nails turn black.. Good luck finding those

[@ukaszw6623]

Lol You didnt need exact claw hammer any tool could do this

[@jamesahern9864]

Nails didn't have wide flat heads yet yo grip with the claw

[@buckshot6481]

My Great great grandfather raised his family in a two room cabin with a loft for his children to sleep in and just dirt floor. The walls of it were still standing on family property when I was a boy.

[@kittysunshinebandit1235]

My daughters grandmother showed me the cabin she lived in as a child. Their floor was the ground.

[@muammarbinsharif6425]

Your daughters grandmother?

[@scruffy3528]

This guy has the friendliest demeanor and expression.

[@SuperEggsNBacon]

So true nacchan

[@GarouLady]

I find the stories of the poorer or middle tier families interesting. The frugal and resourcefulness they have is just jaw dropping. I have several copies of The American Frugal Housewife by lyndia Child in my library.

[@VasilyKiryanov]

Resourcefulness? Not having nails to fix boards for the roof, and hiding from the weather in a haystack instead... Wonder if that man (who could read and write very well) knew that fella they call Thatcher... And the other - old man in a 'cottage by the river', where light came through the walls everywhere. Has he never heard two words 'mud' and 'hut' put together? Well, he could've turned to beavers for some education. Besides, wicker furniture is not THAT hard to master. I've even seen wicker beds, sofas and tables. Let alone chairs and chests. Anyway, these two little episodes give us quite an insight on early american 'resourcefulness'. And, probably, modern, too. Venturing out to live a life in the wilderness, with practically zero knowledge and skills to do that! Common sense AT LEAST calls for not doing that alone - but no! No social interaction whatsoever.

[@neverquit6542]

Absolutely Amazing!

[@chrisgordon5719]

Then in many states, they had "Poor Farms" for the indigent. They went in the Spring to plant the crops. stayed for the summer and tended the crops, then in the fall, they brought in the crops. All product for sale for those that could afford it. The poor got the potato skins and carrot peels for potato and carrot soup. . Later, they turns into county work farms or cheap prisons. For the habitual drunks. Or now known as "County Correctional Facilities".

[@bitcoincryptofreedom3652]

I love hearing stories of the past.

[@stevelauda5435]

Jump ahead 3 centuries and some areas of Virginia and West Verginia and you will find that poverty hasn't changed much in some rural areas, as I have seen it in person.

[@Alijae1019]

Thank you for this! I'm a descendant of this Cornelius Keith... and have read Byrd's journal excerpts, and this video really helps breathe life into his story. Thank you.

[@tenkaistar1089]

Is his home still around or that spot marked historically? I live in Virginia and would possibly like to see someday.

[@codykonior]

I wish you'd narrate an audiobook of one of these journals. You'd be great for it!

[@faithwalker5196]

Yes!

[@randymicallef3545]

I just recently stumbled upon this channel. What a wonderful glimpse into our nation's history. As a bushcraft hobbyist and lover of history, what a treat. Thank for sharing your knowledge with the community.

[@ciphercode2298]

My father's family came from Ireland in the late 18th century and some were indentured servants in coastal Virginia. Later on they farmed around Patrick henry county, va. My grandfather who was born there in 1870 eventually moved to West Virginia after his wife died. He resettled, remarried and had a few more children. My father grew up working in the coal mines and on the family farm. Oh how I would love to farm and get out of the rat race.

[@MDAdams72668]

If you have ever farmed you would KNOW the "rat race" is EASY 16 hrs a day 7 days a week during planting and harvest 10-12 the rest of the year(save winter)

[@ciphercode2298]

@@MDAdams72668 I dont want easy,so to speak,just out of clocking in and out being at the mercy of crappie corporate suits.

[@MDAdams72668]

@@ciphercode2298 I have done both personally. I prefer the work (farming) but on the scale of hard ignoring buffoons is far easier than actually having to get things done no matter how sick(or injured) you are If you don't you are broke and animals/plants DIE

[@ciphercode2298]

@@MDAdams72668 when my dad was growing up they kept 13 acres of field crop,a large kitchen garden,chickens, ducks,pigs,and cows. The land was theirs so all they had to do was sustain themselves. They bartered and traded for what they didnt have,but yeah he grew up through the great depression and their days started at 4am taking care of the animals before they walked to school and said he worked after they got home until after dark and then did homework before bed. We're homesteading some raising a kitchen garden,rabbits and chickens. We've paid off everything and shredded all our credit cards. Of course we're still on public utilities and still go to the store,but we've gotta start somewhere right? We've went from workin 50+ hour a week jobs to 20-25 hours a week.

[@MDAdams72668]

@@ciphercode2298 Well yup you got it. All the funny money in the world will never sustain you and yours in times of trouble I found the same "compromise" years ago and my family (grandkids included) are all better happier people for it Good on YA and yes I still do the occasional work in my old field BUT usually not for money(generally a barter deal) I still buy a lot of food at the market(where else can you get cucumbers in February) Just because I do not want to rat race does not mean I am willing to give up modern timesavers/conveniences(this computer and internet included).

[@cheaplaughkennedy2318]

Antibiotics would have saved countless lives , we’ve never had it so good . Really good segment, thank you 🙏

[@mook_butt8037]

Absolutely, I’m incredibly grateful for modern medicine.

[@lillyrose3545]

Except now the over prescribing of antibiotics is creating resistance and superbugs.

[@cheaplaughkennedy2318]

Stephanie Lynn very true , it’s a race to discover new ones .

[@Praxus42]

life is a never ending arms race.

[@kittybitts567]

clean running water. I learned in nursing school that access to clean water and proper sewerage disposal have extended people's lives more than any other innovation.

[@vinceparenteau8024]

Reading historical journals are always fascinating and this channel is just as fascinating love peering into any historical windows the thought of what life was like back then is awesome thanks Mr.Townsend

[@marktaylor8659]

"Poorer than any Highland Scot or bog trotting Irishman." An interesting description of being poor.

[@stupidcommentmaker]

Considering that most Catholic Irish were indentured servants working on plantation estates owned by Protestant landlords at this period in time, that tells you just how poor these people really were.

[@dbmail545]

I'm Scots-Irish and the first people of my mother's family who came over were accosted by a French warship and put ashore naked. Now that's poor!

[@dzevadhuremovic2374]

@@dbmail545 when?

[@txpyro1885]

scots were poor dude they used nails for bartering because no money lol

[@SassyUnicorn86]

They ran off to the Appalachian mountains at one point and that must’ve been hard living.

[@bigred3995]

First great video already,thanks for preserving history.

[@JingleJoe]

I can tell you a lot about the lives of the poor in the 21st century, which may give you some insight to the details of the poor of old; when you get cold, you can't get warm because you can't just make a fire now days and then your fingers and toes swell up and become red and painful, horribly painful and itchy, it's called chilblains and can last for weeks. I live now live in fingerless gloves and a jumper and cargo trousers and hug a radiator and it's still too cold.

[@katehenry2718]

Fingerless gloves? Yikes. No heat held for the fingers!

[@nickjohnparker1]

Yeah we use to get chillblains from running around on the ice with bare ft and no gloves. Our mum used say don't worry about it so we didn't!

[@DieNibelungenliad]

I suffer eczema from the cold. The skin becomes so itchy and eventually painful and leathery until you can't sleep anymore. Had to spend hundreds of dollars each year on steroid cream and anti itch cream

[@timbushong4387]

Speaking of 1728 and the Virginia/North Carolina border, I read this recently: In 1728, a Virginian named William Byrd wrote his History of the Dividing Line, a critical commentary on North Carolina society. Speaking of the town of Edenton he wrote "this is the only Metropolis in the Christian or Mahometan World, where there is neither Church, Chappel, Mosque, Synagogue, or any other Place of Publick Worship of any Sect or Religion whatsoever. What little Devotion there may happen to be is much more private than their vices. “The People seem easy without a Minister, as long as they are exempted from paying Him. Sometimes the Society for propagating the Gospel has had the Charity to send over Missionaries to this Country; but unfortunately the Priest has been too Lewd for the people, or, which oftener happens, they too lewd for the Priest. For these Reasons these Reverend Gentlemen have always left their Flocks as arrant Heathen as they found them." “The established church, here as elsewhere in the colonies, also suffered from a dearth of worthy candidates for the pulpit. In some instances, clergymen disgraced their callings and brought scandal to the church by keeping concubines or being drunk in public.” He didn't seem to like North Carolinians.

[@nobodyspecial6881]

Sounds like Natchez MS (Under The Hill) in the early days

[@lauraz2896]

I believe that I am a descendant of the Byrd’s of Virginia

[@catcook3324]

If you read the Journal of Madam Sarah Knight mentioned in the video and linked under it, she says a similar thing about some of the towns she passes through in Connecticut. Saying that the townspeople refused to support the pastor, the church was next to the tavern, and that the people would rather give the sheep dung in support of the pastor--sentiments like that. I highly recommend it, it's fascinating.

[@boadiceameridionalis3732]

He did not. Scathing commentary. He was a rung or three up the social ladder, at or near English landed gentry, so guess it was a people safari for him. And he didn't like it in the less civilized wilds of North Carolina, as it was mostly rural, agrarian, or just plain unsettled. Funnily enough, I just got Byrd's book - the saucy one - and it is in my 'to read' pile.

[@DieNibelungenliad]

Until the 20th century, most folk in Europe lived in villages in small one room cottages with thatched roofs, dirt floors, timber frames, and mud walls (wattle and daub). Doors had leather hinges and no keyholes, and doorways were short and thin. A window was small and had a wood shutter but no glass. Chimneys were rare, and a simple fireplace was in the middle of the home for cooking and warmth with smoke leaving through the window. Cooking was done with a clay pot. Clay pots and woven baskets stored all the food and water. There was just one rope bed with a linen sack stuffed with hay and a woollen shroud for the man of the house and his wife, the children, servants, and guests slept on a woven rush mat laid on the dirt floor. There was one small trestle table, which was just a board on a saw horse, and a step stool to sit on. They may have a small wooden ark (chest) full of grain to sit on, and the rest of the household sat on the mat. All water came from the well or the river, carried in a clay pot on the head by the women and girls. Everyone was barefoot most of the time, and few folk had more than one pair of clothes and a hat. All they had for a toilet was a chamber pot, or else they answered the call of nature outdoors crouching behind a bush. Meat, fish, and vegetables hung from the wall and ceiling to dry and keep away from rats. Life was all about picking the fruit of what they sown in the gardens and fields and living with animals or going fishing and hunting birds with slings, bows, and, later, increasingly guns. All woodwork was built with joinery using hand tools like hatchets and chisels since iron nails cost too much. Most folk couldn't read, let alone write.

[@LindaHobby1]

My Grandma: "If The Lord is willing and the creek don't rise."

[@odinsson204]

Linda Hobby John Wayne too.

[@proud2bpagan]

Glad to know someone else knows that saying! My mom uses it all the time..I'm 40,and lately,I've found my mom shooting out of my mouth more and more lately,lol.

[@claytonatkinson865]

proud2bpagan and she’ll continue to shoot out of your mouth more the older you get. Funny how that works

[@southerngirl6398]

Just a little trvia here...did you know that the word "creek used here was originally referring to the uprising of the Creek Indians? We have adapted to thinking of a small creek or stream but that's not how the phrase originally came about. Tossing in my 2 cents. God bless and have a great day!

[@no-kz8wk]

@@southerngirl6398 ok inbred

[@richardalcala4125]

Your channel is so cool and I am enjoying about a video or two a day! Thanks for the history and recipes!

[@dellahayden4705]

Just came across your channel. I love history..thanks for this great video

[@debbieboring3422]

We are very lucky we can watch KZbin videos and learn how to make good shelter from bushcrafters. Thanks for the readings of the two travel logs, it does give a one on one account of real 18th century life.

[@DannyWilliamH]

Imagine the boredom. I don't mean in a "think of all the things we have that they didn't" sense but a true *"we live in the middle pf nowhere and we don't even have a roof"* sense. A stranger coming along would be the highlight of your month. A stranger coming along and giving you the money to buy nails for your roof would seem like downright divine intervention. But imagine the housewife that lives in a roof-less hut with 6 children, imagine the constant anguish that you likely had to keep mostly to yourself.

[@freezerfreezer9097]

It's not as boring as you think, you just enjoy other things.

[@fringestream990]

I'd guess there'd be plenty to do just trying to survive. Fun times and days I think were rare for the far majority of people in general. But they probably had more appreciation when times were good unlike we do today.

[@elizabethwinsor-strumpetqueen]

I lived in a caravan 4 miles from the nearest main road - we had no car , electricity , we got water from the river , washed in the river , no TV , no radio , me and my 2 sisters and brother ,it was by the sea and we'd pick up scallops at low tide ....hard but happiest time of my life ....my mother did her best ....on the isle of Skye 1972 ....

[@chandranapier2259]

You find things to do. Make sure the kids can eat if it’s there, mostly caring for the 6 children. I’m sure having 6 was a LOT of work. I’m sure she was never “bored” as in nothing at all to do. From having a lot of family that lived through hard times, I am told it’s the fact that you wish you could do more that hurts. If they go hungry, it’s devastating emotionally to you and them and you’ll starve if you had a choice between just you eating and feeding them. If you feel they are lacking, you will do whatever you can to fix it. I don’t think people understand how hardship really affects parents and children in bad situations unless they live it themselves. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

[@camouflagejumpsuit]

I imagine the father had the hardest times. It was his back that lifted the heaviest loads, his hands that honed the wood that built the walls, his arms that carved the stone grinding wheels, his shoulder his wife rested her head upon, his legs that traveled about the woods setting traps for meat, his eyes that watched his wife feed their children whatever he could provide, and his wits that built a meager business to sell grinding wheels to at least keep them going a day at at time, and his heart that knew there was never enough to spare for nails to put a roof over his family's head.

[@grannyp.w.4343]

I appreciate your sharing these journals and stories. You help me imagine what the lives of these brave humble folks must of been like…Thankyou!

[@lisaclark6977]

I love history, I'm glad I ran across your link a few days ago.

[@LadyCatFelineTheSeventh]

There are actually many ways to build a house without nails, all of which are ages older than the 18th century. In fact, plain grass or hide ropes can secure just as well as nails (maybe not as long term, but certainly good enough). I think the anecdotes were either exaggerated or perhaps the individuals they ran into were lacking some basic knowledge. I wish the authors would have given a description of the towns they lived in (or near) for some comparison. For poor - I had one great grandfather in the 1800's who lived with his wife and kids in a tent until they saved up for a house (even have a picture of grandma cooking on a fire with her kids), another grandfather from the same time period built his house out of sod cut from the ground and stacked (it's still there today and considered an historic home). My dad grew up in a cabin on the reservation in the 1950's that they covered in plain mud to keep drafts out. It had to be re-applied every few months, but the mud was free and it worked. So I do think something else was going on in the accounts that the authors aren't elaborating on, that perhaps relates to circumstances that border more on "tragic" than "poor".

[@betoian]

Yes, I was also thinking that it is easy today to have so much knowledge as to master in building houses or surviving in the forest as the guy in 'Primitive Technology' does with his universitary knowledge. But we cannot understand being in those circumstances of the past. From today's perspective he might have well managed if he had made friends with a native and arranged to live more or less as they did, completely adjusted to their local nature. At least for a while...

[@l.janescroggins2555]

Wonder they didn't learn to build decent shelters from the natives

[@Donbd83]

The Japanese are masters of building structures without nails they are fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle and glued in place a good portion of these buildings still stand today including their castles, no nails just glue and tension and interlocking joints.

[@heideknight9122]

My relatives had a lot of family move with them and built small cabins and then built a house. Have a single picture with the partially complete house in the background. Must have had tools and building knowledge already.

[@ronwilliams357]

A lot of natives were hostile. My great-great grandfather settled in Michigan before it was a state, and he wrote frequently in his diary about their fear of the "forest savages."

[@brandonhamilton833]

I really enjoy these types of videos. There are no pictures or videos. Only these words with a few paintings. You bring those words to life. Thank you.

[@JessPoetics178]

When William Bird compares the man to being poorer than any highland Scot or bog trotting Irishman. I was like, "He summed up my ancestors pretty well" Poor but proud.

[@OakKnobFarm]

Right around the corner from my house is "Poor Farm Road". All of the debtors / poor people were apparently sent to an institution there (involuntarily in many cases). I believe they worked the farm, essentially to feed themselves, under the supervision of their keepers.

[@grumpygrumpgrump136]

Oak Knob Farm You don't happen to live in the Natchez area do you.

[@OakKnobFarm]

No sir, New Hampshire, actually

[@grumpygrumpgrump136]

Interesting, my Father lived on Poor Farm Road in the Natchez, Mississippi area for more than 25 years. I always wondered how it got that name. Now I know. Thanks.

[@OakKnobFarm]

@@grumpygrumpgrump136 sadly, I think poor farms were pretty common

[@grumpygrumpgrump136]

Evidently, my friend evidently.

[@andrewshaver5800]

No, thank *you* for making these videos! They provide endless wonder, entertainment, and education to so many.

[@jackiemack8653]

Please visit Williamsburg Va and Jamestown Virginia where history comes to light

[@jackiemack8653]

Life

[@DocBree13]

bog-trotting Irishman 😂 as part Irish, I find this strangely endearing (although I’m aware it was meant to be quite derogatory)

[@swapmeetlus4096]

My father, in 1952 was born in a 12 by 12 adobe house if you can even call it that, shared it with his 3 brothers. Ate pigeon soup and rodents for most of his childhood before he decided to come to the U.S. at the age of 12. Every time I want to complain about why I don’t have this or that I think about that, and it sets a sort of “well do something for yourself” type of mood in my head. Super glad you are making videos of this, as much as people were poor, hard work and dedication have always been hard work and dedication.

[@DougPalumbo]

Your older videos are still worth watching, even multiple times. Such a rich and detailed archive of people, places and food from the 18th century.

[@57WillysCJ]

Diaries and travel accounts were and are important links in the past. Read Francis Parkman's Oregon Trail from 1849. There others who upon returning from trips wrote very descriptive articles and books of their travels. Small town newspapers even wrote articles on people visiting family in other areas. It like reading blogs or vlogs today.

[@pops3882]

My great great grand father was a circuit minister in Kentucky in the early to mid 1800's His Bible has been passed down to me and it is very interesting reading his notes in the margins of the Bible. His struggles physical, emotional and spiritually are often the same ones I have faced in my life. Human nature doesn't change with much with time and circumstances. However, his commute on a horse is different than mine in a car. I'll pass that Bible on to my son who shares his name.

[@sic-n-tiredtired4273]

I would love to see people nowadays try to live like they did back in the day. Talk about struggling and STILL being happy for the tiniest amount of what you have because you have something amazing.

[@reinapiratayquepaha]

I don't know if a lot of them, especially those who were poor, were happy.