What was it like to be a child in the Old
Colony in 1620, 1800, or 1920? Each
society defines childhood in its own way. In all times, much depends on where you
live—countryside or town, and the times in which you live—feast or famine, war
or peace.
Extreme differences did exist in the Old Colony. A girl working on a farm in the
countryside; the son of wealthy parents living in Plymouth and studying Latin in school;
or an enslaved African boy serving in an Old Colony household would not look back on their
childhoods in the same way.
In large part, however, parents’ or guardians’ perceptions of how children
should be raised determined what life was like for their offspring. Their perceptions
varied dramatically from the days of the Pilgrims to the early twentieth century.
By exploring the literature and material culture associated with parenting and
children’s lives in the Old Colony from the time of the first settlers to the early
twentieth century, we gain a broader perspective of how society developed.
| Mother & baby from Joseph
Abbott’s Cousin Lucy’s Conversations. (Auburn, NY : Derby and Miller,
1850.) |
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The furniture, clothing, books, games, and toys provided for children of the Old
Colony allow us to knit together some of the stories of growing up in that part of America
called the "cradle of New England." |
