Babies in the 1800s : Family History

Both Grandparents on both sides of my family were born in the 1800s.  I can't imagine what life was like back then, but certainly it goes without saying that it is a lot different than now.  



My Grandfather's Grandparents Circa 1890

 I don't talk much about my Irish side of the family in my blog - yet -  because there isn't much written down.  Most of what I know doesn't even come from my Father....it comes from my Mother - the Dutch side.   She was best friends with my Father's sister, so all I know about the Irish side, came from my Aunt via my Mother.

 On the other hand,  my Dutch side is well documented, thanks to my Grandmother....and also my Mom's sister, who loved to ask a lot of questions, and perhaps encouraged my Grandmother to write everything down.  

 I recently came into contact with a distant Cousin in the Netherlands who sent me the family's unofficial pedigree....which traces back to "Karel de Groete" or his more popular name - Charlemagne  - on my Grandfather's Mother's side.  My Grandfather's Father's side goes back to only the 1500s.   

  I have always found history incredibly fascinating.  If you haven't looked into your past and dug around into family history.....do it before any of your family members pass on, because by the time you get to the age where you *want* to know these things....they won't be there for the telling. There are so many things I would love to ask my "midwife" Grandmother.

Rien Poortvliet's book

Anyway.  When I was living in East Bay, CA area, I bought a book for my Grandfather.  It was called "In my Grandfather's House" by Rien Poortvliet.  It is the story of Rien's family history, complete with illustrations....all the way back to the mid 1500s!  It tells of the life of your every day person in the Netherlands - Dirksland and Rotterdam to be specific  - which are in South Holland - where my Grandparents hail from.   I am sure his descriptions accurately portray how my own Grandparent's began their lives.

Bassinet on the floor

Only 100 years before G&G were born, it was not unusual to have most of your children die within months of delivering - if not during the delivery.  Giving birth was probably the most dangerous thing a woman could do in her entire life.  But they would do it routinely.    Looking back on my family's genealogy, I find at the turn of the century, 100 years before my Grandfather was born, approximately half - or more -  of the children didn't live past age 2. Some families only one baby survived.  Of the ones that lived, few reached 16 years.   Statistics weren't any better when my Grandfather was born.

In the book "In My Grandfather's House" - the grandparents (4th generation removed) lost EIGHT babies before the author's Grandfather (3rd generation removed) survived.  They would try everything to prevent this - laying their stockings in the form of a cross when they went to bed, Apothecary's wares, quack medicines and donkey's milk.....nothing changed the situation.  It really makes me wonder at the grief some of our ancestors went through....not knowing why their babies wouldn't live....

 Once born, babies spent the first few days tightly swaddled so they couldn't even move a muscle.  The baby was usually put in a cradle close to the ground - which was a very drafty place back then.    At night the child would sleep in a built in bed on the wall just above the foot of the parents bed...just above the unwashed feet of his parents.   When he cried, his mother gave him a "flokker" which is another name for "soother".

They made it by soaking a piece of bread in milk, then adding sugar.   This mixture was piled on top of a square piece of cotton and then tied shut with a thread.    If the baby continued to cry after given a "flokker" - it would be dipped in brandy.   When the baby was about four months old, poppy seed would be added to the flokker mixture....in other words - the baby was simply drugged.

I remember as a student nurse in the 1970s - attending a circumcision (and I will have LOTS to say about that subject!)  that they made a similar little "flokker" with a gauze square and a sugar cube in it - dipped in brandy!!! - given to the baby to suck on while the circumcision was being done - with NO anesthesia whatsoever.  Torture and drugging of babies several hundred years later.  Talk about lack of progression! However, at least in Europe, circumcision was and is not the norm.

Back in the early 1800s, the WET diapers were not washed out....they were just hung to dry in front of the stove (along with the dirty wet socks!) and then reused.  Knowing what a pail full of wet diapers smell like...and then let sit for a few days......I can just imagine the stench!

  When a child got sick, the medical profession was no help.   If infectious diseases were making the rounds, people would sprinkle vinegar in front of the bed. In order to avoid infections himself, the MD would smoke a pipe of strong tobacco.   People would put a dog in the bed of a child with a "weak chest" in order for the dog to "take over the ailment".

It's funny to think that only 2 decades before my Grandfather was born, there was no such thing as an Oil Lamp - the main means of lighting for my Grandmother's night time deliveries!

My grandpa died  at age 100 on my birthday.  He would be surprised to see what progress our world has made.

I am just glad to be living today.