There were few
medical resources in the 1600s and
1700s causing many Colonist’s life
span to be of short duration.
Medicines often were nothing more
than remedies handed down from one
generation to the next and did
little to thwart the fevers,
poisonous snakes, and wild animals
abundant in the area.
Hence many young
fathers while toiling in the fields
fell dead of snake bites, or were
preyed upon by wild animals. Young
mothers died in childbirth, or
developed one of the diseases or
fevers prevalent in their area.
Young mothers or
fathers would suddenly become
widowed with several small children
to raise, fields to work, and
livestock to tend. It was next to
impossible to run a farm of any size
with just one adult — to survive in
this wilderness took two sets of
working hands. Many times the single
parent quickly married again to
solve their dilemma.
There are
indications that it wasn’t unusual
for someone to have three or four
husbands or wives. And most of the
couples had numerous children. Big
families were prevalent in this day
and age.
