NURSING
Most women were expected to know something about nursing the sick. Doctors were not available in all areas, and sometimes were not trusted. Many
women kept hand-written books that contained not only recipes, but instructions for medicines for different illnesses. Some women used herbs, while others
used the readily available medicines and patent medicines of the day.
In addition to knowing how to deal with acute conditions, women had to know how to nurse those recovering from illness. This included preparing food that
a sick person could eat.
One of women’s duties was to “lay out� the bodies of the deceased. Women washed the corpse, dressed it in clothing or a shroud, and prepared
it for burial.
CHILDREN
Some families, especially in the South, had many children. Mothers, with servants’ help, were seen as the primary caregivers for little ones. This had not
always been the case. In some eras, babies of wealthy families were usually cared for by wet nurses, and mothers rarely saw their children until the little ones
were older. As many children died as infants, this practice may have helped women from becoming too attached to their fragile infants. By the 19th century,
though, mothers were usually expected to be maternal and affectionate toward their children.
Mothers were also often responsible for their children’s education if there were no schools nearby, or if a tutor or governess could not be hired. During
the 19th century, mothers often superintended the religious education of their children.
SEASONAL DUTIES
Women in different areas also had seasonal duties to perform. Some women made their own soap (a hot, dirty job) or candles. As mentioned before, many
women made butter or cheese, and most preserved, canned or dried foodstuffs.
EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING
During the 19th century there were large numbers of immigrants coming to the United States. These people were willing to work hard and did not expect
high wages. Employees did not receive modern benefits (such as insurance, sick leave or social security), and there was no minimum wage.
If you read 19th century books like “Little Women� or “The Secret Garden,� you will see that servants were very common, even in middle-
class families. Most middle class homemakers had at least one hired hand to help them. Many families hired a laundress to do the hot, heavy work of
washing clothes. It was not uncommon for a middle-class family to hire a cook or a general maid to help clean.
Wealthier families might have a nurse, governess or tutor for the children, butlers and footmen, maids for different parts of the house, lady’s maids to
help women dress, and valets for the men of the family. Wealthy families might also have groundskeepers to care for the yard and grooms and coachmen to
see to the family’s horses and carriages.
Homemakers had to have excellent management skills in order to deal with their employees. A woman had to know how to tell her cook if the meal was not
satisfactory, or how to instruct a maid in making a bed properly. As many maids were poor immigrants, housekeepers often had to teach their servants basic
housekeeping skills.
In addition to managing the servants, the homemaker usually kept accounts of the household expenses. Husbands wanted to know how the money was
being spent. Cabinets containing food, silverware and other goods were usually locked to prevent theft. The housewife kept the keys to see that nothing was
lost, stolen or wasted.
A SERVANT’S LIFE
We often forget that many 19th century women were servants: maids, cooks, nurses, or governesses.
These women did not have their own homes, but worked for another family. In larger households, many servants lived with their employers. They had little
privacy and were on-call 24 hours a day.
Of course, many African-American women in the South were initially slaves. Some of these women worked in the fields, while others were house-servants.
After the Civil War, many African American women in the South worked as domestics. These women usually preferred to have their own homes, and only
worked during the day.