Household Life

While the Winders probably encountered some things in Trenton which were new and state of the art to them, to us almost everything about their home life was both different and, in many ways, more difficult.  More convenient access to major cities by train, for example, may have impressed the Winders, but what would have struck us, was the limited means of transportation.  Getting around within Trenton meant walking, some kind of horse drawn conveyance or the recently introduced electric trolley cars.  Daily trains to Philadelphia were wonderful, but there were really no other options for inter-city travel which became more of a problem, the greater the distance.

Typical man's straw hats and high collars 

The limited transportation options helps explain the Winders choice of a permanent address as Rutherford Avenue was within easy walking distance of James R's job at the Delaware Pottery.  Regardless of what he wore to work, there can be no doubt, James wore a hat as to go "hatless" was unthinkable.  From May 15th to September 15th, his head gear would have taken the form of a straw hat, a custom which must have lasted at least into the 1920's as I remember my mother talking about a childhood contest to be the first to see 100 straw hats in the spring.  Whenever James did wear something other than work clothes, his attire was "formal and severe" with "high and stiff collars."

Picture illustrating the difficulties of maneuvering in long skirts

Regardless of the severity of James' dress, he had to have been more comfortable than Mary Ann who wore a "dress that virtually swept the street."  So long were women's skirts that the "brush binding" had to be repaired every few weeks from the damage done by dirt, water, ice and everything else found on streets and sidewalks full of horse drawn vehicles.  The full length dress covered layers of underpinnings at the bottom of which was a corset using whale bones to "distort the female form into an hour glass shape."  Women always wore their hair long and covered out of doors with a wide brimmed hat.  Completing what had to be an incredibly uncomfortable costume was a high choking collar and cuffs which like the hem of the skirt were always getting dirty.

Typical women's hats around the turn of the 20th century

Mary Ann and her daughters, as they got older, had plenty of opportunity to get their cuffs dirty.  If the Winders followed a typical household routine, the week began on Monday with wash day.  Clothes were put into soak the night before with washing beginning early the next morning, sometimes with a goal of having the wash on the line before breakfast.  Tuesday was then devoted to ironing with irons heated on the stove and applied to shirts, linen collars and cuffs as well as women's and children's clothes.  Washing and ironing probably revealed items needing mending and Wednesdays were devoted to both repairs and sewing new items.  Typically women's and children's clothes as well as men's shirts were made at home.

Standard dress for 1890's couples

After three days of ongoing activity, Thursday was supposed to be a mid week rest day although there were still meals to prepare.  Refreshed by the "day off," Friday was probably Mary Ann's heavy cleaning day.  Rooms were usually thickly carpeted and had to be broom swept after the furniture was dusted.  Sweeping thickly carpeted floors may, however, have been, an easier task than dealing with kitchen and porch floors which were scrubbed by hand.  Kitchen stoves also needed attention in the form of polishing in anticipation of Saturday's big task - baking.

Helroy's "teas & c" business started in Trenton about 1899, given their British heritage, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the Winders became regular customers

In a typical 1890's American household, all bread and pastries were baked at home which took most, if not all, of Saturday.  Sunday was theoretically a day of rest, but also usually meant guests and extra cooking.  Lack of refrigeration meant families had little in the way of fresh fruits and vegetables from late fall to early spring.  Instead people consumed  a great deal of starch from pies, donuts, potatoes and hot bread, the resulting lack of vitamins made people more sluggish and vulnerable to increased health risks.

While Worcester is further north than Trenton, it's doubtful anything in their experience prepared the Winders for two snow storms that hit Trenton in the first two weeks of February, 1899 leaving 34 inches of snow and paralyzing the city - based on newspaper accounts, James W could have easily found extra work shoveling snow from city streets or the railroad

  In an age before penicillin and other antibiotics, many illnesses were potentially lethal.  Major concerns included influenza, typhoid, diphtheria and scarlet fever.  Fortunately, as far as we know, the Winders avoided any major health issues of this type.  As the millennium approached the Winders had spent a decade adjusting to their new world and most likely they were optimistic about the beginning of the new century.