Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 2, Number 43, DeMotte, Jasper County, 9 March 1933 — What Did Farmer’s “Wive” Do in Spare Time? [ARTICLE]

What Did Farmer’s “Wive” Do in Spare Time?

According to an article quoted by bureau of agricultural engineering, Department of Agriculture, an English farmer’s wife in the Sixteenth century had many and varied duties to perform. "Among other things she is to make her husband and herself some clothes, and she may have the lockes of the shepe either to make blanketts and coverlettes, or both. It is a wive’s occupation to wynowe all manner of cornes, to make malte, to

washe and wrynge, to make heye, shere corne, and, in time of nede, to helpe her husband to fyll the muckewayne or dounge carte, drive the ploughs, to loade heye, corne, and suche other. And to go or ride to market, to sel butter, chese, mylke, egges, chekyns, capons, hennes, pygges, gese, and all manner of cornes.” Most of us will admit that there has been at least some improvement in 400 years.