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Caroline von Linsingen

1768–1815

Born
27 Nov 1768, Hanover
Country of birth
Electorate of Hanover, today Germany
Died
31 Jan 1815, Blansko
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Hanover

    Birth, Hanover

  2. Died · Blansko

    Death, Blansko

What was it like?

The world around Hanover, 1768: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Caroline was born around the same time as Emma, Lady Hamilton, Gregory XVI, and William IV.

Born around the same time

  • Emma, Lady Hamilton

    1765 · Mistress of Lord Nelson (1765-1815)

  • Gregory XVI

    1765 · Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846 (1765–1846)

  • William IV

    1765 · King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 1830 to 1837

  • Robert Fulton

    1765 · American engineer and inventor (1765–1815)

  • Nicéphore Niépce

    1765 · French inventor and photographer (1765-1833)

  • Pyotr Bagration

    1765 · General of the Imperial Russian Army (1765–1812)

Fashion

Noble Men Preferred Wigs Over Beards

In the 18th century, noble men famously wore wigs and makeup, while facial hair was strictly shunned for most men, marking a major departure from later masculine standards.

Practical Work Clothes for Women

Working women wore practical, loose-fitting clothing like an apron, headscarf, and cap, with shorter skirts and wide sleeves to allow free arm movement while handling water, fire, or animals.

Music

Popular instruments and dances for festivals

In the late 18th century, common people enjoyed dancing to instruments such as the violin, clarinet, horn, bass, hammered dulcimer, and bagpipe, often played by small groups at fairs, weddings, and festivals.

Everyday singing in homes and workrooms

Singing was a common activity in daily life, often performed without sheet music while working, such as during textile work in spinning rooms, or at church services and social gatherings.

Getting around

Dangers and Hardships of 18th-Century Travel

Travel was often physically demanding and dangerous, with carriages that were frequently uncomfortably sprung or unsprung, causing travelers to suffer from motion sickness or injury. Due to the poor state of roads and the threat of highwaymen, travelers often carried weapons or avoided unnecessary trips, with some prominent figures never leaving their home region.

Stagecoach Travel at Walking Speed

In the mid-18th century, the stagecoach was the primary mode of travel for those who could afford it, moving at a walking pace of about 4 to 5 kilometers per hour. A trip from Nuremberg to Leipzig typically took around 70 hours, while the journey from Nuremberg to Regensburg required 20 hours.

Daily life

Homes with Sanded Floors and Lead Windows

In homes with stone or brick floors, families often scattered sand across the floor and stairs. Windows featured small round glass panes set within lead frames.

Open Hearth Cooking and Pump Well Water

Cooking took place in the living room over an open fireplace or a masonry hearth with a recessed grate, using wood or brown coal for fuel. Drinking water was typically sourced from communal pump wells located in the village center.

Food

Beer and coffee substitutes as staples

Ordinary people drank low-alcohol thin beer daily, which was considered nutritious and sometimes served as a soup to children. Coffee was expensive, leading many to drink substitutes like chicory or roasted cereals, a mixture often referred to as Bauernkaffee or Muckefuck.

Kitchen tools for open fire cooking

To save time while cooking soups, housewives used hooks with a sawtooth design to quickly adjust the height of pots over the fire. They also used a specialized iron tool called a Cold Hand to remove hot pots because oven mitts were not yet in use.

Prices and wages
Around 1767–1767

Meat prices in Lemgo, 1767

In 1767, one pound of beef cost between 2 Groschen and 2 Groschen 2 Pfennig, while a pound of pork cost 2 Groschen 2 Pfennig.

Daily wages for construction workers

Between 1755 and 1774, master masons and journeymen earned a daily wage of 15 Albus in summer and 12 Albus in winter, while laborers earned 10 Albus in summer.

Work

Common jobs and multiple occupations

Most people worked as farmers, laborers, or in cottage industries like spinning and weaving, often combining multiple trades to survive. Families commonly engaged in seasonal outwork, such as weaving in winter and bricklaying in summer, to supplement meager agricultural income.

Long working days and quotas

Daily routines for farm laborers started before daybreak with breaking flax or chopping fodder and continued until late at night, often including mandatory spinning quotas. A 13-year-old stable boy, for instance, received an annual salary of 4 Reich thalers and clothing.

News and letters

Costs for receipts and complex fees

To obtain a receipt for money or valuable letters, senders had to pay an extra fee of 1 or 2 ß (Schilling) to the postmaster. Fees for postal services were complex and often led to heated arguments between clerks and customers.

Newspapers as a lucrative postal monopoly

Newspapers were a profitable monopoly for postmasters, who bought them at a fixed price and charged readers a high premium to resell them. In smaller towns, readers paid dearly for this service and often suffered from significant delivery delays.

During their lifetime

  1. 1770

    Devastating famine strikes Czech lands

    A devastating famine between 1770 and 1772, caused by multiple years of crop failure, claimed up to 500,000 lives, or 10-15 percent of the population.

  2. 1770

    Migration during the 1770-71 famine

    During the great famines of 1770–71, peasants from other parts of Germany migrated to Prussia where food supplies were more accessible.

  3. 1775

    Major peasant revolt in Bohemia

    In 1775, thousands of peasants rose up against oppressive labor duties, resulting in a major defeat at the Battle of Chlumec nad Cidlinou.

  4. 1781

    Abolition of serfdom in Habsburg Empire

    In 1781, Emperor Joseph II issued a patent abolishing serfdom, granting peasants the right to move, marry, and study without their lord's permission.

  5. 1794

    Unified Prussian civil law code enacted

    A unified civil law code for Prussia was developed, ultimately taking effect in 1794 to ensure more honest and efficient justice.

  6. 1812

    Jews granted citizenship in 1812

    Prussia passed an edict that granted Jews citizenship, ending their status as protected subjects with special taxes.

Family

Parents

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.