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Q128651900

1775–1835

Born
23 Dec 1775, Birstein
Country of birth
Germany
Died
7 May 1835
facts
5
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 · Birstein

    Birth, Birstein

  2. Child born: Baroness Wilhelmine of Dörnberg

    Birth, Ansbach

  3. Died

    Death

What was it like?

The world around Birstein, 1775: 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.

Q128651900 was born around the same time as Carl Friedrich Gauss, Klemens von Metternich, and E. T. A. Hoffmann.

Born around the same time

  • Carl Friedrich Gauss

    1777 · German mathematician and physicist (1777–1855)

  • Klemens von Metternich

    1773 · Austrian diplomat, foreign minister and Chancellor (1773–1859)

  • E. T. A. Hoffmann

    1776 · German writer (1776-1822)

  • Thomas Young

    1773 · English polymath (1773-1829)

  • Gaspare Spontini

    1774 · Italian composer and conductor

  • William Henry Harrison

    1773 · president of the United States in 1841 (1773-1841)

Fashion

Men’s Sunday Black Coat

Working men typically wore a simple black coat called a Rock for their Sunday attire, which was usually fastened with hooks rather than buttons.

Around 1750–1774

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.

Music
Around 1767–1774

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.

Festival courtship and entertainment

During town fairs, young men purchased sweets and confections for their sweethearts, with the lover placing the first piece into the girl's mouth. Young people also frequented local inns to enjoy dancing, singing, and string music.

Getting around

Slow speeds on poor road networks

Stagecoaches traveled at a walking pace of only 4 to 5 km/h, stopping every 15 to 30 kilometers at relay stations to change horses and passengers. Due to the poor conditions of the roads, these journeys were often exhausting and prone to accidents.

Around 1750–1774

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.

Daily life

Cooking on open hearths without ovens

Ordinary people typically relied on open fires or basic hearths without ovens for cooking, as these were common in the region before the introduction of modern stoves around 1800. Daily meals were seasonal and often consisted of dairy products, grain-based dishes, and limited meat, with lard being used extensively.

Structured school lessons for children

Children typically began attending school at age six and received two hours of daily instruction, while older children attended for four hours in the morning. Education focused on reading, writing, arithmetic, and religious instruction, with some schools incorporating geography, nature study, and health science.

Food

Beer and bread soups were common daily fare

For servants and laborers, meals often featured a weak top-fermented beer, similar to Berliner Weiße, and bread soaked in liquid, such as milk or whey.

Coffee and cheap surrogates were daily staples

By the late 18th century, coffee became a common daily necessity for ordinary people, often mixed with cheap surrogates like chicory or roasted rye and barley to stretch the expensive beans.

Prices and wages

Wages of common Berlin workers

In Berlin during the second half of the 18th century, a journeyman tailor, mason, or carpenter typically earned 8 to 9 thalers per year. A kitchen maid earned between 8 and 18 thalers annually plus a small food allowance.

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.

Work

Common Jobs in Rural Coburg

Common jobs in rural areas included agricultural laborers, day laborers, craftsmen like weavers, tailors, and cobblers, as well as domestic servants employed by noble estates. Many families combined small-scale farming with craft work or day labor to survive.

Daily Work Routines and Physical Toil

The working day typically began at daybreak and continued until nightfall, often requiring labor seven days a week to earn a living. Women and girls were expected to perform demanding tasks, such as threshing grain with flails and carrying up to 100 pounds of water in back-mounted tubs.

News and letters

Postal shipping costs in 1775

In 1775, shipping a one-hundredweight parcel or carrying one person on the route between Nuremberg and Erlangen cost 1 Gulden.

Stagecoach speed at walking pace

Stagecoaches traveled at a walking pace of 4 to 5 km/h, though express coaches could eventually double or triple this speed.

During their lifetime

  1. 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.

  2. 1812

    Jews granted citizenship in 1812

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

  3. 1834

    Zollverein customs union founded in 1834

    The Zollverein was founded to eliminate customs duties between German states, fostering economic integration under Prussian leadership.

Family

Spouses

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.