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Q131769104

1795–1855

Born
16 Oct 1795, Kassel
Country of birth
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, today Germany
Died
13 Sep 1855, Vevey
facts
6
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 · Kassel

    Birth, Kassel

  2. Died · Vevey

    Death, Vevey

What was it like?

The world around Kassel, 1795: 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.

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

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 1800–1824

Industrious Spinning in Rural Winter Life

Young women in rural Prussia were often famous for their industriousness, frequently spinning two or even three pieces of yarn daily after completing their domestic chores and farm work. This spinning took place in communal spinning rooms, which served as the center of winter life.

Music

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.

Instruments used by common people

Ordinary people commonly played instruments like the fiddle, clarinet, horn, bass, hammered dulcimer, and bagpipes at dances and festivals. Occasionally, other instruments such as the harp, bassoon, oboe, flute, hurdy-gurdy, jew's harp, and zither were also used.

Getting around
Around 1796–1796

Traveling by foot was grueling work

Traveling on foot was common but physically grueling, as illustrated by the writer Jean Paul who walked from Hof to Bayreuth in winter 1796, arriving exhausted. Those with luggage often had to pay for a porter who served as both a guide and a carrier.

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.

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

Regulation of Labor and Wages in Coburg

In the Principality of Coburg, official regulations governed the daily wages for servants, day laborers, and various craftsmen like carpenters, masons, and plasterers.

Around 1800–1820

Marriage requirements and net worth

To obtain permission to marry, a couple often needed to prove a minimum net worth of 100 to 200 guilders.

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
Around 1797–1797

Deadlines for letter dispatch in 1797

In 1797, letters had to be delivered to the expedition office at least one hour before the mail coach's morning departure to ensure they were properly registered.

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. 1798

    French invasion and Helvetic Republic, 1798

    French troops invaded Switzerland in 1798, collapsing the old Confederation and establishing the centralized Helvetic Republic.

  2. 1799

    Battles of the Second Coalition, 1799

    Switzerland became a major battlefield in 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, with foreign armies fighting across the region.

  3. 1801

    Mechanical spinning machines introduced in 1801

    In 1801, the first mechanical spinning machines were installed in St. Gall, marking an early step in the mechanization of the Swiss cotton industry.

  4. 1802

    The Stecklikrieg civil war of 1802

    In 1802, the Stecklikrieg, or War of Sticks, broke out as a civil conflict involving federalist rebels against the government of the Helvetic Republic.

  5. 1812

    Jews granted citizenship in 1812

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

  6. 1816

    Economic crisis and emigration, 1816-1817

    Switzerland experienced significant economic crisis in 1816 and 1817, forcing many people to emigrate to find new opportunities.

Family

Parents

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.