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Adélaïde de Saint-André

1754–1774

Born
20 Jun 1754, Paris
Country of birth
Kingdom of France, today France
Died
6 Sep 1774, Paris
facts
8
sources
1
images and files
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Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Paris

    Birth, Paris

  2. Died · Paris

    Death, Paris

What was it like?

The world around Paris, 1754: 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.

Adélaïde was born the same year as Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Joseph Joubert, and Luigi Marchesi.

Born the same year

  • Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

    French diplomat (1754-1838)

  • Joseph Joubert

    French moralist and essayist

  • Luigi Marchesi

    Italian opera singer

  • Paul I of Russia

    The ninth Emperor of Russia from 1796 to 1801 (1754-1801)

  • Manon Roland

    French revolutionary

  • Georg Forster

    German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary (1754-1794)

Fashion

Common clothing colors

Common women’s clothing colors were mostly dark, with black, gray, and brown making up 45 percent of garments, while red accounted for 21 percent.

Cost of men's shoes

Men's shoes were considered expensive items, costing twice as much as those worn by women.

Music

Cost of a village festival license

To host a village fair or festival, peasants applied for a license from the commandant that cost about one French crown.

Instruments for common dance and festivals

At festivals and fairs, ordinary people danced to the music of fiddles and the pipe and tabor, also known as the pipe and drum.

Getting around

Rapid descent by ramasse sled

When crossing the snowy Mount Cenis pass in the Alps, travelers could descend into Lanslebourg in just 15 minutes using a specialized sled called a ramasse.

Around 1725–1749

Sledding down the Alps

Adventurous travelers crossed the snowy Mont-Cenis pass in winter using a sled called a ramasse, which could slide down the slope in just fifteen minutes.

Daily life

Basic structure of rural peasant homes

Peasant homes were typically built of wattle and daub with thatched roofs, often consisting of a single room used for sleeping, working, and daily activities. Many rural homes had small windows without glass, and the floor was made of packed earth.

Demanding daily tasks for water and light

Domestic tasks like fetching water from fountains and managing oil lamps or candles for light were costly and physically demanding labor for all of society. Home access to abundant, affordable water and lighting did not occur until the 1950s.

Food

Bread as the Daily Staple

Adult men were expected to consume between 4 and 5 livres of bread daily, making it the essential staple of their diet.

Simple Meals of Bread and Soup

Ordinary meals typically consisted of bread dipped into soups made of boiled water, vegetables, or legumes, with meat being a rare addition.

Prices and wages

Cost of bread and meat

Bread was the essential staple, though its price fluctuated wildly; by the 1770s, it cost between 4 and 5 sols in the heart of the kingdom. Meat was expensive, with beef, mutton, or veal often costing 9 to 15 sols per pound.

Around 1725–1749

Daily wages for ordinary workers

In the mid-18th century, a rural laborer typically earned about 16 sols per day, while city workers could earn between 10 and 30 sols. A full day's work was often required just to afford bread for the family.

Work

Annual wages for servants

Servants were often paid annually, with a female servant receiving 24 to 33 livres plus small benefits, while a foreman might earn 84 to 90 livres.

Long hours and mixed payments

A daily working day lasted from 10 to 13 hours, with agricultural work often paid in a mix of money and goods, such as wooden shoes or cloth.

News and letters

Faster and cheaper local mail delivery

Before the 1760s, recipients typically paid for postage upon arrival, but the introduction of Petites Postes in Paris and other cities offered faster, cheaper service and allowed senders to prepay. In Paris, these local services offered mail pickups as often as nine times a day.

Mail travel times between major cities

In the late 18th century, letters from Paris to major French cities typically took about one week to arrive. For instance, delivery from Paris to Bordeaux took five to six days, and to Lille about one week.

Family

Parents

Spouses

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.