Norwich bulletin., 1914-02-04
LIFE A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

When the mighty struggle was over and freedom won, the brave men of Windham returned to their homes. and found that they had another great battle to win. that of bringing back the prosperity which had been com pletely checked by the long war. Near ly half a century passed before Hamp- ton recovered herself. In 1900, farm CT who owned bis place free froe en- cumbrance, a professional man or a tradesman might make a good com petence, but the common laborer, and large proportion of the population were but laborers, could make but a scanty living. Three shillings per day paid in produce was a common price for farm labor; a working woman re- celVed two six pence for a weeks pay. General CleVeland's Faithful Hired Man" received S75 per year, and as he went barefoot practically the year around and wore homespun it is said that he saved up quite a fortune from his wages. A poor man would walk miles to his work and dig potatoes all day for one bushel in ten. The ways for earning money were so few that it was very difficult for young man to get any start for himself. The brightest young men were eagerly sought as schoolmaSters, receiving a salary of $10 per month and board
 
 of the year in the winter, with a short summer session for small children taught by a 'school-ma'rm who re- ceived five shillings per week and also boarded around.
 The schooIhouses of that time are thus described by Elisha Adams, of Bangor in 1854 who was born in Can terbury in 1783. Wooden buildings about twenty feet square underpinned at four corners with common stone. An outer door, a porch or entrance at the southeast corner. It had a loose floor of unplaned boards and ceiling of the same. It was boarded, clap boarded and the roof shingIed. There was a chimney in one corner made of stone. There was a long writing table reaching across one side and end of the room. The scholars sat on both sides facing each other There were no desks nor drawers no anything of the kind. The idea of being comfort able there never entered our minds While we wrote the ink would freeze in our pens (made of goose quiIls) and we were frequently obliged to hold them in our mouths to thaw them out with our breath''
 The instruction given was in read ing, writing and arithmetic, sewing and catechiSm. The teaching of other branches was optional with the teach | CT. but the branches that were taught were thoroughly learned, as the fine and beautiful handwriting of Samuel | Bennett that is preserved in his old ! homestead testifes. People were be- | coming anxious for education. The age 1 of machinery was dawning- and the l young generation was pressing eager 1 ly forward and away from the beaten l tracks of their fathers.
 | Windham County had an unusual
 number of newspaper subscribers for 1 that day. In ITS Joseph Carter post rider of Canterbury carried the | Hartford Gazette to 25 families
 In Scotland parish; 43 in Westminster parish and 45 in the First Society of | Canterbury. Providence papers were 1 also widely circulated. The Windham 1 Herald had 1900 subscribers in 1900 Nearly every town had it's Newspaper Glass" neighbors Joining together sc | that they all could have the benefit oi | each others papers.
 There were plenty of pleasures also
 for these hard toiling times. All kinds of hard work was done in bees; the old