Life was very different in New France compared to today. People had to work very hard just to survive. Men and women were encouraged to marry young. The larger the family, the more help there is to run a farm. A man who was younger than 20 would get 20 pounds when he married. A woman who was younger than 16 was paid 20 pounds when she married. Families with 10 living children received 300 pounds a year. Families with 12 or more living children received 400 pounds.

Men

Most of the men in New France were farmers. Life was very hard for the farmer. He was the one who was responsible for producing food. He had to farm and also hunt to get food for his family. Taking care of his farm and family was his number one job.

Women

Women also had to work very hard. She had to take care of the house. She had to cook for her family. She also had to take care of the younger children. Sometimes women had 15 children or more. She made clothes for her family too using cloth that she spun.

Children

When children were old enough, they either helped their mothers (girls) or their fathers (boys). Small children might bring in the wood for the fireplace. Older girls would help cook, clean and make clothes. Fathers would teach their sons how to ice fish. All the children would help gather maple sap in the spring.

When a boy was eleven or twelve, he could do a man's work. He would help his father cut wood, carry stones from the field and build fences. He also helped plow, mow the hay and gather the crops.

Older children would take care of the garden. This would be a practice for when they had their own farms.

Very few children went to school because the only schools were in the large towns that were too far away. There were no local schools like we have today. If children did learn to read, they learned from a parent who could read. Sometimes they learned from an older brother who had become a priest. Anyone who became a priest was sent to school as part of his training. He would then be sent to serve in the local churches. If he had time, he might even start a school.

 In those days, school was not as important as it is now. You did not have to read to be a farmer or farmer’s wife as most of the people were. The only people who went to school were the sons and daughters of merchants or the rich citizens of New France. Schools were run by the church because the nuns and priests were educated.

When the children grew older, often one would become a priest or nun. If the farm was large enough, the father would split his land with his sons. If the land was too small, he would buy land for them. The girls would be expected to marry a local boy and settle on his family farm.

Clothing

Women wore shirts and skirts made of linen, cotton and hemp. Men wore knee breeches (pants that tied at the knee) and jerkins (jackets). They also wore wide-brimmed hats and tapabords (with earflaps)

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Photo: Pierre-Paul Beaumont		Photo: Pierre-Paul Beaumont

To survive the cold winter, the habitant copied some of the Amerindian (Indian) clothing. He wore mittens and moose leather boots lined with beaver fur and a fur-lined coat (pelise). To walk in the snow, he wore snowshoes and loaded his provisions on a toboggan which slides on snow and ice.

Home Cures

There were few doctors in New France. Most lived in the large towns. When someone got sick, the habitant used cures that they learned from the Indians.

Bad Cold

• Mix pine gum, 3/4 cups of whiskey and 1 cup of maple syrup

• Take 1 spoonful 3 times a day

Sore Stomach

• Drink a tea made from plantain seeds or flaxseeds

Worms

• Mix 1 teaspoon of gunpowder with a tablespoon of molasses

• Take before breakfast 3 days in a row

Cuts

• Boil a marigold stalk in water

• Apply as a compress

Sore Throat

• Boil 1 pint of salted water with 1 teaspoon of vinegar

• Gargle

Appendicitis

• Boil 2 teaspoons of chimney soot with 3 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of milk

• Sweeten and strain before drinking