Mending, Making, Back-Breaking

Preparing for the day, young Mehitable dressed in stockings, a shift, stays, and a petticoat. She would add several more petticoats if the weather was cold. Mehitable would have covered her head and worn an apron. After finishing breakfast, Mehitable and the other children had chores and responsibilities in running the family ordinary. As a thirteen-year-old girl, Mehitable was tasked with looking after her two younger brothers, nine-year-old James and little Larkin, along with her own chores.

Mehitable, like other girls her age, learned housewifery skills, such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, and caring for the younger children, from her mother. She might have learned how to read, write and calculate numbers at home too. Since she did not attend school, Mehitable's days were spent churning butter, baking bread, harvesting the garden and learning about the medicinal uses for the herbs that her mother grew. She learned how to brew cider and beer, since they were used in the ordinary. She likely helped with the cooking for the family.