DELAWARE

            Swedish settlers arrived in the Delaware area in 1638. They founded the colony of  New Sweden and built Fort Christina at what is now Wilmington as their first permanent settlement.  The name of the state came from a former governor in 1602 by the name of Lord De La Warr.

            The first teachers in the Dutch and Swedish colonies of the 1600’s were mainly clergymen and the first school buildings were churches. They had a high value of education their children but the wealthy sent their children out of the colony while the poor remained in churches that provided schooling. Friends and family also participated in teaching of their children who were not as fortunate as the wealthy.

            African Americans began arriving in Delaware in the 1640s. Some were working as slaves and others were paid servants.  In 1790 a law was passed that made it illegal to bring new slaves into the state. By 1860, there were 20,000 free African Americans living in Delaware. The state had strong ties with the Union and with the Confederate states due to its location but fought on the side of the Union. Krummer, P.K.(1999).Delaware. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press

            Agriculture provided the backbone for the economy in the Delaware County area. Generally the men hunted and gathered food. Livestock, gardens, and farm crops were their source of food supply. Clothing was made at home whenever possible. Some of the less fortunate went barefoot when the weather allowed such and at any other time that was permissible and convenient.  People back then did not take showers very often. They would bathe on certain occasions like holidays. I can understand because it was such a process retrieving the water. One would have to pump water manually and bring it in buckets to heat on a wood stove or fireplace. Washing clothes was done by hand on a washboard and clothes were dried on the grass during on warm days especially during the summer months. Cannon, N. Family and Daily Life: Introduction. Voice of the People: Daily Life in the Antebellum Rural Delaware County New York Area. Retrieved November, 5, 2010 from http://www.oneonta.edu/library/dailylife/family/index.html

            Religion played a significant role in the lives of the Delaware people. Christianity  was more dominant, particularly the Protestant denomination. The people would ride horses to get to the camp meetings and rejoice in the spirit through song, dance, and fellowship with other congregations.  Many preachers had such as strong faith that they wrote diaries and letters about their experiences as a Christian and preacher.  I discovered this quote during my research--humbling yet profound:

...The men who became eminent as preachers in the Delaware County circuits in the early days, were only to be called unlearned in the bookish sense. In all other respects they far outranked the clergy of cities and pavements, of books and libraries. From the fresh woods through which they traveled, from the silence and solemnity of nature they learned lessons more profound than books can teach. From the unspoiled children of the pioneer settlements they imbibed experiences far more instructive than can be found amid the centres of culture." (Murray, 136) .Cannon, N. Family and Daily Life: Introduction. Voice of the People: Daily Life in the Antebellum Rural Delaware County New York Area. Retrieved November, 5, 2010 from http://www.oneonta.edu/library/dailylife/family/index.html


Post Written By Valerie R.