Working Life in the 1890's

 

Now here we are at another working life in the 1890's last week I wrote about being a servant and this week I am also writing about being a servant.

The mistress of the household would normally have been taught to cook so she can instruct her cook on such manners. Knowledge of what a mistress should expect from her servants was part of the education of a “young lady”.

There were mistresses of the household who had themselves been a servant and these women were often feared by their servants as they would often impose harsher conditioners. One would have thought they would be more compassionate and understanding but no they were not.

There were of course many households that didn't have servants and by 1901 only one in ten Australian households had them.

Women who did unpaid domestic work for their husbands and families ranged from lower middle-class women who did not work outside the home, to those who also worked in factories or were servants themselves.

Society of course expected every home to be spic and span regardless of how many servants they had or even if they had none. Housework is still considered “women's work” by many even in the 21 century.

There were males servants and they earnt more then the women and like the work done by women the men also had very demanding jobs such as coachmen, grooms, gardeners and general handyman type work.

The family's coachman was expected to always be ready to take the family on outings when required. Many coachmen found themselves chauffeurs by the end of the 19 century, when more well to do families acquired a motor-car.

There were many servants who did not “live-in” but worked part time at the homes of the well to do, also many took in washing and sewing. During the depression of the 1890's these women would often be the only breadwinner in the home. Some considered themselves lucky if the made one pound a week, to support a family of more then 5 people.