Lives of The Downtrodden in Early America

Instagram ➧ townsends_official

[karlt]

My dad was born in 1933 and had childhood memories of living on a farm in the late 30's thru the mid 40's before they moved to town. My grandfather was born in 1901 rural Alabama and moved to rural Louisiana in a covered wagon as in 1902. I remember all his tales of rural life up till they moved to town. His father was born in 1881 and I got to hear his stories thru my grandfather. My grandfather's grandfather was born in 1848 rural Alabama so I also had those stories passed down thru my grandfather.

I was born in 1965 and a kid of the 70's so we have it made compared to the rural farm life of my direct ancestors.

[blueridgebushcraft]

My grandpa was out on his own when he was only nine years old after his mother died. Couldn’t read or write and was taken in by a family to work on the farm for room and board. A stall on the back porch with a pallet to sleep on and may some old wore out hand me down cloths. Even my dads family didn’t have running water much less electricity. Sometimes you don’t have to go back that far in time.

[sparky]

These scenarios are familiar to me. I remember visiting my grandparents in central Alabama in the 1960's, before mobile homes became popular. Some of the children, whom I played with, lived in what might be called "dirt floor shacks", because they had no floor. Some had tar paper for walls. Others, you could see the light through the cracks in the rough hewn boards. It only stands out to me looking back, because the architecture of someone's house was of little concern to me as a 6 year old.
As an adult, when I hear people complaining about mobile homes and calling their occupants "trailer trash", I comment to them; they wouldn't criticize or ridicule people for living in a trailer, if they saw what they used to live in.

[cameronkelly]

I love how passionate he is about history. I would love going to class if he were my teacher lol. You just got a new subscriber!

[sarahpride]

My Granny told me how they lived. Cabins and wagons. Lye soap and iron wash tubs. Shake roofs and corn shuck beds. Handmade clothes and shoeless summers. She lived it and talked often about it to me. I appreciate our pioneer history.

[AldousHuxley]

My great great grandpa in 1841 took a steam ship from New Orleans up to Cainsville Iowa now known as Council bluffs. From there he decided to travel with the mormons. He bought a wooden hand cart put all his belongings in it and dragged it over 1000 miles to Salt Lake City Utah. He thought mormons were crazy so 2 years later he walked back to Colorado and built a log cabin north of Denver that is now a museum.

[AbbreviatedReviews]

Don't take your roof for granted.

[stringgunner]

My father told me a story of how his mother reacted to having electric for the first time. She went around the house, screwing corn Cobs into all the light bulb sockets. She was afraid that the electric would run out.

[timothygeaughan]

In school I hated history, I binge watch this almost everyday, this is history done right.

[Moriartart]

I admire the fact that you don’t just do videos on the middle/upper classes from the 18th century as I see many channels doing. You give a more human aspect to the past that most people think is cold and without character.

[wntu]

Nails were not a commodity you go to Home Depot for. They had to be hand made by a smith and were not cheap.

[godofuwu]

This video gave me such a sense of peace and comfort. Watching this is like a warm blanket.

[ghosttgirlghosttspook]

when I was a kid we didn't have a toilet or hot water, we finely moved in a nice big house in 1966, we then had a bathroom and hot running water, it was so nice to have my own room, it was greatly appreciated,

[LisaCupcake]

The preface of Sarah Kemble Knight's book says it was published in 1825. Kind of funny to think that they were probably reading her journal as a book of "the old days", too.

[via]

You would make a great teacher. I am learning so much about history through such a humbling aspect as cooking can be!

[ericp]

This is so interesting! This kind of content is exactly why I love your channel, sir! Thank you.

[chrisresnikoff]

If you want to learn about rich people, study history. If you want to learn about poor people, study archaeology.

[jackkennedy_]

Why would even one person give this video a "thumbs down, " never mind 564? I just do not understand how anyone could be critical of this free gift of historical insight by Mr. Townsend.

[terrywestbrook-lienert]

This was compassionately and thoughtfully done. Thank you for making this historical look on poverty in Early America.

[GetMeThere]

I can tell you from personal experience (living on the ground in the high desert in winter for two months) that the experience of NEVER getting completely warm from an external source of heat is one that you just can't appreciate until you've had it. It's a TREMENDOUS hardship. Thinking of that, the well known practice of families before the 1800s sleeping all together in one bed is easy to understand -- life would have been almost unbearably cruel without that opportunity to snuggle and be warm without having to produce all the heat oneself.