Life in the 1830’s
By: Brittany M., Karlyse H.,
Kirstin S.
What was life like for the mill workers in Jenksville in the
early 1800’s?
Can you always believe what people say about others?
Swirling waters below the drop in the Chicopee River
Photo taken from Put's Bridge
In our group we analyzed a letter written by a man named Austin Chapman. In this letter, Chapman describes the lives of early mill workers in the 1830’s. While on a walk in Jenksville (now Ludlow), Austin found many people not going to church on Sunday. He believed that many people were immoral if they didn’t go to church. (That is, by his standards). On his walk through Jenksville, Austin found men playing cards and boys playing ball. He also accused men of drinking too much. He mentions that these mill workers were from Rhode Island.
One story that Chapman mentions in his letter was strange and tragic. He writes that “…It was not uncommon to find the remains of a Young Factory Girl floating upon the Waters of the large Cove directly below what is called the Indian leap. Infants were found in the flood waters of Chicopee River in their meandering rounds enclosing the old Indian camp grounds. . . ” While these sound like horrible events, they may be true or exaggerations. Chapman maybe disliked the nonreligious people, so he may have exaggerated certain events. Toward the end of Austin’s letter, he said that after the mill owners died, the morals and behaviors of the people in Jenksville improved. (The Springfield Manufacturing Company went bankrupt in 1846). After this, he writes that many people were religious, saying, “at this day [1874] I am told they support good order and healthy society with kind regard for religious observances . . .”
This letter shows that the mill workers in Ludlow in the 1830’s may have had different religious customs and behaviors. Most people in Ludlow were religious, but people were not always the same with their religious customs. It also might tell us how some people viewed the new mill workers. Austin Chapman may have thought that they were a bad influence on the town. Primary sources like this letter are useful, but not always reliable because it is someone else’s opinion.