Betsy Miller - Can You Imagine ?

Can You Imagine ?

In this day and age it is difficult to imagine what life was like in Betsy’s time for there were none of the conveniences of our modern day society.There was no electricity in those days, no central heating; no hot running water.

Life in the eighteen hundreds was harsh, laborious and time consuming. Coal or peat was the main source of fuel. Meals were cooked in cast iron pans on black leaded grates and water for baths was heated in huge pans and carried to the bath. The fire was used for cooking and heating and the rooms lit by candles. Betsy was the eldest of seven siblings. Can you imagine catering for the needs of a family of ten without the luxury of modern technology?

Betsy’s family were relatively well off and lived in a house in Quay Street overlooking the harbour. Her father was a merchant sailor and ran a shipping business dealing in timber. In those days, education was not compulsory and the gap between the ‘rich’ and the ‘poor’ was far greater than in today’s society. In Scotland, compulsory education didn’t come into force until 1872, by which time Betsy would have been sixty years old.

We know that Betsy was an educated lady and coming from a reasonably well to do family, she would probably have been taught by a Governess who would be employed by her father to teach the basic subjects of reading, writing, arithmetic and possibly, commerce. Religious studies would also most definitely, have been on her curriculum.

In those days, the Church played a major role in society, their primary concern being a high moral code. The main role of women was that of homemakers however it was felt that educated daughters would be an asset when it came to their entry into the marriage stakes and would be an added attraction for a prospective suitor from a higher social standing. (Aye, we Scots are a romantic race!)

Prior to the onset of compulsory education, the teaching of poorer children was undertaken mainly by elders in the community and carried out in church halls or wherever there happened to be an empty building, barns, outhouses, etc.

It was the responsibility of the Church to ensure that children were educated and when compulsory education came into force they built schools for the poorer children where children from more affluent families would not be expected to attend.

I would imagine that Betsy’s young days would have centred round the home, and being the eldest child, she would have helped with the care of her younger brothers and sisters. Perhaps it was those early nurturing skills and the responsibility instilled in her that she carried into adulthood, and led her to take charge of the family business in later years.

With eight children I would expect the Miller household to be a lively one and closely bonded, and without the constraint of attending a mainstream school this would have allowed Betsy the opportunity to accompany her father on frequent sea trips where she learned the way of the mariner.

If conditions as we see them were difficult at home, can you imagine how much worse they would have been at sea?

Can you imagine this child, this woman?

Really imagine…..

Music: Sleeping Warrior, Acoustic solo, by Ed Walker.