Hi of troy
Those are great family stories you have there. I hope they are all written down in detail somewhere for your own kids.
there are plenty of things wrong with society today... but i don't think times past were kinder, gentler or nobler.. they were harsher, more brutal, and lives were shorter. Agreed. Plus there is that little matter of dying in child-birth; one of the major killers of women before the advent of birth-control, antibiotics, sterile surgical practices and anesthesia.
Actually, just being a woman before women were allowed to vote, own land, make a decent wage (has that happened yet?) or have any kind of control over their bodies would be a real bummer for me. Of course, women in some societies now still don't have those options.
I suppose if I could go back to the 18th century as a rich man of property in a fairly temperate climate, I might consider it. Then again, probably not.
BTW, have you watched the PBS documentaries where they transport real families into different times?
Frontier House
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/project/speakout.html 1900's House
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/1900house/My favorite so far:
Manor House
http://www.pbs.org/manorhouse/And the newest one coming up is Colonial House:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/What eye-opening experiements in socio-psychology.
Also, better them than me.