Researching family history is a never-ending puzzle. If you
are lucky you can follow your ancestors’ path through life, see where they
lived, who they married, what offspring they had and what occupation they
pursued. All this can give you clues about their lives and circumstances. You
may wonder how they got into their trade. Was it the only thing that was
available to them, a result of aptitude or maybe even a vocation? Sometimes
there is even a subtle familiarity to their occupation, something you also have
an aptitude for. If you are really lucky, you may find out what pursuits they
followed in their leisure, an even bigger clue to their character.
For all but a fortunate few leisure was in short supply in
the days when there was no separation between home and work and later, when the
industrial revolution ushered in a time of 12-hour work days six days a week. Towards
the end of the 19th century this began to change. Work hours
lessened and the cost of living went down. People had more money and more time
to spend it.
Perhaps many also felt the need to spend the energy that remained
at the end of the work week as there was an increased interest in sport; both
spectator sports like horse racing and boxing and participant sports like
football, tennis and bathing at the seaside. Of course, not everyone felt that
active but they still had the time to spend.
The entertainment industry grew to meet that need with Nickelodeons
starting to open up at the beginning of the 20th century. It was a
short step from there to silent films, then talkies. People were out and about
taking in the scene whether they were participants in events or spectators being
entertained. Were our ancestors active or passive in their leisure pursuits?
Sources:
Crowley,
David and Paul Heyer. Communication in
History: Technology, Culture, Society. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston,
2007
Fang,
Irving. A History of Mass Communication:
Six Information Revolutions. Focal Press, Boston, 1997
Goodman,
Ruth. How to Be a Victorian. Viking,
Penguin Group, London, 2013
