They also worked on the farm and helped in but kitchen. Life was very different back then. Medical care wasn’t nearly as advanced, accessible, and expensive as it is today. School was brief and free, not an enormous expense like it is today. Food was cheap, just labour-intensive because you had to grow it yourself. Housing was cheap too: you largely built it yourself and you didn’t need 15 bedrooms for 15 kids: 3-4 would suffice.