The Artificial Intelligence tools (like ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, Gemini, Grok, Meta, Grok, and Perplexity) can provide much useful and nearly instant information about subjects in a concise format, especially when they have been pre-trained on a large volume of information about the subjects.
I wondered if the FREE AI tools could provide me with information about a young England-born boy's life in 1860 in Burrilville, Rhode Island My 2nd great-grandfather, Thomas Richmond (1848-1917), was 12 years old in 1860 living with his family on a farm in Burrillville What was Thomas's life like in 1860? What was the family life like? Did have work to do and fun to enjoy?
1) I chose to use the responses from free Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 (as of 23 July 2025) today.
My Prompt was: "Thomas Richman's life is summarized in the attached document. What was his life like in, say, 1860 when he was 11 years old and residing in Burrillville, Rhode Island. What responsibilities did he have, what fun did he have, and what would he be learning in school?"
I uploaded a PDF of my updated Genea-Musings blog post 52 Ancestors Friday: Thomas Richman/Richmond (1848-1917) to provide information to the AI Tool.
2) The free Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 AI tool responded with:
Thomas Richmond's Life at Age 11 in 1860
His Living Situation
Thomas lived in a bustling household in rural Burrillville, Rhode Island, with seven family members crowded into what was likely a modest farmhouse. As the eldest child at 11, he occupied a unique position of responsibility and privilege within the family hierarchy.
The Richmond family had undergone significant upheaval in recent years. Having immigrated from England just four years earlier in 1856 when Thomas was only 7, they were still adapting to American life. The family had changed their surname from "Richman" to "Richmond" as part of their assimilation process, and Thomas was learning to navigate between his English heritage and his new American identity.
His father James worked as a farm laborer, meaning the family likely rented their dwelling and worked on someone else's land rather than owning their own farm. This placed them in the working class, with financial security dependent on James's physical ability to work and the seasonal demands of agriculture. The household would have been cramped, with Thomas probably sharing sleeping space with his younger brother James (age 9), while the girls - Louisa (age 7), Elizabeth (age 6), and Emma (age 4) - shared another room or area. Baby Hannah (age 2) would have slept in the room with her parents.
The home itself would have been simple - likely a wooden frame house with a few rooms, heated by wood stoves or fireplaces. There would have been no indoor plumbing, electricity, or modern conveniences. Water came from a well or nearby stream, and an outhouse and chamber pots served sanitary needs. The kitchen would have been the heart of the home, with a large wood-burning stove where his mother Hannah prepared meals and did much of the family's work.
Responsibilities He Would Have Had
Daily Farm Chores
Thomas's day began before dawn with essential farm work. He would have been responsible for feeding chickens, collecting eggs, and ensuring the henhouse was secure. If the family kept a cow (common for farm laborers to have one for milk), Thomas would help with milking twice daily - early morning and evening. He'd also tend to any pigs, goats, or other livestock, ensuring they had feed and clean water.
Seasonal responsibilities were intensive. During spring planting, Thomas would help prepare soil, plant seeds, and maintain kitchen gardens that provided much of the family's food. Summer meant constant weeding, watering, and protecting crops from pests. Fall harvest time was particularly demanding - Thomas would work alongside his father gathering crops, preparing them for storage, and helping with preservation activities like making sauerkraut or drying vegetables.
Household Maintenance
Wood was essential for heating and cooking, so Thomas spent considerable time chopping kindling, splitting logs, and stacking wood to dry. He'd maintain the wood supply year-round, ensuring the family never ran out during harsh Rhode Island winters.
Water collection was a daily chore - Thomas would carry buckets from the well or stream multiple times per day for cooking, cleaning, and drinking. In winter, this might involve breaking ice. He'd also help maintain the house itself - patching roof leaks, chinning gaps in walls with mud or cloth, and keeping pathways clear.
Caring for Younger Siblings
As the eldest, Thomas served as a deputy parent when his mother and father were busy with work. He'd supervise his siblings during play, ensure they completed their chores, and help settle disputes. This included helping dress the younger children, teaching them basic skills, and keeping them safe around farm animals and equipment.
During busy seasons, Thomas might be solely responsible for watching the children while his parents worked long days in the fields. This meant organizing activities, preparing simple meals, and ensuring everyone was accounted for - a significant responsibility for an 11-year-old.
Economic Contributions
Though attending school, Thomas likely contributed to the family's meager income through small jobs. He might trap small animals for fur, collect berries or nuts to sell, help neighbors with their harvests for small payments, or assist with simple manufacturing work that could be done at home - common in rural New England where textile piece-work was often distributed to families.
School Life and Learning
The Physical School Environment
Thomas attended a typical one-room schoolhouse, probably a simple wooden building with rough-hewn benches and desks. The room would be heated by a single wood stove, making it uncomfortably hot near the stove and cold by the windows. Students brought their own slate boards for writing practice and shared limited supplies like chalk and books.
The school day ran roughly from 8 AM to 4 PM, but attendance was flexible based on family needs. During planting and harvest seasons, Thomas might miss weeks of school to help with farm work. Winter attendance was more regular, as this was when farm work slowed down.
Curriculum and Daily Lessons
The teacher, likely a young unmarried woman earning minimal wages, taught all grade levels simultaneously. Thomas would have been grouped with other children around his age and ability level, but in the same room with children ranging from 5 to 16 years old.
Reading: Thomas practiced with the McGuffey Readers, which combined basic literacy with moral lessons. He'd read aloud daily, working through increasingly complex passages that included Bible verses, patriotic stories, and moral tales designed to build character alongside reading skills.
Writing: Using a slate and chalk, Thomas practiced penmanship daily. Good handwriting was considered essential for any future employment. He'd copy passages, practice letter formation, and eventually progress to writing with ink and quill pens on paper - a privilege reserved for more advanced students.
Arithmetic: Math education focused on practical skills needed for commerce and daily life. Thomas learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, progressing to fractions and simple geometry. Problems often involved real-world scenarios like calculating the cost of grain or determining land area.
Geography: Thomas studied maps of the United States and world, memorizing state capitals, major rivers, and mountain ranges. Given his family's recent immigration, geography lessons helped him understand his place in his new country.
History: American history was taught with strong patriotic emphasis, focusing on the Revolutionary War, founding fathers, and American institutions. This was particularly meaningful for Thomas as a recent immigrant learning about his adopted country's heritage.
Moral and Religious Instruction: Each day began with Bible reading and prayer. Students memorized scripture verses and discussed moral lessons. Character development was considered as important as academic learning.
School Social Dynamics
Thomas would have been known as one of the "English boys," marking him as different from children whose families had been in America for generations. His slight accent and different cultural references might have made him stand out, though by 1860 he'd been in America for four years and was likely well-integrated.
As an older student, Thomas might have helped teach younger children, a common practice in one-room schools. This responsibility would have reinforced his own learning while developing leadership skills.
Recreation and Fun
Outdoor Adventures
Rural Rhode Island offered abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation with neighbor and school friends. Thomas would have known every stream, pond, and wooded area within walking distance of home. Swimming in local ponds or streams was a favorite summer activity, though children typically swam in makeshift clothes or underwear.
Fishing provided both recreation and potential food for the family table. Thomas would have made his own fishing lines from horsehair or thread, carved hooks from bones, and known the best spots for catching trout or bass. Ice fishing in winter extended this activity year-round.
Hunting small game was both sport and necessity. Thomas might have used slingshots or simple traps to catch rabbits, squirrels, or birds - skills that contributed to family meals while providing excitement and challenge.
Seasonal Activities
Spring: Thomas would search for the first wildflowers, help tap maple trees for syrup, and enjoy the freedom of being outdoors again after long winters. Bird-watching and identifying returning migrant species was a common pastime.
Summer: Long days meant extended outdoor play. Thomas might build dams in streams, construct forts in wooded areas, or organize games with neighborhood children. Berry picking - strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries - combined work with play, as children could eat while they picked.
Fall: Harvest festivals and apple picking provided community recreation. Thomas might help with corn husking bees, where neighbors gathered to process corn while socializing. Collecting colorful leaves, nuts, and interesting stones was popular among children.
Winter: Ice skating on frozen ponds was a major winter recreation, though Thomas would have used simple metal runners strapped to boots rather than modern skates. Sledding down hills, building snow forts, and having snowball fights filled long winter days. Indoor activities included whittling, simple woodworking projects, and helping with winter crafts.
Games and Toys
Children in 1860 created their own entertainment with simple materials. Thomas would have played marbles - an intensely popular game where children competed for keeps, trading and winning marbles from each other. Hoops made from old barrel rings were rolled with sticks in races or trick competitions.
Traditional Games: Tag, hide-and-seek, and variations like "Red Rover" were played with siblings and neighborhood children. "King of the Hill" battles on hay piles or snow mounds provided competitive fun.
Seasonal Sports: Informal baseball was gaining popularity, though equipment was improvised - balls made from tightly wound string and cloth, bats carved from tree branches. Wrestling and running races provided competitive outlets.
Individual Activities: Thomas might have learned to whittle, creating simple toys or useful items. Collecting items like unusual stones, bird feathers, or insects was common among children interested in nature.
Family and Community Recreation
Sunday Activities: After church services (likely attending with his family as most rural communities centered around religious observance), Thomas would have enjoyed the one day when work was minimal. Families visited each other, children played together, and everyone relaxed.
Community Gatherings: Barn raisings, harvest celebrations, and church socials provided opportunities for Thomas to interact with other families and children from the broader community. These events often included games, simple music, and shared meals.
Storytelling: Long winter evenings were filled with storytelling. Thomas's parents might share tales from England, while neighbors told local legends or ghost stories. These oral traditions provided entertainment and cultural connection.
Simple Music: If the family owned a harmonica or simple fiddle, evening music provided entertainment. Thomas might have learned simple songs or participated in family singing, a common way to pass time and bond.
Challenges and Limitations
Recreation had to be balanced carefully with responsibilities. Thomas couldn't simply play whenever he wanted - chores came first, and seasonal work demands meant play time varied dramatically throughout the year.
Safety was always a concern. Parents worried about children near water, getting lost in woods, or being injured by farm equipment or animals. Thomas would have learned early to be cautious and responsible during his recreational activities.
Weather severely limited options. Rhode Island winters were harsh, confining children indoors for days at a time. Spring mud season made outdoor play messy and difficult. Summer heat and humidity could be oppressive, while fall brought early darkness that shortened play time.
Despite these limitations, Thomas's childhood combined the satisfaction of meaningful work with the joy of simple pleasures, preparing him for the industrious adult life that lay ahead in America's growing textile industry.
3) I asked the free OpenAI ChatGPT4, X Grok 3, and Google Gemini 2.5 Flash the same query and received similar responses.
4) I have no easy way to double check on these responses from the Chatbots. I don't have book resources for the subjects and the locality. The families mentioned are my ancestors and I have significant information about their lives from the available records, but know nothing about their daily lives.
5) After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit the Richmond family in England and New England and witness their daily lives. I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and witness accounts.
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