Advice to Newlyweds in the Early 1900s

If you had grandparents or great grandparents (also aunts-uncles and great aunts and uncles) who married around 1900 (1895-1910) it appears man needed some guidance about being newly married.

Here are some of the advice suggested to newlyweds in and around the early 1900s.

It appears young ladies and men who had never married before had no experience or knowledge in the early 1900s about romance, sex and even about running a household. Many books were printed on advice about etiquette, child-rearing, fashion and even about basic married life for newlyweds. Many young ladies would have had little to no education from their mothers on what would happen the night of the wedding, so such books helped. One popular book in 1902 book, titled What a Young Wife Ought to Know was by Emma Frances Angell Drake, M.D. Drake suggested that husbands and wives should have separate rooms lest “self-control give way to license.” Only have marital relations to have babies. She did “suggest a couple should control the number of children they have.” There was advice about feeding babies, “can train your baby to simply not need a nighttime feeding”.

There were two books “What a Young Wife Ought to Know” and “What a Young Husband Ought to Know.” Each with about 325 pages of advice for a wife and a husband.

NOTE: here is a digital edition of the book for ladies.

Photo: Front cover of book “What a Young Wife Ought to Know”

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Meeting and Acquiring a Spouse

Overlooked Aspects of Your Ancestors’ Lives

Writing Ideas about your Ancestors