Life expectancy
Average life expectancy at birth for English people in the late 16th and early 17th centuries was just under 40 – 39.7 years. However, this low figure was mostly due to the high rate of infant and child mortality; over 12% of all children born would die in their first year. With the hazards of infancy behind them, the death rate for children slowed but continued to occur. A cumulative total of 36% of children died before the age of six, and another 24% between the ages of seven and sixteen. In all, of 100 live births, 60 would die before the age of 16. A man or woman who reached the age of 30 could expect to live to 59. [Thomson Gale, 'Infant Mortality' (1998)]
Document related to Scholl infant:
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| Scholl infant birth 3 Sept 1754 film 4137289 page 484 |
Translation by Ulrich Neitzel:
Translation (of a sad story):On 3 September 1754 was born a dead little daughter to Georg Schollen, citizen and farmer, from his wife Anna Maria née Cammerer by a miscarriage due to a long before suffered illness of the mother. It was carried to the funeral in silence by the midwife on the same evening when the prayer bell rang.