";s:4:"text";s:4244:" In the years 1685, 1686 and 1687 Samuel buried three sons, Henry, Hull, and Steven. After an initial period of high mortality, life expectancy quickly rose to levels comparable to our own. Yet for all the regional differences in familial roles, it seems clear that ideologically and economically, colonial Americans generally attached greater significance to the father-son relationship than to spousal or mother-child relations. Despite laws requiring the establishment of schools, most children were educated informally, and while older children were temporarily put out as servants or apprentices between seven and twelve, most adolescents lived at home under their father's watchful eye. John Cotton related this responsibility to covenant headship: ‘If God made a Covenant, to be a God to thee and thine, then it is thy part to see it, that thy children and servants be God’s people” (John Cotton, The Puritans also described the believer’s covenant with Christ in family language. Yet if the age gap discouraged close companionship between spouses, the law extended greater legal and property rights to women than was true in New England. For what do you find in the modern households of Britain and America?By contrast, in the Puritan household one finds harmony, security and success—even in the very midst of the difficulties that Samuel Sewall’s family faced. The Puritans maintained their Protestant beliefs with a patriarchal family. Unlike the New England Puritans, Quakers also emphasized early autonomy for children. The first actual people were the Native Americans and then the Pilgrims. When it came to practical living, they were especially keen on the Proverbs, which they viewed as heavenly wisdom for life on earth. God’s word was their rule for all earthly life, and this included the family. What was their secret?