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Travel was something that was not common for most children in the 17th and 18th centuries. Of course families had to get to America, but once there most Americans stayed put. Many grewup and died within about 50 miles of where they were born. This was because roads were not developed and travel was arduous enough for adults, let along taking along children. This began to change in the mid-19th century. The first major step was the Erie Canal followed by the railroads and steamboats. The railroads revolutionized transportation in America. We do not know a great deal about children on early railroad cars. The one early piece of information is a tragic one. President Elect Pierce and his wife, 2 months before he took office, he and his wife saw their 11-year-old son killed before their eyes. The Pierces On January 6, 1853, during a family trip, were in a train wreck. President-elect and Mrs. Pierce were uninjured, but Benjamin was killed. It was a terrible blow to the parents who had already lost two sons. Mrs. Pierce, completely overcome, lived in seclusion at the White House. The tragedy highlights how dangerous early trains were. We have no idea how American children dressed for trips on railroads, stahe coaches, and steamships. We suspect that they dressed up because formal dress was common in the 19th century. The earlist photographs we have of children taking trips on trains and steamships do show them dressed up. The same is true of the new modes of transport that appeared in the 20th century, busses and planes. This began to change during the 1960s when parents and children began to dress for comfort when traveling.
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