What was the average life expectancy of children in the 1860s?

Answer 1

The person who answered "around 60 years" has not studied history and old newspapers.

An "average" is difficult, but many children died before their first birthday, or before reaching age 6. If children lived through their teenage years, many died in their early 20s. Most adults lived to between 40 and 60 at least. Others lived through their 80s to even 100.

Sadly, I'd say the highest population of infant-child deaths were children under 2 years of age. This can be proven through genealogical research, searches of the US Census, review of tombstones in cemeteries, and through the limited placement of "death notices" in those early newspapers. The government did not require a record of deaths until about 1907, so death records cannot be found in Court Houses before the 1900s.

Answer 2

The average life expectancy for children in the 1860s was around 40-50 years old. However, this number can be misleading as infant mortality rates were high due to lack of medical advancements and sanitation practices.