Basque women and urban migration in the 19th century

A study of reconstituted families reveals that in the 19th century, Basque women from propertied families appear to have migration patterns different from their brothers and from sharecroppers' daughters. When these women could not inherit the family property or marry an heir in the village, they frequently chose the urban option rather than emigration to America, often remained single, mainly took unskilled jobs, and returned to the villages of their birth upon retirement. Those who married in the cities did so to maintain or improve their social status through endogamous or exogamous marriages. Examples of differing Basque inheritance practices among the moderately wealthy – the traditional firstborn versus one of the younger siblings of either sex – are offered. The case study of S–M family illustrates women's rural and urban migration trends over three generations.     

Succession strategies in the Pyrenees in the 19th century: The Basque case

Basque customs in the Old Regime dictated the traditional succession rules of aînesse intégrale, which entitled the first-born male or female child to inherit all family assets (house and land) upon marriage. He or she was then to cohabit with the parents as a stem family, thus securing the transition and continuity of the house. With the implementation of the Civil Code in the 19th century, these ancient succession practices were abolished, forcing families to partition their assets equally among their children. Family reconstitution, succession records, and land registers of the 19th century indicate that, despite the new law, Basque families circumvented the law to transmit their property to one child, thus avoiding partitioning and securing continuity of the house. To perpetuate their ancient succession practices, families elaborated new strategies, showing flexibility toward traditional practices (especially aînesse intégrale) and making concessions to the heir or heiress, spouse, and siblings. They adapted the customs to the new law while maintaining the most essential prerogatives of ancient family traditions (single inheritance) for the survival of the “house system”.     

Family strategies concerning migration and occupations of children in a market-oriented agricultural economy

This study focuses on family labor strategies in the 19th and early 20th centuries, using a database containing vital information on the lives of some 3000 persons born around 1830, 1850, and 1870 in the Groningen clay soil region—a predominantly agrarian area in the northern part of the Netherlands. Working-class families were moving from short-term survival strategies to long-term investment strategies in the last decades of the 19th century. Like other occupational groups, they tended to keep their children at home in larger numbers instead of finding them jobs as live-in workers—a change probably facilitated by improving real wages. Although such a change in family strategy implied lower earnings in the short run, children who stayed home experienced more upward social mobility in later life than those who left home early to become live-in servants. The increased preference for long-term investment strategies is also apparent in migratory patterns. Independent of the phases in the family cycle, working-class families became more inclined to migrate over longer distances, especially to America where unskilled laborers had better prospects.     

Gender aspects of inheritance strategies and land transmission in rural Scania,Sweden, 1720–1840

This study deals with gender aspects of land transmissions in pre-industrial Sweden. Although not supported by law, a clear mentality of male primogeniture among peasants existed in the Swedish countryside in the 18th century. In many cases, however, this ideal could never be realized, making the idea of the “family farm,” handed down from father to son for generations, more of a myth than a reality. This study uses postmortem inventories linked to tax registers and family reconstitutions for a sample of parishes in southern Sweden to show that various strategies were chosen when transferring the farm after the death of the husband or wife. Although sons were more likely to take over the farms, daughters (or more correctly sons-in-law) also frequently did so, as did, sometimes, more distant kin and non-kin. Moreover, it was not the case, as has sometimes been maintained, that daughters took over the farm only when no able-bodied sons were available. On the contrary, daughters (sons-in-law) quite frequently took over the farm even when sons were present. The decision on land transmission was part of a more general family strategy concerning reproduction (access to marriage and household formation) as well as old-age security.     

Leaving home in a stem family system: Departures of heirs and non-heirs in pre-industrial Japan

To clarify the rules in a stem family, this study investigates the patterns of childrens' departures from home, using the 1870 household register of South-Tama, Musashi Province (4,787 individuals). Sons and daughters followed a schedule for home departures in their life course related to their sex and to sibling composition. Life-table analysis revealed that the ‘stayers’ were children without siblings, eldest sons, and eldest daughters with only sister; while the ‘leavers’ were younger sons with elder brothers and younger daughters. This pattern was present regardless of economic status, with some variation in the speed of leaving home among sons. The leavers in general left for various destinations via marriage, adoption, service, and work migration. Larger proportions of sons than daughters remained in the home village. Examination of the exceptions to the rule showed that they tended to be incapable of following the main pattern. Analysis of the timing of a child's departure in relation to the heir's marriage or to the birth of the heir's first child revealed that within the standard schedule, sons and daughters were retained or released for the advantage of the family. Sisters were replaced by in-marrying brides. Brothers were kept in the home until the next generation was secured. The departure of children, or heirs and non-heirs, can be a good variable for comparing the rules of family systems.     

Parenthood,child-rearing and fertility in England, 1850–1914

Fertility declines across Europe and the Anglo-world have been explained as the result of reversals of intergenerational flows of wealth. According to this theory, the child was transformed from an economically-useful household asset to an emotionally-valued parental burden. This article is based on a comparative study of changing understandings of parenthood in three provincial English localities between 1850 and 1914. It works from the premise that in order to make sense of reproductive behaviour, it is essential to examine the meanings that men and women attached to childlessness, child-rearing and parenthood.

It is argued that there was not a universal shift that made children into burdens. New understandings of the duties of parenthood did develop, but these were founded on class-, gender- and place-specific interpretations. These encouraged a minority of fathers and mothers to believe that together they had the capacity to improve the lives of their sons and daughters in pioneering ways. Given that husbands and wives had distinct motives for avoiding rearing many children and that the discussion of reproduction was shrouded in silence, the dissemination and use of new ideals of family was crucial in enabling birth control to be thought about respectably within marriage.     

Family succession through adoption in the Chosun Dynasty

Using a unique data source of genealogies of upper-status families, called Bulcheonwye families, we assess how the extent of family succession through adoption changed over five centuries from 1450 to 1949 in Korea. Our analysis shows the continued increase in the share of adopted sons among total family successors up to the end of the 19th century when three out of ten family successors were adopted. The trend of the increasing role of adoption is closely related to the declining number of sons per family, suggesting that not only the rising influence of Confucian culture but also demographic changes increased the demand for adoption. Finally, our comparison provides evidence that the likelihood of achieving high social status was significantly higher among adopted sons than biological ones, suggesting that the socioeconomic potential of adopted sons could be an important factor for adoption decision.     

Family succession through adoption in the Chosun Dynasty

Using a unique data source of genealogies of upper-status families, called Bulcheonwye families, we assess how the extent of family succession through adoption changed over five centuries from 1450 to 1949 in Korea. Our analysis shows the continued increase in the share of adopted sons among total family successors up to the end of the 19th century when three out of ten family successors were adopted. The trend of the increasing role of adoption is closely related to the declining number of sons per family, suggesting that not only the rising influence of Confucian culture but also demographic changes increased the demand for adoption. Finally, our comparison provides evidence that the likelihood of achieving high social status was significantly higher among adopted sons than biological ones, suggesting that the socioeconomic potential of adopted sons could be an important factor for adoption decision.     

Continuity and change among the Rhemish proletariat: Preindustrial textile work in family perspective

Textile workers formed a major part of the population in Rheims at the end of the Old Regime. Traditionally, many pieces of cloth were woven both in urban and rural families for Rhemish manufacturers (fabricants). With economic changes during the 18th century, the French cottage proto-industry was in crisis. Unemployed textile workers, young males and females, moved to town. Family workshops had difficulties surviving in Rheims. One of the sons inherited the family loom, but he rarely kept his independence. Family histories presented in this study show how weavers relied on their family network in and outside the city in order to deal with irregular demand. The market required that production be diversified. At the same time, a concentration of the workforce developed in new, larger family enterprises. The role of female workers in textile production was often elusive. Single women and widows, women alone without a spouse, worked hard to survive and could rarely keep their children at home.     

Rural widows,economy and co-residence in the 18th and 19th centuries

Widows in the past have often been viewed either as poor and lonely or living under the control of their family members. The aim of this article is to show that the situation of widows in the 18th and 19th century Nordic countries does not necessarily correspond with these images. Law and custom provided landholding women with a certain amount of economic security in widowhood, and it seems to be relatively clear that women knew how to make use of their position. However, the frequency of co-habitation between mothers and children also indicates the creation and maintaining of mutually supportive strategies. The increasing stratification of 19th century society did on the other hand inflate the group of widows without property. As a result of running a household without a production element these widows had a greater need to launch their children into the labour market and therefore found themselves in greater need of assistance from the community in old age.     

Rural widows,economy and co-residence in the 18th and 19th centuries

Widows in the past have often been viewed either as poor and lonely or living under the control of their family members. The aim of this article is to show that the situation of widows in the 18th and 19th century Nordic countries does not necessarily correspond with these images. Law and custom provided landholding women with a certain amount of economic security in widowhood, and it seems to be relatively clear that women knew how to make use of their position. However, the frequency of co-habitation between mothers and children also indicates the creation and maintaining of mutually supportive strategies. The increasing stratification of 19th century society did on the other hand inflate the group of widows without property. As a result of running a household without a production element these widows had a greater need to launch their children into the labour market and therefore found themselves in greater need of assistance from the community in old age.     

The ‘wanted’ children. Experiences of Hungarian children living with Belgian foster families during the interwar period

Transnational adoption and child migration are often regarded as recent phenomena, yet there is a long history of children travelling without their families, settling and integrating in a foreign culture and environment. In the 1920s, thousands of Hungarian children went to Belgium for a six-month holiday within the framework of a humanitarian project. Although they were supposed to return to Hungary after their vacation, some of them stayed indefinitely with their Belgian families. By analyzing oral testimonies of the now elderly ‘children’ about their migration and childhood experiences in Belgium, we explore how they construct and reconstruct concepts such as childhood, vulnerability, and loyalty commitments, and show the crucial importance of maintaining birth family ties for the future development of transnationally adopted children.     

Continuity and change among the Rhemish proletariat

Textile workers formed a major part of the population in Rheims at the end of the Old Regime. Traditionally, many pieces of cloth were woven both in urban and rural families for Rhemish manufacturers (fabricants). With economic changes during the 18th century, the French cottage proto-industry was in crisis. Unemployed textile workers, young males and females, moved to town. Family workshops had difficulties surviving in Rheims. One of the sons inherited the family loom, but he rarely kept his independence. Family histories presented in this study show how weavers relied on their family network in and outside the city in order to deal with irregular demand. The market required that production be diversified. At the same time, a concentration of the workforce developed in new, larger family enterprises. The role of female workers in textile production was often elusive. Single women and widows, women alone without a spouse, worked hard to survive and could rarely keep their children at home.     

The ‘wanted’ children. Experiences of Hungarian children living with Belgian foster families during the interwar period

Transnational adoption and child migration are often regarded as recent phenomena, yet there is a long history of children travelling without their families, settling and integrating in a foreign culture and environment. In the 1920s, thousands of Hungarian children went to Belgium for a six-month holiday within the framework of a humanitarian project. Although they were supposed to return to Hungary after their vacation, some of them stayed indefinitely with their Belgian families. By analyzing oral testimonies of the now elderly ‘children’ about their migration and childhood experiences in Belgium, we explore how they construct and reconstruct concepts such as childhood, vulnerability, and loyalty commitments, and show the crucial importance of maintaining birth family ties for the future development of transnationally adopted children.     

USING STATE LEGAL NEEDS STUDIES TO INCREASE ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR LOW‐INCOME FAMILIES

State legal needs studies quantify and classify the legal problems faced by low‐income families, which is crucial to obtaining and allocating resources. Providers and courts perceive a greater need for family law help than do low‐income households, an important disparity to examine. State legal needs of the poor studies are most valuable when they provide insights into how families' legal needs are or are not being met, allowing for more informed and effective recommendations and action. These measurements of the justice gap go beyond mere recitations of statistics and are useful in increasing access to justice for families.     

Gender differences in the dispersal of children in northern Sweden and the northern USA in 1850

In the course of time families disperse and kin relationships change. In this study gender differences in spatial dispersion of adult children from their fathers were investigated in two areas of the world in 1850: the Skellefteå region in northern Sweden and the northern part of the USA, both largely rural populations. The results from the Skellefteå region where data on both genders were available were used to estimate gender differences among a native born population in the northern USA where women were often not followed in the sources after marriage. Most adult children resided in the same place as their fathers, but the distances separating relatives were greater in the USA. However, the proportion of adult sons living in the same locality as their fathers was the same in both. More daughters than sons were located elsewhere in Skellefteå and probably also in the USA. Although sisters in Skellefteå joined each other in places separate from their parents, men lived in patrilineal clusters to a greater extent than women due, in part, to patrilineal inheritance and virilocal marriages. Various reasons for these patterns are discussed and their implications for kin networks discussed.     

Routes and determinants of leaving home: the city of Gothenburg, 1915–1943

This paper deals with the home-leaving of young adults in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the period 1915–1943. We used individual-level panel data from population registers and poll-tax records, taking a competing risk design for the analysis of the determinants of leaving home to marry, or for non-familial living. We found a transitional, marriage-driven pattern of leaving home that neither fits the old context of life cycle service, nor the alternative modern routes out of the parental home into unmarried householdship. Young adults typically stayed at home until they married, although some moved out to temporary non-familial living first. Non-familial living consisted mainly of lodging in another household, but working outside it, which in a way was a forerunner of the modern pattern, in sharp contrast with the remnant of preindustrial times: the flow from rural areas into Gothenburg of teenage women immigrants to become residential domestic servants. Interestingly, we found that the main determinants of home-leaving in studies of modern-day populations were equally important in the population of Gothenburg in 1915–1943. For both young men and young women, having their own resources (employment, earnings) was positively associated with the likelihood of leaving the parental home. We also found clear gender differences. A higher level of human capital of the father was associated with later home-leaving to marry for sons, and earlier leaving for non-familial living for daughters. Lower levels of household income, or the presence of minor siblings or a widowed parent were push factors for non-familial living for daughters. We found no similar push factors for sons.     

IN AND OUT OF HARM'S WAY: VIOLENT VICTIMIZATION AND THE SOCIAL CAPITAL OF FICTIVE STREET FAMILIES*

Homeless youth establish a variety of relationships with people they meet on the street. These associations generate different levels of the intangible resources of trust, commitment, and reciprocity that contribute to a person's social capital. We argue that the relationships homeless youth describe as “street families” resemble the fictive kin common among people who have limited resources, and that these relationships are a greater source of social capital than are other associations. Social capital may improve access to many valued outcomes, including protections. Regression analyses of violent victimization support our argument, demonstrating that fictive street families keep youth out of harm's way more than do other street associations.     

Protecting Rural Church-Going Immigrant Women from Family Violence

Rural Latino immigrant women at risk of family violence may perceive churches as their only source of help. However, immigrant church leaders may be poorly equipped to address family violence in their congregations. This article describes a project designed to stimulate and support appropriate responses to family violence by rural immigrant churches, including those identified with conservative theological views on women. The primary goal was to provide rural Latino church leaders with culturally sensitive materials and resources they were willing to use with their congregations. We collaborated with local service providers who assisted in recruiting the church leaders for the pastors’ workshops where the resource materials were presented. Survey data indicated most of the pastors were receptive to the content and planned to incorporate it into their church work. Suggestions are made for future research on this culturally sensitive approach to addressing family violence in the immigrant community.     

Family violence and depressive symptomatology among incarcerated women

This study examines the potential association between witnessing parental violence as a child and later adult depressive symptomatology within a population that has received limited attention in the scientific literature, namely, incarcerated women. The Conflict Tactics Scale and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale were administered to 60 women incarcerated in a maximum security prison in North Carolina. A majority of the women reported that they had witnessed verbally aggressive or physically violent interactions among the adult members in their families. Seventy percent of these women suffered from clinically relevant levels of depressive symptomatology. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that increasing levels of reasoning conflict resolution strategies used in the women's families of origin were associated with decreasing levels of depressive symptomatology of the women, whereas increasing levels of physically violent conflict resolution strategies were associated with increasing levels of depressive symptomatology.