Family and Household in Nineteenth-Century Canada: Regional Patterns and Regional Economies

In: Journal of family history: studies in family, kinship and demography, Volume 9, Issue 2, p. 158-177

Abstract

This paper examines patterns of household composition in Canada in 1871. A classification of households was developed that differs from the Laslett scheme and emphasizes forms of household complexity. The paper presents the first detailed view of household composition in nineteenth-century Canada as a whole. As expected, the nuclear family predominated, but there were unexpect edly large numbers of households with two or more unrelated families. The analysis focusses on regional and rural-urban differences in household composi tion, as well as variations by occupation, ethnic origin, immigration status, and age. The regional and rural-urban differences were most marked. Life-cycle pat terns were least well defined. Households in urban areas and outside of Ontario were especially complex. Multivariate analysis reveals that no one variable ac counted for the effects of others. An explanation is offered that centers on the relationship between nuclearity and the development of markets in commodities and in labour. Unevenly developed market conditions foster complex uses of the household as a node in networks of aid and exchange.