Preliminary Programme

French immigrant women who settled into California between 1880 and 1940 married French men from their region of origin (endogamy) who after years of hard work became self-employed raisers, ranchers, farmers, or business owners. In the context of their businesses, these men got their wives involved in the management of the family activities, usually as joint tenants (equal partners and associates). Subsequently, because of the large age difference between spouses, many of the French immigrant women became young widows in charge of the family business. Upon their husband’s death, the widows assumed headship of the household in charge of a residential group which comprised the children (single or married), other relatives, and/or unrelated members. The questions which this paper will address are the following ones: In what capacity did these women assume headship? What was their professional status? And for how long did they keep their position as head of housholds? According to Steve Ruggles, these complex household forms were not uncommon in the United States in the period, when many widows did not necessarily end up as dependent mothers or mothers-in-law, fully taken care of by one of the children (known as the dependency paradigm). Other questions must be addressed on the economic, social, and cultural relevancy of these household practices? Did the French households structure in complex forms by necessity (especially economic ones) or as a result of inherited cultural practices which had been perpetuated in France for centuries? Was female headship the result of transcultural transfers from France to the United States or the result of an adaptation behavior? (Show less)

Co-residency and collaboration with adult children have been considered to be vital to the life circumstances and well-being of the elderly. Several researchers, however, have demonstrated that survival in widowhood was built on multiple strategies: family assistance, work, and poor relief in combination formed the building blocks for existence in old age and widowhood.
The paper discusses whom the childless widows could rely on if they lost working capacity: other family members, former employers, poor relief provided by the municipality or adopted children?
In the Baltic provinces of Russia of Estland and Livland, old age support was a
responsibility of the family or farm household longer than in western European countries. Only late nineteenth century saw a remarkable increase in formal outdoor relief as well as the establishment of (first) poorhouses. By combining cross-sectional and longitudinal population data with community court records and community council proceedings, it will be shown who coresided with childless widows, whether thy received poor relief, and whether adopted children were the caretakers of their adopters in old age.
It appears that family members and close relatives became increasingly reluctant to care for their childless relatives and even if they did reside with the farmers, the local authorities were expected to provide additional support. The same holds for former employers. The vast majority of childless widows of landless peasants were recipients of formal poor relief. While the position of landless widows without children weakened, that of propertied persons improved. Namely, the introduction of peasant landownership meant that if set by will, a childless widow could retain the farm until the end of her life, and male relatives collected it only after her death. In general, adoption was not an effective means to secure support in old age. In most cases, the adoptive parents applied for poor relief, after which community authorities needed to remind the adopted sons of their obligation to maintain their adopters but it usually gave no effect. The legislation concerning adoption clearly worked rather in
favour of adopted sons who were exempt from military conscription than in favour of adopters. (Show less)

The view that women in the past were restricted by the family and suffered from lack of economic power has been shared by numerous scholars. Such statements tend to originate with historians who question the ability of widows to engage in business and scholars taking the view that women in the past were only allowed menial tasks, or those who have visualized a retreat into the domestic sphere.
The studies documenting female economic activity in urban Europe of the past is steadily increasing and by now we can state with confidence that the female presence in trade and commerce in the 18th and 19th century must be seen as an undisputed fact.
Naturally one cannot assume that engaging in economic pursuits would have been without complications for a woman. Although the widow of a town burgher in Scandinavia would control a considerable part of her late husband, engaging in a regulated trade could pose problems. The position of guilds varied in different towns. A trained man could be needed to oversee manufacture of certain goods, on the other hand, no restrictions were usually put on a widow in trade..

The intention of the presentation is to explore the economic activity of widows in 18th century Stockholm. The aim is also to study women in the process of transmission and holding of family property in the past. Access to economic assets in the shape of trading privileges and urban property and its acquisition, transmission and exploitation by families and family members will be discussed. The intention is to demonstrate how the interaction between women and the family need not have been restrictive but on the contrary profitable for all parties. The main sources for the study are tax registers, inventories and registers of property transfer. (Show less)