Journal of Family History current issue

Memory and Power in Qufu: Inscribing the past of Confucius' Descendants

Agnew, C. S. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:27:20 PDT

This article examines the connection between writing on the past and the construction of collective memory and identity by the Kong family of Qufu, the recognized descendants of the Confucius. Kong family dukes raised an ancestor named Renyu to a position of importance in the Kong historical imaginary second only to Confucius himself, transforming a seemingly insignificant name from the family records into a powerful signifier of the centralized economic and political institution represented by the title of the "Duke for Fulfilling the Sage." By tracing the development of the legend of Kong Renyu from the fourteenth century to the present, this article details the centrality of social and political power in the construction of the historical narratives that serve as the basis of collective memory and identity.

Prophecy, Patriarchy, and Violence in the Early Modern Household: The Revelations of Anne Wentworth

Johnston, W. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:27:20 PDT

In 1676 the apostate Baptist prophet Anne Wentworth (1629/30—1693?) published A True Account of Anne Wentworths Being Cruelly, Unjustly, and Unchristianly Dealt With by Some of Those People called Anabaptists, the first in a series of pamphlets that would continue to the end of the decade. Originally a member of a London Baptist church, Wentworth left the congregation and eventually her own home after her husband used physical force to stop her writing and prophesying. Yet Wentworth persisted in her "revelations." These prophecies increasingly focused on her response to those who were trying to stop her efforts, especially within her own household. This article examines Wentworth’s writings as an effort by an early modern woman, using arguments of spiritual agency, to assert ideas about proper gender roles and household responsibilities to denounce her husband and rebut those who criticized and attempted to suppress her.

Tracing Sexual Identities in "Old Age": Gender and Seniority in Advice Literature of the Early-modern and Modern Periods

van Tilburg, M. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:27:20 PDT

Thus far, historians have interpreted representations of elderly women with reference to women’s roles or to women’s positions in society.This article proposes a different approach toward gender: to relate representations of the aged to the sexual identities of both men and women. This article analyzes representations of old age in conduct books of the early-modern period and the nineteenth century. By drawing a comparison, the eighteenth-century change of "identity regime" in European culture is brought to the fore.The article points to the influence of sexual identities on the representations of senior persons in advice literature both in Dutch and translated into Dutch.

Status Homogamy in the Preindustrial Marriage Market: Partner Selection According to Age, Social Origin, and Place of Birth in Nineteenth-century Rural Sweden

Dribe, M., Lundh, C. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:27:20 PDT

This article studies partner selection according to three dimensions: social origin, age, and place of birth. The authors use micro-level data from local population registers in five parishes in southern Sweden from 1815 to 1895.The results confirm that all three aspects were important but that socioeconomic status was the most important characteristic,structuring much of the selection process.The importance of social and age homogamy remained stable over the period, while geographic exogamy became more frequent, which could be interpreted in terms of an increasing openness of rural society.The authors also find some indications of exchange of characteristics in the partner selection process.

How Personal Is the Political? Democratic Revolution and Fertility Decline

Bailey, A. K. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:27:20 PDT

Existing theory has identified the capacity of political revolutions to effect change in a variety of social institutions, although relationships between revolution and many institutions remain unexplored. Using historical data from twenty-two European and four diaspora countries, the author examines the temporal relationship between timing of revolution and onset of fertility decline. The author hypothesizes that specific kinds of revolutionary events affect fertility by engendering ideological changes in popular understandings of the individual’s relationship to society and ultimately the legitimacy of couples’ authority over their reproductive capacities. Results demonstrate that popular democratic revolutions—but not institutionalized democratic structures—predict the timing of the onset of fertility decline.