Family and Community Rank in Seventeeth Century New England

I have been researching an interesting ancestor who lived in Massachusetts and Connecticut in the 1600’s and who shows up in various court and town records.  Therefore, here is some information that has helped me understand some of what I am reading.

While reading colonial records, it is important to remember that our ancestor’s worldview is so completely different from our twenty-first century view.  Sometimes it can be tricky as well as time consuming to decipher exactly what our ancestors were thinking! 

For instance, even though the nuclear family, the model family of the twentieth century and the modern concept of what family means, is evolving, most of us still think of the family as a set of parents and their children living in a household.

In Seventeenth century New England, the “family” consisted of anyone living in the same household under a head of household, usually a man but could also be his widow during the time before she remarried.  A typical household consisted of a man (the head of the household) and his wife, their children and any children from previous marriages, servants and other dependent relatives or non-relatives.  Blood relations were not an important aspect considered in the make up of a seventeenth century family. 

The head of household did not only dominate over the family but also deemed to be responsible for their actions in the community.  

Interactions between the inhabitants of the colonies reflected their social status or rank within their communities.  Within the colonist’s socially layered community, it was important to know not only how, but also when, to address a person of higher rank.  This immediately brings to mind the old adage; children should be seen and not heard. It was not only offensive for children to speak out of turn in colonial times, but also improper for lower status persons to address or even end a conversation with a high status member of the community. 

Different forms of acknowledgment and salutations were therefore important for confirming ones social rank.  Below are some salutations and their meanings.

Sir, Gent, and Lady – Were upper English social classes, few came to the colonies.

Master or Mister and Mistress – Usually the top of the Colonial social rank, an indicator of high status and not an indication of marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. – Abbreviations of Mister and Mistress that indicated their high social rank and not marital status, may be married or unmarried. 

Goodmen and Goodwives – Socially ranked below the Mister and Mistress.

Untitled – Indentured servants and slaves.

Just for fun...Talk Like a Pilgrim




Sources

  Hellier, Cathy. "Colonial Williamsburg Education Outreach e-Newsletter." Colonial Williamsburg That the Future May Learn From the Past. N.p., 9 June 2003. Web. 27 Sep 2012. 

 Norton, Mary Beth. Founding Mothers & Fathers Gendered Power and the Forming of American Society. 1st Ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Print.