In my Father's House Are Many Mansions
Subtitle: Family and Community in Edgefield, South Carolina
By: Orville Vernon Burton.
Series: The Fred W. Morrison series in Southern studies
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: 1985
Place of publication: Chapel Hill
Language: eng
Number of pages: 480
Subjects: Family -- South Carolina -- Edgefield -- History -- 19th century; Edgefield (S.C.) -- Social conditions; Edgefield (S.C.) -- Rural conditions; Edgefield (S.C.) -- Race relations -- History -- 19th century
Description: Burton traces the evolution of Edgefield County from the antebellum period through Reconstruction and beyond. From amassed information on every household in this large rural community, he tests the many generalizations about southern black and white families of this period and finds that they were strikingly similar. Wealth, rather than race or class, was the main factor that influenced family structure, and the matriarchal family was but a myth. This detailed treatment of the economics, patterns, and rhythms of rural life, including analyses of religion and religious themes in the agrarian community, will advance our understanding of rural history and race relations in the South.
Notes: Bibliography: p. [421]-462.
Includes index.