The Peasants of Marlhes: Economic Development and Family Organization in Nineteenth-Century France

226 Pages·1980·21.228 MB·English

by  James R. Lehning (auth.)

The Peasants of Marlhes
The Peasants
of Marlhes
Economic Development and
Family Organization in
Nineteenth-Century France
By James R. Lehning
M
© 1980 The University of North Carolina Press
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1980 978-0-333-30708-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, without permission.
ISBN 978-1-349-05819-8 ISBN 978-1-349-05817-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-05817-4
First published in the U.S.A. by
The University of North Carolina Press 1980
First published in the United Kingdom by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD. 1980
London and Basingstoke
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
For Joan and Amanda Lehning
Contents
Acknowledgments xm
Chapter I Introduction 3
Chapter 2 The Growth of the Urban Economy I I
Chapter 3 The Experience of Economic Change by the Rural
Community 3 5
Chapter 4 The Framework of Family Life: Seasonality and
Mortality 49
Chapter 5 The Framework of Family Life: Nuptiality and
Fertility 64
Chapter 6 The Framework of Family Life: Migration 84
Chapter 7 The Structure of the Peasant Family IOO
Chapter 8 Property and the Family: Inheritance under the
Napoleonic Code I 1 3
Chapter 9 Three Types of Family Economy I 30
Chapter IO The Stages of Life I 50
Chapter I I Conclusion: Marlhes in Perspective I72
Appendixes I 7 5
Notes I85
Bibliography 203
Index 2I5
List of Tables
I Distribution of Land in Marlhes 36
2 Age Structure and Civil Status of Weaving Population in
Canton of Saint-Genest-Malifaux 4 I
3 Landholding of Household Head and Presence of Rubanniere
or Ouvriere en Soie in Household 42
4 Seasonality of Deaths in Marlhes 52
5 Seasonality of Births and Conceptions in Marlhes 53
6 Seasonality of Marriages in Marlhes, I84I-I898 54
7 Life Table for Marlhes, 1849-I853 56
8 Life Table for Marlhes, 1899-I903 57
9 Indices of Fertility and Nuptiality in Marlhes 65
IO Indices of Fertility and Nuptiality in Department of the Loire 66
I I Mean Age at First Marriage in Marlhes 70
I 2 Length of Marriage in Marlhes 7 I
I 3 Age-Specific Marital Fertility Rates for Marlhes 7 4
I4 Age-Specific Marital Fertility Rates by Landholding,
Reconstituted Marriages in Marlhes, I 84 I-I 88o 7 5
1 5 Place of Birth of Population of Marlhes in I 8 8 I 8 5
r6 Place of Birth of Men and Women Married in Marlhes 86
I7 Estimated Rates of Out-Migration per Thousand, Population
of Marlhes 89
I 8 Estimated Rates of Out-Migration per Thousand by Sex and
Marital Status in Marlhes 90
19 Estimated Rates of Out-Migration per Thousand by
Occupational Group in Marlhes 92
20 Estimated Rates of Out-Migration per Thousand by Family
Structure in Marlhes 9 5
x : List of Tables
21 Family Structure by Age of Head of Household in Marlhes,
1851 I02
22 Family Structure by Age of Head of Household in Marlhes,
I90I I02
23 Family Structure by Landholding in Marlhes I05
24 Family Structure by Presence of Rubanniere in Household in
Marlhes, I 8 5 I I 07
25 Family Structure by Presence of Ouvriere en Soie in
Household in Marlhes, I 90 I I o8
26 Successions in Marlhes I 2 I
27 Labor Allocation in Subsistence Agriculture-Domestic
Weaving Family Economy I 3 I
28 Presence of Domestic Servant by Age of Head of Household
in Marlhes, I 8 5 I I 3 4
29 Presence of Domestic Servant in Household by Amount of
Land Owned by Householder in Marlhes, I 8 5 I I 3 5
30 Labor Allocation in Day Laborer-Factory Weaving Family
Economy 139
3 I Labor Allocation in Property Owner Family Economy I44
3 2 Presence of Domestic Servant by Age of Head of Household
in Marlhes, I 90 I I 46
3 3 Presence of Domestic Servant in Household by Amount of
Land Owned by Householder in Marlhes, I90I I47
34 Proportions Signing Marriage Certificates in Marlhes I 58
List of Figures
I Principal Routes of Communication in Stephanois Region,
End of Eighteenth Century 20
2 Principal Routes of Communication in Stephanois Region,
End of Nineteenth Century 2 I
3 Fairs and Markets in Arrondissement of Saint-Etienne,
I8I9-I823 24
4 Fairs and Markets in Arrondissement of Saint-Etienne, I 876 26
5 Weight of Silk Weighed at Condition des Soies of Saint-
Etienne, Five-Year Moving Average, I 8o8-r 9 I 3 3 I
6 Mortality Rates by Age in Marlhes, I849-1853 and
1899-1903, Compared with Model West Level 8 Male
Mortality Rates 59
7 Expectation of Life by Age in Marlhes, 1849-1853 and
1899-1903 6o
Acknowledgments
This book would be incomplete without an expression
of gratitude to the people and institutions who provided support and
advice during its research and writing. The staffs of the Archives Na
tionales de France in Paris and the Archives Departementales de Ia Loire
in Saint-Etienne were helpful with suggestions of sources. M. Emile Au
bert, mayor of the commune of Marlhes; his adjoint, M. Claude Cho
rain; and M. Louis Pouly, the secretaire of the commune, welcomed me
to the village and provided me with access to sources as well as glimpses
of life in rural France. M. Pouly deserves special thanks for putting up
with my frequent presence in his office for more than six months. M.
Batut of the Direction des Services Fiscaux de Ia Loire kindly granted
permission to use the Archives de !'Enregistrement for the period after
187 5. In the final stages of writing, Penny Tadman, Priscilla Garcia, and
Susan Parker helped type the manuscript.
Any project such as this also requires financial assistance at every step,
and I have been most fortunate in this regard. Research grants from the
Social Science Research Council and American Council of Learned So
cieties, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, the
Northwestern University Office of Research, and the Department of His
tory of the University of Utah helped support different aspects of the
research reflected in this book. The College of Humanities of the Univer
sity of Utah provided financial assistance for publication.
A more profound debt is due the scholars who have provided advice,
criticism, and encouragement during the past five years. Foremost among
these is Joan Wallach Scott, who introduced me to the study of social
history and whose own work is a marvelous example to follow. Etienne
van de Walle helped deepen my skills in historical demography and pro
vided helpful criticism of the manuscript. The scholars associated with
the Centre Pierre Leon de l'histoire economique et sociale de Ia region
lyonnaise, especially Professor Yves Lequin, gave me the benefit of their
knowledge of Stephanois history and access to unpublished studies of the
region. Professor Lequin, as editor of the Cahiers d'histoire, granted
permission to reprint in this book parts of an article published in that
journal. Charles Tilly, James J. Sheehan, T. W. Heyck, Henry Binford,
Drew Gilpin Faust, Theresa McBride, and John Modell also commented
on parts of the manuscript. I of course remain responsible for any errors
that may remain in the text.
The completion of this study of nineteenth-century families is above all