I would welcome suggestions on how to narrow it down, even if I have to pick a different primary artifact.
Here are the secondary sources I'm currently considering using:
A.L. To all the honest, wise, and grave-citizens of London, but more especially to all those that challenge an interest in the Common-Hall. London: Nathaniel Belknap, 1648. Web. <EEBO>.
Dudley, Joseph. A proclamation by the president and Council for the orderly solemnization of marriage. Boston, MA: Richard Pierce, 1686. Web. <Evans Digital Database>.
Grimke, Angelina. Walking by Faith: The Diary of Angelina Grimke, 1828-1835. Edited by Charles Wilbanks. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003. Print.
Hartog, Hendrik. Man and Wife in America: A History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000. eBook.
Hawes, Joseph M., and Elizabeth Nybakken, eds. American Families: A Research Guide and Historical Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1991. Print.
Mather, Cotton. The mystical marriage. A brief essay, on, the grace of the Redeemer espousing the soul of the believer. Boston: Printed for N. Belknap, and sold at his shop near Scarlet's Wharf, 1728. Web. <Evans Digital Database>.
Mather, Increase. Practical truths, plainly delivered. Boston, MA: Bartholomew Green, 1717. Web. <Evans Digital Database>.
Payne, Karen. Between Ourselves: Letters Between Mothers and Daughters, 1750-1982. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983. Print.
Reinsch, Paul Samuel. English common law in the American colonies. 2004 ed. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1889. eBook.
Rothman, Ellen K. Hands and Hearts: A History of Courtship in America. New York: Basic Books, 1984. Print.
Secker, William. A wedding ring fit for the finger; or The salve of divinity on the sore of humanity. With directions to those men that want wives, how to choose them; and to those women who have husbands, how to use them. Boston: S.G. for B. Harris at the London Coffee House, 1690. Web. <EEBO>.
Will,
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking to narrow your focus but stay within the topic of marriage, I think you have several options. You could look at specific women who remained unmarried (spinsters) and evaluate their cultural status, their legal status, their religious affiliations, etc. (Quakers were way more liberal in this regard, for example but were also persecuted because of it).
Or, you could look at what happened to women who married Loyalists before or during the Revolutionary War, and what happened when their husbands had to flee the country. For example, Elizabeth Graeme secretly married Hugh Fergusson and he fled America because of his political affiliation; the colonial government seized all of "her" land and property and I don't believe she ever got it (all) back, despite having friends in high/well connected places. Elizabeth is one of the main four contributors to _Milcah Martha Moore's Book_, so you can find out more information about her in the critical edition we're reading for class.
Or you could further explore Cathy Davidson's claims about feme covert, and its consequences for women in early America. Last year Dr. Logan told us about this book, _Stray Wives: Marital Conflict in Early National New England_ by Mary Sievens, that discusses marriage and law - really cool stuff. Best of luck!