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Title: Northern Co-residence across Generations: In Northernmost Norway during the Last Part of the Nineteenth Century

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2011

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Abstract: The dissertation consists of three articles in addition to a comprehensive introduction. Article One is devoted to the complex issue of how ethnic affiliation should be understood in population censuses. The focus is on the Sámi population in Finnmark in the period between 1855 and 1875. The article indicates that, despite quite clear instructions, registration practices demonstrate a variety of perceptions about how to categorize a person as Sámi. Further, it is argued that one way to understand this diversity in registration practices could be to analyse how ethnicity is displayed at the household level. The discussion is approached from three different perspectives, namely, ancestral, cultural and linguistic criteria. First, the article suggests that the household level gives a more accurate picture of how the ancestry criterion is used per se, because censuses also provide information on family interrelationships. Second, and perhaps more interestingly, the household level indicates why the census-takers in some cases used a criterion other than pure genealogy—we find a mixed marriage as a main reason for someone being registered as, for example, “Norwegian, but lives like a Sámi”. The study also demonstrates that the cultural criterion does not necessarily follow the typical patriarchal rule, whereby women were given the husband’s ethnicity in cases of mixed marriages. Article One constitutes an important basis for the construction of an ethnic variable in Article Two. Article Two discusses what effects ethnic affiliation and economic activity had upon intergenerational co-residence in the NTF area during the last part of the nineteenth century. By the close of the century, less than half of all elderly people resided with an own adult child compared with approximately 60 to 65 per cent 35 years earlier. It is argued that ethnicity played a role; however, its effect disappeared after controlling for economic activity. Intergenerational co-residence was positively associated with being a married Sámi male with an occupation in farming or combined fishing and farming. As he grew older, he was increasingly more likely to live separately from an own adult child. This pattern changed towards the end of the nineteenth century. By the close of the century ethnic differences regarding intergenerational co-residence had disappeared, and headship position, irrespective of marital status, was strongly related to co-residence across generations. Article Three starts where Article Two ends. By focusing on the group that showed the most significant changes in co-residence behaviour, that is, the widowed and dependent elderly, Article Three discusses from an ethnic perspective what effects demographic variables such as age, sex and marital status had upon the living arrangements of the elderly; more specifically, we examine how the position as head of the household can be a valuable expression of people’s dependency or independency when two adult generations co-reside. As a way to understand the changes, the article discusses the peasant’s pension system and how different inheritance practices may have affected property transfer and living arrangements. A different inheritance practice among the Sámi, ultimogeniture, (that is, preference given to the youngest child), is argued to have had a pronounced effect on the higher rate of intergenerational co-residence found in 1865 and 1875. By the close of the century, we find a decrease in intergenerational co-residence among the elderly residing with married sons, and this change occurred irrespective of ethnic affiliation. Thus, just as the inheritance practice may have expressed an ethnic practice in 1865 and 1875, its articulation was less visible in 1900. The introduction presents a meta-reflection and discussion of the three related articles. The historiography section discusses how the study of family living arrangements over the past 50 years may be viewed from two distinct theoretical and methodological perspectives and indicates how this dissertation is located within these perspectives. The model and theoretical discussion presented in Chapter Two constitute the framework for the analysis of all three articles. A more detailed discussion of the variables and methods used in the articles is presented in Chapter Three. The last section presents a thorough description of the family and household composition in the NTF area during the study period. The main purpose here is to demonstrate that intergenerational co-residence, defined as the elderly (aged +60 years) residing with an own adult child (aged +18 years), should be understood within the context of how the whole society constituted its living arrangements. Thereafter follows a discussion of key concepts such as ageing, family, household, kinship and the representation of these concepts in primarily local history books from the region. The Conclusion aims to summarize the research objectives, the theoretical and methodological choices and how this dissertation puts forward new knowledge in family history.

Url: https://munin.uit.no/bitstream/handle/10037/3372/thesis.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y

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Authors: Jåstad, Hilde, L

Institution:

Department: Department of History and Religious Studies

Advisor:

Degree: Dr. Art. Degree Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education

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Pages: 77

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Housing and Segregation

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