Title: Parental and Sibling Influences on Marriage Timing in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Quebec
Abstract: This article targets marriage as well as celibacy as critical demographic phenomena which illuminate the evolution of social reproduction and the balance of intergenerational power. The study draws upon the Registre de la population du Qu?bec ancien which extends from 1621 to 1799 to address family influences on the timing of marriage in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Qu?bec, exploring how intersecting parental and sibling characteristics and events affected the hazard of marriage for persons born in Qu?bec before 1739. The paternal authority hypothesis is generally confirmed by both simple statistics and an event-history analysis which shows the favourable chances of first-born daughters and sons to marry, both in terms of their higher intensity of marriage and their generally younger ages at marriage. Younger children were less likely to marry if their elder siblings were not yet married. A 'passed over'? effect is also observed: both women and men had an especially lower risk of marriage if they had younger siblings who were already married. Notable proportions of Qu?bec women married out of birth order. This research suggests a more nuanced understanding of the balance between paternal authority and individual choice. Parents played critical roles in children's residential and marriage decisions, yet evidence also suggests some bargaining power on the part of children who benefited from favourable demographic or economic circumstances.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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