Kinship as a Categorical Concept: A Case Study of Nineteenth Century English Siblings

In the past few decades there has been a re-thinking about kinship and family relations across several disciplines. Kinship relations are now regarded more as active participation than static categories, always part of the cultural context of period and place. The Western emphasis on vertical relationships of parent and child has neglected the wider web of kinship, especially relations among siblings. Historians are increasingly aware of the greater saliency of wider kin in the 18th and 19th century shift to capitalist economic development, especially in an era of large families. These general issues are examined in the case of the upper middle class, Evangelical Gladstone family, particularly William Ewart's relationships with his older sister, Anne, and younger sister, Helen. Here the development of gender identity and the effect of age and birth order are highlighted within the intensely religious and moral culture of 19th century England.