Four Generations - by Philip Greven (Hardcover)

About the Book

Studies four successive generations of life in a New England town during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, focusing on the nature of family life and relationships in an agrarian society.

Book Synopsis

A groundbreaking study in colonial history, this book gives a remarkably detailed picture of life in an early American community. It focuses on three basic and interrelated subjects largely neglected by historians--population, land, and the family--as they affected the lives of four successive generations. Applying demographic methods to historical research, Professor Greven presents new and unexpected evidence about the most basic aspects of family life in colonial America, and shows how these characteristics changed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Review Quotes

Originally published in 1970 and now in its seventh printing, Greven's book was one of the pioneering histories that sought to explore American society through close examination of individuals and families in specific locales.

This is a study that requires discussion in superlatives. For the first time someone has actually charted changes in the character of the early American family over a period of time.... A model of the enlightened use of historical demography.... This superb book deserves the careful attention of historians and sociologists.

About the Author

Philip J. Greven is Professor Emeritus of History at Rutgers University.