Married with Children : The Family Status of Female Agricultural Labourers at Two Southwestern Farms in the 1830s and 1840s
While female factory workers and agricultural servants were primarily young and single, female agricultural labourers were more likely to be middle-aged, married mothers. This paper examines the female labourers at two south-western farms and finds that middle-aged married women account for the majority of days worked. Widows and mothers of illegitimate children account for only a small fraction o