The Goodale family: seven generations of continuity and change in Marlborough, Massachusetts
Date
1985
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
In recent years historians Christopher Clark, Robert Gross, James Henretta, Paul Johnson, Michael Merrill, and Jonathan Prude have researched the effects of industrialization on rural New Englanders of the nineteenth century. According to their studies, New England's shift from an economy based on agriculture to one based on industry and the developing urban market adversely affected farm families. People suffered a breakdown of family and community ties and the loss of a traditional value system based on these ties. The difficulties arose as families attempted to reconcile two conflicting systems, the old order in which the maintenance of kinship and communalties was the primary goal of many families, and the new, in which this goal was replaced by a desire to earn a profit in the marketplace. In short, the transition from the old order to the new was marked by emotional stress on individuals, families, and communities. ☐ This study of the Goodale family suggests, however, that the transition was not always a difficult one. Seven generations of this family lived on the same farm in Marlborough, Massachusetts from 1702 to 1927, and many of their papers and possessions survive. Most date from 1820 to 1880, years which, according to the recent studies, were difficult ones for New England farmers. Examination of these financial records, letters, diaries, and books reveals that for the Goodales these years were not especially stressful. They adopted such elements of the modern world as scientific agriculture, investment in the stockmarket, and the production of crops for the urban market. At the same time they retained past generations' belief in the importance of family ties, religious and civic participation, and adherence to a conservative value system. ☐ This ability to integrate the old and the new orders and to see them as complementary rather than conflicting systems enabled the Goodales to lead financially successful and culturally rewarding lives. More importantly, their ability to make a smooth transition from the old to the new indicates that despite what historians have said, New England's shift from a rural agricultural economy to an urban industrial one was not necessarily difficult for farmers and their families.