Close-Kin Marriage and Upper-Class Formation in Late-Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia

Abstract

In contrast with other contemporary urban elites, relatively few wealthy Philadel phians in the late eighteenth rentury married first cousins, and these marriages led to the forma tion of divisions among the wealthy rather than to social integration. These divisions and the social conflict which resulted from them were often strengthened by an emerging trend of rich Philadel phians marrying affinal kin. Philadelphia's religious norms, pluralistic social and political en vironment, changing business atmosphere, and latitudinarian marriage practices accounted for these patterns. The patterns, in turn, were part of a shift by wealthy Philadelphians toward "modern" family arrangements, based on affection, individualism, and voluntarism.

The effect of consanguineous marriage on reading disability in the Arab community

“…This phenomenon was common in the past (Anderson, 1986;Gough, 1983), but more recently the rates of consanguineous marriages have decreased (Bittels, Masson, Greene, & Rao, 1991). It is still prevalent, however, in many countries in Asia (Bittels, Grant, & Shami, 1993), North Africa, and the Middle East (Driver & Driver, 1988), where rates of such marriages reach 20-50% (Ansari & Sinha, 1978).…”

“…The rate of consanguineous marriage in different countries depends on religion, ethnicity, socio-cultural factors, and isolation of populations (Abdulkareem & Seifeddin, 1998;Bener, Abdullah, & Murdoch, 1993). This phenomenon was common in the past (Anderson, 1986;Gough, 1983), but more recently the rates of consanguineous marriages have decreased (Bittels, Masson, Greene, & Rao, 1991). It is still prevalent, however, in many countries in Asia (Bittels, Grant, & Shami, 1993), North Africa, and the Middle East (Driver & Driver, 1988), where rates of such marriages reach 20-50% (Ansari & Sinha, 1978).…”

Cousin marriage, hierarchy, and heredity: contestations over domestic and national body politics in 19th-century America

“…Hall notes two reasons. First, the marriage of cousins and of sibling sets-out of all other marriage possibilities-had a potent effect in concentrating wealth in land, labour, and/or capital precisely because it could counter the dispersive effects of American partible inheritance laws through the reduction of the number of divisions of inheritance in 2 For sources on cousins and cousin marriage in 18th-and 19th-century America, see, among others: Arner (1908), Brown (1951), Cashin (1990), Censer (1984), Faber (1972), Farrell (1993), Gough (1989), Griffen & Griffen (1977), Hall (1977Hall ( , 1978, Kulikoff (1976Kulikoff ( , 1986, Ottenheimer (1996), Reid (1988), Smith (1980), Supple (1997), Vernon (1979), Wiencek (1999), Wright (1889), and Wyatt- Brown (1982). 3 Sibling-set marriage refers to cases in which two brothers in one family marry two sisters in another, or a brother and sister in one family marry a sister and brother in another.…”