Research: Single, White Slaveholding Women
Finding fresh insights into the lives of privileged white women in the nineteenth century American south by examining the impact of being single.
Summary
Research summary
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2007 to 2018
Dr Marie Molloy examined the lives of more than 300 single, white slaveholding women living in the southern states of America during the nineteenth-century.
She used different perspectives to consider the women’s lives: identity, work, family, friendship, law and property rights.
Based on her analysis of letters, diaries, court records and other primary sources, Dr Molloy argues that categorising the women by their singleness - being young and as yet unmarried, never married, widowed, separated or divorced - offers fresh perspectives on female experiences.
In particular, she argues that singleness was a route to autonomy and independence for many slaveholding women.
While their class and social position meant they were expected to be examples of southern femininity, many of the women discussed also had opportunities to significantly shape their own lives, particularly during and after the Civil War, which acted as a catalyst for social change.
Quote
Too often historians see married white women as normative and marginalize those who do not fit within this paradigm. By challenging this presumption, Marie Molloy’s careful examination of single, white, slaveholding women adds new avenues of exploration.
Outputs
Research outputs
Publications
- Molloy, M (2018) Single, White, Slaveholding Women in the Nineteenth-Century American South Univ of South Carolina Press
Academic papers
- Molloy, M (2016) “A Noble Class of Old Maids”: Surrogate Motherhood, Sibling Support, and Self-Sufficiency in the Nineteenth-Century White, Southern Family Journal of Family History, Vol. 41(4), October. 2016, pp.402-429
Team
Research team
Lead researcher
With support from:
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David Bruce Centre, Keele University
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Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina
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The Frances Mellon Fellowship, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond
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South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston
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South Caroliniana, University of South Carolina
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Peter Parish Memorial Fund, British American Nineteenth Century Historians
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Archie K Davis Fellowship, North Caroliniana Society
Funding
With funding from
David Bruce Centre
Virginia Historical Society
Peter J Parish Memorial Fund
Archie K David Fellowship
Royal Historical Society
Contact
Contact us
For general enquiries about the linked research groups, you can contact:
- Religion, Race, Ethnicity and Community: Dr Andrew Crome and Rachel Lichtenstein
- Youth, Gender and Sexuality: Dr April Pudsey and Dr Craig Griffiths
