Mintz and Kellogg also use the "typical" New England family as a means of comparison for all other groups in the colonial period. I found this to be rather strange as they were, as Mintz and Kellogg point out, very different from the families of the Chesapeake as well as the other family groups they discuss. There were a few common themes though that transcended all of the different ethnicities, one of which was the use of names. I found it very interesting that naming children was one of the few consistent ways of maintaining traditions between generations and was used as a way to maintain family continuity. Even in the very volatile world of the slave families, as Mintz and Kellogg point out, children of African slaves were named "for a parent or other blood kin." The naming of one's children appears to be something that people could control despite their families level of stability. --Sarah Gardner | Mintz and Kellogg also use the "typical" New England family as a means of comparison for all other groups in the colonial period. I found this to be rather strange as they were, as Mintz and Kellogg point out, very different from the families of the Chesapeake as well as the other family groups they discuss. There were a few common themes though that transcended all of the different ethnicities, one of which was the use of names. I found it very interesting that naming children was one of the few consistent ways of maintaining traditions between generations and was used as a way to maintain family continuity. Even in the very volatile world of the slave families, as Mintz and Kellogg point out, children of African slaves were named "for a parent or other blood kin." The naming of one's children appears to be something that people could control despite their families level of stability. --Sarah Gardner |