The Children of Spring Street

Description

This book examines how the shifts in the early 19th century in New York City affected children in particular. Indeed, one could argue that within this context, that “children” and “childhood” came into being. In order to explore this, the skeletal remains of the children buried at the small, local, yet politically radical Spring Street Presbyterian Church are detailed. Population level analyses are combined with individual biological profiles from sorted burials and individual stories combed from burial records and archival data. What emerges are life histories of children—of infants, toddlers, younger children, older children, and adolescents—during this time of transition in New York City. When combined with historical data, these life histories, for instance, tell us about what it was like to grow up in this changing time in New York City Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Meredith A. B. Ellis)....Pages 1-16 A Sketch of a City (Meredith A. B. Ellis)....Pages 17-30 Hearth and Home: Infants, Birth Through 1.5 Years of Age (Meredith A. B. Ellis)....Pages 31-55 Exposures: Toddlers and Younger Children, 1.5–4.5 Years of Age (Meredith A. B. Ellis)....Pages 57-81 Restless Youth: Older Children, 4.5–9.5 Years of Age (Meredith A. B. Ellis)....Pages 83-108 Transitioning: 9.5–14.5 Years of Age (Meredith A. B. Ellis)....Pages 109-129 Deconstructing Childhood (Meredith A. B. Ellis)....Pages 131-138 Back Matter ....Pages 139-143