Communities of Kinship
Author: Carolyn Earle Billingsley
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 2004
Total Pages: 236
ISBN-13: 9780820325101
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBillingsley reminds us that, contrary to the accepted notion of rugged individuals heeding the proverbial call of the open spaces, kindred groups accounted for most of the migration to the South's interior and boundary lands. In addition, she discusses how, for antebellum southerners, the religious affiliation of one's parents was the most powerful predictor of one's own spiritual leanings, with marriage being the strongest motivation to change them. Billingsley also looks at the connections between kinship and economic and political power, offering examples of how Keesee family members facilitated and consolidated their influence and wealth through kin ties.