This study focuses on the Moore-Youse family in Muncie, Indiana, a medium size city in Delaware County, Indiana, as a microcosm of Victorian ideology and material culture using the methods of historical archaeology and social history. The following thesis examines material conditions among this middle-class, female-centered, lineal family during the Victorian period using gender theory. In this study, archaeological materials and historical documents are used to explore the priorities and choices that influenced Muncie's middle class in making material decisions during the Victorian period.The Victorian Period in America was marked by rapid social change, growing industrialization and the transformation of gender roles. These changes created an expanded middle-class in communities across America. For the middle class the home was a sanctuary and Victorian women were expected to devote themselves to the home and family. Thus began the "cult of domesticity". This thesis explores the influence of gender roles in 19th century Indiana. / Department of Anthropology