This biographical study accessed genealogical records, wills, probate records, and contemporary newspaper accounts to examine the lives of six generations of the middle-class merchant Dawbarn family of nineteenth-century Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Liverpool. The purpose was to assess the extent to which the experiences of this Dissenter family, with a focus on third-generation businessman and author William Dawbarn (1819-1881), conform to the well-known story of the rise of the English middle class. The Dawbarns did conform to the commercial and social patterns established by the middle class: sons joined fathers’ businesses; religion was central to life; successful businessmen participated in local politics; membership in associations was common; and partible inheritance was the norm when passing wealth to the next generation. All of this was accomplished within a society which placed a high value on conformity. Yet a close reading of William Dawbarn’s writing reveals a benevolently eccentric individual. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/3265 |
| Date | 29 April 2011 |
| Creators | Yeo, W. F. |
| Contributors | Grant, Mariel |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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