I just matched up the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry of Michael Willis, minister and prof of theology, to his entry in the 1861 census.
A sentence from the DCB: "The name of his wife is not known."
What did he call her in the 1861 census? "Mrs"
And that was life for a great many women of the middle of the nineteenth century.
Last week I came across Mr Cooney, a blacksmith, whose household list of inhabitants started with himself, proceeded to a female servant and her two children, and then to a married Bridget Cooney and two more children bearing the surname Cooney. Hmmm.
I hope they all knew their place.
And that was life for a great many women of the middle of the nineteenth century.
Last week I came across Mr Cooney, a blacksmith, whose household list of inhabitants started with himself, proceeded to a female servant and her two children, and then to a married Bridget Cooney and two more children bearing the surname Cooney. Hmmm.
I hope they all knew their place.
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Even late in the 20th century in rural Ontario (and maybe still so), I found women proudly bearing the title of "Mrs. John Smith" rather than any reference to their own personal name, let alone birth surname. Not that I'm a radical feminist, but it's an odd reminder that in some places and cultures (mostly anglo-saxon??) the married female was more than willing to submerge her public identity into male superiority.
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