HOUSEHOLDS AND HIDDEN KIN IN EARLY-19TH-CENTURY ENGLAND - 4 CASE-STUDIES IN SUBURBAN EXETER, 1821-1861

This article explores kin relationships between household heads and re sident domestic servants in a suburban road in Exeter between 1841 and 1861. In particular it focuses on cases where the census does not rec ord a kin relationship, and where the surnames of householder and serv ant are different, yet it has been possible to establish a blood relat ionship between the two individuals. The unusual methodology used for the micro-study, in particular the researching of female as well as ma le lines of descent, has produced interesting new conclusions with reg ard to proportions of resident kin in households in the early nineteen th century, and also on the nature of domestic service in the period.