'A large house on the downs': household archaeology and middle-class gentility in early 19th-century Ferryland, Newfoundland

Abstract

This thesis uses a household-based archaeological approach to examine changing settlement patterns and lifeways associated with a period of crucial change on Newfoundland’s southern Avalon Peninsula – namely the first half of the 19th century. The period witnessed a significant increase in permanent residents (including a large influx of Irish Catholic immigrants), the downfall of the migratory fishery (and resulting shift to a family-based resident fishery), and radical political/governmental changes associated with increased colonial autonomy. As part of these developments, a new middle class emerged composed mainly of prosperous fishermen and individuals involved in local government. A micro-historical approach is used to analyze a single household assemblage in Ferryland, thus shedding light on the development of a resident ‘outport gentry’ and changing use of the landscape in this important rural centre. Though likely initially built by a member of Ferryland’s elite (Vice-Admiralty Judge William Carter), the major occupation of the structure, as seen archaeologically, appears to be represented by the tenancies of two upper middle-class families. Comparative analysis places this household and its social landscape in the broader community of Ferryland, as well as emergent upper middle-class society in North America.