A Nineteenth-Century Middle-Class Family
Whereas colonial-era families were large, often with six to eight children, nineteenth-century middle-class couples, such as Azariah and Eliza Caverly, pictured here in 1836 by Joseph H. Davis (1811–1865), consciously limited their fertility, treated their spouses with affection, and carefully supervised the education of their children. The Caverlys’ daughter fingers a Bible, suggesting her future moral responsibilities as a mother, while their son holds a square ruler, either indicating Azariah’s profession or foreshadowing the son’s career as a prosperous architect or engineer. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, New York.