A sociological study that explores the impact of urban-industrial life on the kinship system of the working classes in nineteenth-century Lancashire. Dr Anderson asks 'Why should people be interested in maintaining relationships with kin rather than with other members of their social networks?' He analyses this question through Lancashire data and shows that life in factory towns posed major problems for the inhabitants that could best be met by help from kin. The author presents topical data on household structure, residence patterns and population turnover within the towns, migration patterns, the incidence of poverty, the role of the family in finding homes and employment for relatives, the age of marriage, parent-child conflicts, and baby-minding of the children of working mothers. He draws specific comparisons between the situations in rural Lancashire and pre-famine Ireland and sets his findings in a wider historical and cross-cultural context. This book will interest scholars and graduates specialising in sociology and history and will serve as a valuable reference book for undergraduates.