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Status Creation and Maintenance among the Delaware Valley Elite: The Rise and Fall of the Field Family

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Abstract

Archaeological excavations at the White Hill Mansion in Fieldsboro, Burlington County, New Jersey, revealed material evidence of identity construction and maintenance among the Delaware Valley’s rural elite during the late colonial and early Republic periods. This article focuses on the lives and experiences of the Field family at White Hill and, in particular, three of the property’s owners: Robert Field II, a successful merchant; his wife Mary Peale Field; and their son Robert Field III. The Fields were significant participants in the distinctive Quaker-influenced regional culture of the Delaware Valley, at times successfully and at times less so. Through agency theory, social constructs of gentility, documentary research, and both above- and below-ground archaeological evidence, the ways in which the Fields and their relatives employed material culture to create and maintain social, economic, and political identities from the 1750s to the 1810s are examined. The evidence reveals that individual family members used various methods and cultural behaviors to cultivate and sustain desired identities that occasionally had unintended and destructive consequences.

Extracto

Las excavaciones arqueológicas en la Mansión White Hill en Fieldsboro, Condado de Burlington, Nueva Jersey, revelaron evidencia material de la construcción y mantenimiento de identidad entre la élite rural del Valle de Delaware durante los períodos colonial tardío y de principios de la república. Este artículo se enfoca en las vidas y experiencias de la familia Field en White Hill y, en particular, de tres de los propietarios de la propiedad: Robert Field II, un comerciante exitoso; su esposa Mary Peale Field; y su hijo Robert Field III. Los Fields participaron de manera significativa en la cultura regional distintiva influenciada por los cuáqueros del valle de Delaware, a veces con éxito y otras veces no tanto. A través de la teoría de la agencia, las construcciones sociales de la gentileza, la investigación documental y la evidencia arqueológica por encima y por debajo del suelo, se examinan las formas en que los Fields y sus familiares interactuaron con la cultura material para crear y mantener identidades sociales, económicas y políticas desde la década de 1750 hasta la década de 1810. La evidencia revela que los miembros individuales de la familia usaron varios métodos y comportamientos culturales para cultivar y mantener las identidades deseadas que ocasionalmente tuvieron consecuencias no deseadas y destructivas.

Résumé

Les fouilles archéologiques effectuées sur le site de la White Hill Mansion à Fieldsboro, comté de Burlington dans le New Jersey, ont mis à jour des éléments matériels relatifs à la construction et au maintien d'une identité parmi l'élite rurale de la Vallée du Delaware au cours de la fin de la période coloniale et au début de la république. Cet article s'intéresse aux vies et expériences de la famille Field à White Hill et en particulier, à trois des propriétaires de la demeure : Robert Field II, un négociant prospère, son épouse Mary Peale Field, et leur fils Robert Field III. Les Field étaient des participants importants de la culture régionale typique influencée par les Quakers dans la Vallée du Delaware, parfois avec succès et parfois moins. Une étude est effectuée sur la base de la théorie de l'agentivité, des constructions sociales d'appartenance à une classe supérieure, de la recherche documentaire et des preuves archéologiques de terrain et souterraines, mais également des manières grâce auxquelles les Field et les membres de leur famille se sont appuyés sur la culture matérielle pour créer et maintenir des identités sociales, économiques et politiques entre les années 1750 et 1810. Les preuves révèlent que les membres individuels de la famille utilisaient des méthodes et comportements culturels variés afin de cultiver et faire perdurer des identités souhaitées, ayant eu parfois des conséquences destructrices et involontaires.

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Notes

  1. The provinces of East and West New Jersey existed between 1674 and 1702, before proprietors surrendered governance rights to the English Crown. The division line between the two provinces in the colony separated northeast New Jersey from southwest New Jersey. Each province was controlled by different proprietors, resulting in distinctly separate settlement patterns. West Jersey was primarily settled by English Quakers and maintained strong cultural ties to Philadelphia. East Jersey was initially settled by immigrants from New England, the Netherlands and New Netherland, and Scotland, and had strong cultural and commercial ties to New York City (Wacker 1975:221–329; Klett 2013:3–13). The Field family’s White Hill estate is located in the former province of West New Jersey.

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Acknowledgments:

The authors are grateful to Loretta Kelly of the Friends of White Hill Mansion; Fieldsboro mayor David R. Hansell; Elizabeth Allan and Jesse Gordon of Morven Museum and Garden; the Borough of Fieldsboro; Stanton Green, former dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Fredrick McKitrick, former chair of the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University. Archaeological Society of New Jersey volunteers assisted with the archaeological excavations. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Monmouth University’s 2011 and 2013 archaeological field schools at White Hill are particularly thanked for their participation. Funding was provided by the New Jersey Historic Trust and by a generous private donation made by Helen Crossley. Monmouth University and RGA, Inc., provided equipment for completing excavations at White Hill. Sean Bratton, Sevrie Corson, Jack Cresson, Darryl Daum, Jamie Esposito, Allison Gall, Poul Graversen, Ilene Grossman-Bailey, Adam Heinrich, Tabitha Hilliard, Eric Lauenstien, Erin Leswig, Sean McHugh, Emily Grace Smith, and Scott Weiczoreck helped supervise archaeological excavations at White Hill. David Mudge provided field survey data for excavation locations at White Hill. Jamie Anchetta, Andrew Colucci, Matthew Craig, Vernoica Dehais, Jamie Esposito, Giovanna Inserra, Danielle Kuchar, Hillary Marsh, Kat Muller, Amanda Pasterchick, and Lauren Wood are thanked for assistance in artifact analysis. Sandi Gammon, Ian Burrow, and Joshua Butchko of Hunter Research, Inc., provided vital assistance in collecting data and conducting research on Morven. Chris Barton, Meta Janowitz, and an anonymous reviewer provided useful edits on earlier drafts of this paper.

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  1. Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc., 259 Prospect Plains Road, Building D, Cranbury, NJ, 08512, U.S.A.

    Lauren Lembo & Michael J. Gall

  2. Department of History and Anthropology, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ, 07764-1898, U.S.A.

    Richard F. Veit

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Lembo, L., Gall, M.J. & Veit, R.F. Status Creation and Maintenance among the Delaware Valley Elite: The Rise and Fall of the Field Family. Hist Arch 54, 375–403 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-020-00238-4

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