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Elderly migrants in a northern Swedish town in the nineteenth century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2002

ANN-KRISTIN HÖGMAN
Affiliation:
Department of History, Division for Social Sciences, Karlstad University, Sweden.

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of industrialization and urbanization on the migration patterns of elderly Swedish men and women in the town of Sundsvall during the nineteenth century. The geographical mobility of old men and women increased as industrialization proceeded. Social ties were important factors in the decision to migrate, and the study investigates in particular the significance of social networks for childless old persons. This analysis also examines migration patterns among elderly men and women of different social groups. Very few childless men seem to have moved to live with a relative, whereas a higher proportion of migrating women in this category had some kinship network. A similar pattern was found among widowers and widows. There was also a class dimension: relatives seem to have been most important for the group of women belonging to the petty bourgeoisie.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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