Puritan Family Life: The Diary of Samuel Sewall

Graham joins the ranks of those exceptionally articulate colonial historians--among them John Demos and Edmund S. Morgan--who are interested in the history of the American family. Basing her study of Puritan family life primarily on the diary of jurist and merchant Samuel Sewall (1652-1730), Graham seeks to topple common misconceptions about Puritan culture. The Sewalls, she contends, were not the joyless, repressive and brutal parents that Puritans are often thought to have been--they were engaged and affectionate. The author's arguments are not always persuasive, however. For example, she tries to make the case that Samuel's union with his wife, Hannah (the daughter of a wealthy silversmith), was not a marriage of mere convenience but a loving, companionate marriage filled with mutual respect. Although not implausible, Graham's claim isn't borne out by the evidence--the diary is all but silent on the subject of the Sewalls'marital relationship. On the other hand, Graham is at her best when discussing the Sewalls' relationships with their children (they had 14, eight of whom died quite young); although Philippe Ari s popularized the view that, until the 18th century, parents treated children as ""miniature adults"" and childhood wasn't recognized as a distinct developmental stage, the Sewalls, Graham suggests, didn't conform to these stereotypes. Samuel and Hannah took in a niece and nephew and several boys preparing to enter Harvard: these children, according to Graham, were treated as cherished members of the Sewall household. Graham also claims that Sewall remained intimately involved in the lives of his children and grandchildren long after they grew up. Illustrations. (Apr.)