Growing Old in the Early Republic

A gerontology history focusing on the elderly in Connecticut from 1790 to 1830 demonstrating that growing old during the preindustrial age was characterized more by uncertainty than the stereotypical image of the elderly being supported by communal and familial ties. Scott's dissertation investigat

---

The focus for this study is Connecticut and the city of Hartford. The text explores different themes and experiences of the elderly in Connecticut in the years between 1790 and 1830 The purpose of the book is to record and to illuminate the spiritual and emotional aspects of being elderly, the economic consequences of growing old, and the ways social experience changed with advancing years.