This book examines how the shifts in the early 19th century
in New York City affected children in particular. Indeed, one could
argue that within this context, that "children" and "childhood" came
into being.
In order to explore this, the skeletal remains of the children buried at
the small, local, yet politically radical Spring Street Presbyterian
Church are detailed. Population level analyses are combined with
individual biological profiles from sorted burials and individual
stories combed from burial records and archival data.
What emerges are life histories of children-of infants, toddlers,
younger children, older children, and adolescents-during this time of
transition in New York City. When combined with historical data, these
life histories, for instance, tell us about what it was like to grow up
in this changing time in New York City