Community care before the rise of the welfare state: Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1730-1820

This is a study of eighteenth-century local care networks in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The letters and petitions of desperate women and men document the channels those in need travelled. Details of sufferers' lives and their interactions with town authorities and care providers illuminate community-based relief pathways. Mapping the geography of poor relief through the experiences of individuals illuminate vibrant networks of local relief channels that sufferers not only knew about, but contributed to in an active way.