ABSTRACT
While capitalism and a market economy have roots in the late Middle Ages, between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries families were still central to economic transactions. The importance of household credit has already been discussed, but families were equally important to the development of businesses throughout the period. The American families found in documents shared a similar world view there was no line between the maintenance of family relationships and the maintenance of family businesses. These documents cover a variety of family businesses and financial connections that covered multiple American colonies and crossed the Atlantic. Many families shared Elizabeth Smith's perspective; 'she was determined that her nieces would not grow up to be what she called "fine delicate creatures of the age"'.
