Who studies the family history of people with no descendants?
Professor of family history Amy Harris does. Her research expands the traditional definition of family and ancestors by focusing on those often overlooked in both genealogical records and historical narratives — the unmarried and childless.
In her book Being Single in Georgian England, Harris puts a spotlight on the roles of single adults in extended family life. Through a detailed case study of the Sharp family — a prominent 18th-century household that included the abolitionist Granville Sharp — Harris reveals how unmarried individuals were not peripheral, but essential, to the success and stability of the extended family.
What makes Harris’s work stand out is her insistence that family history should include all who contribute to family life, not just those who add relationships and offspring to the family tree. In her book, she argues that family is not defined solely by legal or biological ties but by the daily labor of care for and commitment to each other.
“Families are always work,” Harris says because she believes relationships take ongoing investment.
For example, she brings sibling relationships to the fore as emotionally and materially significant ties that often carried more daily weight than marital bonds. By highlighting these dynamics, Harris challenges assumptions about the kinds of relationships that are most influential in shaping the family experience.
Her interest in these themes has deeply personal roots. Raised in a large family herself, Harris observed from an early age how siblings, aunts, and cousins all played roles in caregiving, decision making, and offering emotional support. This lived experience sparked questions about why unmarried individuals have so often been overlooked in both public memory and scholarly work.
With a new perspective on the past, Harris feels we can also rethink our present relationships. She notes that “you can see how people invest in relationships, for good or ill, and decide what to do or not do going forward.” Her work is a reminder that family life has always been more diverse and multifaced than the nuclear model suggests and that meaningful relationships exist far beyond the confines of marriage and parenthood.
Harris was recently appointed as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHS), a prestigious honor in her field. The RHS fellowship will provide her access to historical archives, further enhancing her opportunities for research and collaboration.
Benefit from more of Harris’ research by investigating records from the Early British Census Project provided with assistance from students at the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy.