Inventories, Interiors, and Women’s Ambitions: Strategies of Property Ownership in Three Mid-19th Century Montreal Public Houses

Abstract

Notarized inventories provide an important window onto the interiors of public houses, the image that keepers sought to project of their businesses and of themselves, and the type of guests they wanted to attract. In this micro history, I examine the degree of differentiation amongst three widows operating modest businesses located in highly trafficked Montreal neighbourhoods, in particular, the composition of their domestic capital, the business strategies they employed, and if they achieved social mobility. We know from earlier studies that movables were significant assets for earning a living, often critical to the survival of a widowed, separated, or abandoned woman. My argument goes further. I contend that women attempted, and some were able, to convert movables into immovable property, assets that were more secure and versatile. While publicans displayed a wide array of skills, statuses, and achievements, these three cases focus on the critical threshold, that interesting set of people at the boundary, aware of and struggling to achieve property ownership.