Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines how the Armistead and Winston families leveraged intergenerational kinship networks to preserve and reproduce elite authority as they migrated from colonial Virginia to the southern frontier. Rather than viewing migration as an individual pursuit, this study demonstrates that family alliances, shared resources, and long-standing ties shaped opportunity and authority across generations. Using family papers, letters, land deeds, wills, journals, and family trees, this project highlights how these connections functioned as forms of social capital that guided settlement, land acquisition, and community leadership on the frontier. This study serves as a guide for understanding how kinship networks operated and how power was created, sustained, and transferred through them.
Recommended Citation
Bates, Mindy L D, "Ties of Influence: The Armistead-Winston Network and Elite Mobility from Virginia to the Southern Frontier." (2026). Theses. 55.
https://roar.una.edu/theses/55
