'What Is Done in My Absence?' Levi Lincoln's Oakham, Massachusetts, Farm Workers, 1807-20.

Focuses on the intersection of the agricultural and industrial phases of New England's history, and attacks the idea of the self-sufficient farmer by studying in detail the Merino sheep operation owned by Levi Lincoln at Oakham, Massachusetts. Early- 19th-century agricultural activity in Worcester County was very diversified, and the wool industry was one aspect of agriculture that was linked to industrial change in the same era. Examines the organization of farm labor necessary to support this development, and sketches the life of the migrant farm worker. Appends a short note on migrant labor conditions in Massachusetts, 1812-24.