The article focuses on a study on the transformation that occurred in the structure of the family and household in the nineteenth century in Moncton, New Brunswick. In recent years social historians have provided with many new and sometimes startling, insights into conditions of people's lives in the nineteenth century. The study aims at adding to the reconstruction of the past by a case study of Moncton from 1851 to 1871. Specifically, household and family structure in Moncton is examined in order to determine the validity of various theories about effects of industrialization on household structure. In the first part of the paper, researchers briefly review the major theoretical formulations. In the second part, researchers examine these formulations in light of data from Moncton. Sociologists have long recognized the significance of the family as a critical social organization for the transmission of societal values. The family, however, has boundaries that are highly malleable. As researcher Michael Anderson notes, the family can be seen as a recruitment base, selecting new members on the basis of blood or marriage ties and having a limitless potential for expansion. The rationale behind the selective recruitment of family members has long occupied the attention of sociologists.