| Summary: | It is only in the past few years that gender-specific characterization of old age in Modern Galicia has been considered as a distinct field of historical research. This preliminary analysis of old aged females in this region of Spain covers four rural districts in southern Galicia, selected on the basis of their geophysical diversity, demographic dynamics and economic structure. The sources belong to the Ensenada land registry (1752), the 1877 census, and records from public notaries. For each district I examine the proportion of women older than 59 years who acted as head of their household, and the size, composition, structure and means of subsistence of these households (including data on the size of farms, the number of cattle and other livestock, and other activities). Considering the frequent permanence of offspring in the homes of elderly parents, I also investigate the mechanisms of family assistance and, in particular, the system of “preferential” inheritance.
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