opulation or
indentured servant class to be confined to the lowest rung of the social
ladder. Here, each man either owned his "improvement" or operated under
some condition of tenancy. However, both indentured servitude and Negro
slavery existed in the "New Purchase" of 1768 in nearby Muncy.[25] Thus,
it was a two-class pattern, in the main, which constituted the Fair Play
society--landholders and tenants. In addition, though, there was a
further delineation within the landholding class on the basis of
character and morality. This characteristically Scotch-Irish
differentiation may have been due to the predominance of the Ulsterites
in the West Branch population.[26] In consideration of this fact, a
three-class structure, consisting of an elite, other landholders, and
tenants, would best describe the social class system of the Fair Play
territory.

The elite of the Fair Play society were generally the political and
economic leaders as well. They owned the "forts," operated the
gristmills, and held the prominent political positions in the vicinity.
Surprisingly enough, though, they frequently resided on the fringe areas
of the territory and were thus able to acquire more land.[27] A fuller
description of this elite and its leadership is given in the next
chapter.

The frontier family was undoubtedly the key social institution in
transmitting this new "American" culture to subsequent generations.
Regardless of national origin, the families were closely-knit,
well-disciplined units, whose members formed rather complete social and
economic entities. As we have already noted, the agrarian family had its
own division of labor, with each member carrying out his assigned tasks
and, at the same time, learning the practices and procedures of the
farmers' frontier. It was also the cultural and educational core, in
which its members learned their faith, received their education, and
acquired the values which would serve them throughout their lives.
Family loyalty was a marked characteristic on the frontier and,
incidentally, among the Scotch-Irish. The woman's lot was severe but she
accepted it with a submissiveness which can still be seen in some
backcountry areas of Pennsylvania today.[28] Clannish and dependent upon
each other, the frontier family had no use for divorce, which was
practically unknown.[29] If the patterns and values of these frontier
families tended to approximate those of the Scotch-Irish in particular,
and t