This chapter focuses on how the cultural legacy of Joseph Stephens’ experiences as a young man working on the railways in 1860s India were translated into his life as a father of three daughters. He made an exceptional socio-economic advancement from 10 years as a subcontractor to become the owner of a large iron estate in south Sweden in 1867. Still only 29 years old, when he returned to Sweden, he remained dependent on his father George’s advice. Their correspondence reflects George’s ambition for his children, and grandchildren, to improve, become educated, work hard, and make their own futures. This chapter discusses how Joseph passed on the ideals to his daughters. With lesser legal rights than men and obliged to live by other norms, they faced obstacles for having equal opportunities. What impact did Joseph’s years in India have on his relationship to his daughters and on their lives? The chapter discusses in depth his relationship to his youngest daughter, Maggie. In a cursory way, she seems the most distant from her father’s expectations on duty, diligence, and labour. Yet eventually, she might have been the one most closely to represent her father’s and grandfather’s ideals.

This study analyses the development of the use of unpublished source material in Swedish doctoral theses in history, 1959–2015. The results show that the proportion of theses which rely on such materials has dropped in relation to the level that existed up to and including the year 2007. From having dropped below 90% only twice during the time period 1959–2007, the average for the years 2008–2015 is 77%. There are several explanations as to why this decline in use of unpublished source material has occurred. An initial explanation is that more doctoral theses are now published within the subdiscipline of historical science, in which, for example, history didactics and uses of history are included. History didactics and uses of history have gained more ground within the overall field of historical research during the last 10 years. The next-to-lowest figures are found in the category history of ideas, culture, and opinion history; a category which during the time period 2008–2015 remained at a fairly constant share of the total number of doctoral defences in history in Sweden in relation to the situation at the beginning of the 2000s.