The family system prevailing among a small ethnic group towards the end of the pre-industrial era is examined on the basis of data from a parish in Northern Russia. Identification of the factors shaping this system is facilitated by a comparison with descriptions of ethnic Russian family systems in Southern and Central European Russia, which have been studied more extensively. The characteristics of the family system in the community described here conform most closely to the latter. Since little microstructural research has been done on Northern Russia, the data presented here will serve as an example of the development of the family system in the region in the nineteenth century.