The history of the Ottoman family is a subject of new attention. Ottomanists have studied the families of several groups living in various parts of the empire from various aspects, such as family relations or household types. Thus far the main focus has fallen on the Ottoman provinces and on the late nineteenth century Istanbul. Less attention, however, has been given to the families of palace- affiliated female slaves in the early modern era. The career of a female slave in the Ottoman imperial harem could have changed or ended in one of three ways: entry into the dynastic family as a consort, promotion to one of the administrative offices of the harem institution, or manumission after completing the service period. An examination of court registers reveals that even though a number of household staff were not married and eventually died in the harem, the great majority of female palace slaves were manumitted and married off to suitable persons. This paper will explore the family structure of palace affiliated women, especially those of the administrative staff and of the rank and file by dealing with several questions related to various aspects of the family such as the number of children, divorce, second marriage, polygamy and possession of domestic slaves. It demonstrates how palace affiliation had an impact on their family structure. This paper argues that palace affiliation resulted in the appearence of a different kind of family structure with unique characteristics such as absence of natal family, limited number of children and free-born askeri husbands with a natal family of their own. This study contributes to the idea that no single family model existed in the Ottoman Empire. It further argues that there was a large spectrum of family arrangements, determined by various factors such as region, religion, class, occupation and also affiliation to the imperial palace.