Integral History Project Groningen

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Introduction

Cohort Analysis Integral History Project Groningen: Life courses of persons born around 1811, 1830, 1850 and 1870 in the Groningen Clay Region and the city of Groningen. The original aim in 1987 was to get insight in the life of ordinary people and in this way add to a so-called “Integral History” for Groningen city and nearby countryside for the period 1770-1914.

Shortname

IHPG

IDS compatible

Period

1770 - 1914

Territory

Groningen, Netherlands

Category

Semi Longitudinal

Contact information

Organisation

University of Groningen, Faculty of Arts, Economic and Social History – Research Centre for Historical Studies.

Web Address

http://www.rug.nl/

Location

Groningen, Netherlands

Postal Address

Oude Kijk in ’t Jatstraat 26 9712 EK Groningen, The Netherlands

Contact Persons

Richard Paping

r.f.j.paping@rug.nl

Citation

Cohort Analysis Integral History Project Groningen, 1830, 1850, 1870

Questionnaire
Download questionnaire
The questionnaire was submitted on 25 May 2015 by Richard Paping

Scope / Status

Original goal

The original aim in 1987 was to get insight in the life of ordinary people and in this way add to a so-called “Integral History” for Groningen city and nearby countryside for the period 1770-1914. For this NWO (Dutch Research Council) funded project lead by prof.dr. Pim Kooij, other databases were created covering provincial and municipal accounts and census data on households 1830-1910. A selected sample of births in 9 of the 36 municipalities in the Groningen clay area (about half the province of Groningen) and a double sample for the city of Groningen were taken. For every municipality the first 120 births were chosen from 1 August 1811, 1 January 1830, 1 January 1850 and 1 January 1870 onwards (5,280 persons). These persons were first followed within the municipality and neighbouring municipalities until 1918 using information from civil registration (birth, death and marriage records), and dynamic population registers (from 1850 onwards). Information on parents at birth, occupations, place of settlements (migration), marriage and personal details of the marriage partner, birth of children and moment when they left the parents were assembled. After 1995 the Integral History Project survived for nearly 10 year as a small joint NWO-funded project with some Russian universities to stimulate demographic research, resulting in two books. The database for the rural 9 municipalities for the years 1830, 1850 and 1870 (3,240 persons) was further improved for a different NWO-funded project in 1996-1997 on ‘family strategies’ to cover also all migrations within the whole of the province of Groningen until 1920 while more information on the history of the parents was added, and in the period 2003-2007 for a PHD-project to also cover all migrations inside the Netherlands as a whole until 1940. Consequently there are only very few missing values in the database.

Sample definition

A selected sample of births in 9 of the 36 municipalities in the Groningen clay area (about half the province of Groningen) and a double sample for the city of Groningen were taken. For every municipality the first 120 births were chosen from 1 August 1811, 1 January 1830, 1 January 1850 and 1 January 1870 onwards (5,280 persons). 1.Which source forms the basis for the sample? Civil birth certificates: the first 120 births from 1 August 1811, 1 January 1830, 1850, 1870 onwards were transcribed on a form: name child, name parents, occupation parents, signature father, date of birth, date of certificate and number, place of birth (municipality and village). Stillborns reported in the civil birth registration were not taken into account. The 1811 cohort starts 1 August, because at this date the civil registration started in the province of Groningen, before that date you have to search in baptism registers which give far less information (for instance no occupation). A problem with the 1811 cohort is also that the surnames were often nog correct, as a lot of Dutch people (especially in the countryside) only chose a surname in the years around 1811, and they also did not always use them. Actually, this was a major problem with the construction of the 1811 cohort, resulting in quite a lot of people leaving no trace except for the birth certificate. For some villages the baptism records were inspected, as they sometimes give other extra information on names. For the sample persons marriage and death certificates in the civil registration were searched for individually in the province of Groningen. At that time this was rather time consuming as every municipality had a ten year index (making searching easier, but not that easy), and overall indices were missing (at the moment excerpts of the whole civil registration of the province of Groningen have been digitalised: allegroningers.nl, and the same is the case for large parts of the rest of the Netherlands, for instance: wiewaswie.nl. This makes searching for lost people much easier than at the moment the database was generally constructed) The relevant information in these certificates was transcribed and put on a form. Also the sample persons and their family were looked for in the available censuses (usually 1830 and 1840) in the municipalities of birth. After 1850 for most of the municipalities a dynamic Population Register is available, which was renewed every 10 year (but not always, some Population Registers even stretched over 40 years: for instance 1860-1900). The information and changes in this information in the Population Register were also taken over on the form. Especially the names an birth dates of children of sample persons were taken over from the Population Register, and only controlled using the birth and death registration (especially to find the registration of stillborns and mortality of babies after a few days that was missing in the Population Register). Sample persons were followed after migration in the Population Register of the municipality of settlement (usually in Groningen, for the rural cohorts 1830, 1850 and 1870 also in the rest of the Netherlands). Migration to the USA (not always reported in the Population Registers) was also controlled using the available departure registers of the province of Groningen from 1846 onwards (which were, however, also not complete). 2. Sampling units: Individual sample persons were followed through their life. Nine rural municipalities were chosen for the selection procedure scattered rather evenly across the region. Zuidhorn and Hoogkerk in Westerkwartier district (west), Leens, Uithuizen and Bedum in Hunsingo district (northwest), Appingedam and Stedum in Fivelingo district (northeast), Beerta and Winschoten in Oldambt district (east). However, both rural centres (Appingedam and Winschoten) were selected. A double sample was taken for the large city of Groningen: 240 3. Variables used for selection: All children born irrespective of gender. 4. Selection method: Clustered (see before).

Geographic area under observation

The province of Groningen

Keywords

demography, life course, history, social science, civil certificates, population register, migration, occupations

Sources

From year	End year	Source	Explanation	PDF
1811	1920	Baptism	Limited: To compare information with official records.
1850	1940	Population registers		PDF
1811	1906	Civil birth certificates	Birth certificates after 1906 were not yet public by that time.	PDF
1811	1931	Civil marriage certificates	Idem	PDF
1811	1960	Civil death certificates	Idem	PDF
1830	1840	Population Census	Afterwards population register.	PDF
1811	1900	Military draft records	If available in the appendices of the marriage certificates, not systematically.
1811	1920	Municipal taxes	If available, not systematically.
1846	1900	Departure lists for USA
1811	1960	Genealogies	If available, to find lost persons.
1811	1960	Several internet sources	Limited: to find lost persons.

Collection procedure

• When the data was collected and transcribed? - Most of the data was collected in the period 1988-1993. Major additional improvements were being made in the period 1996-1997 and in 2002-2006. Only some limited additions were being made since 2006. • Data collection method: Transcription by hand on forms of relevant information. Transcription was largely done by hired research assistants, PHD-students and Postdocs, but also some initially by Master students history. • Sources were usually on microfilm (civil registration and Population Registers), although sometimes also the archival source was used (Population Registers). • Because transcription was done by hand, there were no automatic controls. • How was the checking of the transcription done? -No separate systematic checking of the transcriptions happened.Some checking was done during the whole research process, and a general check on consistency on the rural parts was done 1996-1997. • Purpose of the transcription: The database was created for research reasons. The life course of ordinary people was researched for sake of creating an integral history of the area in the long 19th century. That’s why it is called Integral History Database. • Control methods by researcher: Later on for the digitalised database some computer controls were done on the consistency of the data. Also the information in the database was continuously controlled during the search, as a lot of sources give partly the same information. However, this control was not done in a systematic way. • Data collection staff: Last years no staff is involved anymore structurally in collection, although a senior lecturer has done some minor improvements, and in 2015 a paid Reseach master student-assistant is updating the digital outlook of the database. • In the period 1988-1993 a considerable number of people worked on collection: a professor (supervision, but also digitalisation), a paid researcher, a paid PHD-student, continuously one or more paid student-assistants, two students doing research. • In 1996-1997: a paid Postdoc. • In 2002-2006: a paid PHD-student.

Observations

Units of observation

Unit of observation	Explanation	Number
Individuals	Sample of individuals (from birth records).	5,280
Married couples	About 2,600 couples: Consisting of research person and spouse (data from civil registration and population registers); 5,000 couples of parents of the research persons (data from civil registration and some from population registers: not followed).	7,600
Families	Only observed when research person creates his own family (see before). Data are from population registers. A family is broad defined (including more generations).	2,600
Households	The forms contain some information on households, however, this is not very complete, and also has not been digitalized. Data are from population registers.

Are there any related observations that are not included in the database?

No, the information in the population register on the household structure was very unsystematically noted, and because of this was not digitalised. Also, the information in the population registers was often incomplete due to the existence of separate servant registers.

How do the units of observation enter observation?

Sample persons enter observation upon birth.

How do the units of observation leave observation?

Sample person leave observation: 1. When they were lost (for the cohort 1811 and 1830 there was no Population Registers, so some were leaving observation in their youth, also because of the incompleteness of Population Registers some were lost: considerable research activities were undertaken for the rural 1830, 1850 and 1870 cohorts to again find them, and complete their life); 2. When they died (because of juvenile mortality more than one third of the ample persons were only in observation for a relatively short period); 3. When they left for foreign countries (for the 1811 and urban cohorts when they left the province), usually the United States of America (especially happening to a large extent for the 1870 cohorts).

Are some entry or exit dates unknown?

Most dates were known exactly (births, deaths and marriages), although sometimes baptism dates (for parents) replace birth dates. A problem is that during the old digitalising procedure (due to the old-fashioned program) some of the dates were digitalised in such a way that they are not completely precise, but indicative (2 January, can also mean 1 January or 3 January). We are busy solving this problem, which actually for analysis is not really a problem, because of the only very slight differences. Unknown dates we sometimes come across with migration, as the Population Register (only from 1850 onwards) often does not give a date, and the migration can be concluded from showing up in a different municipality. At the moment the migration date is in that case usually a best guess of the responsible researcher in-between the dates were the sample person was observed in the different places. Sometimes also only months or even years are given for the migration date, then the exact date in the database was set in the middle. For the variable date of leaving home (which implied often a migration inside the municipality due to the lifecycle live-in servant system), usually the age was set at 15 (differences between estimated dates and exact dates can be made) which was often not recorded in the municipal register. The quality of dating of occupations is low. The digital version gives the occupations at some ages (20, 40), at the marriage certificate, and gives an indication of the sample person had been live-in servant. For parents the occupation is usually only available at the moment of birth of the sample person, although there is a variable giving the occupation about 15 years later. The search process was rather unsystematically, as the parents were not followed in the Population Register themselves.

Can observations be linked to geographic locations?

Yes

Are the dates and locations of movements within the observation area recorded?

Yes

Are all individuals who lived in the households of sample members recorded?

Partly

Linkage

• Which sources and units of observation have been linked: For the sample persons: birth registers, deaths registers, marriage registers and Population Registers have been linked. • Documentation of linking: The linking was done manually using the name and age as primary keys. The linking was not separately documented, as these variables were usually clear enough to see if we were dealing with the same person. • Name of software if used (and its parameters):No software used for linking • What are the rules for linking? - The linking was first on name, and then information on relatives (parents, partners), than on age, on birth place, and on other information. Actually, the linking was usually not a big problem, because of the wealth of information in the sources used there was not much confusion. Linking to tax registers and for instance departure records was usually done using the name, the place of settlement, and the occupation. • How each reconstructed person is traceable to the original sources /transcribed data? - A paper documentation on form is made for every sample person, containing indication of the sources used. Actually, because of the official sources used, it is often beforehand clear what is the origin of the information: civil registration (that is very systematic) and Population Registers (indication of pages on forms). • How is linkage represented in the database? - At the moment the only persons that have a provisional separate identification number are the sample persons in the database. This means that other persons can show up in the database on different place (although this is rare, taking into account the way the database is constructed. However, in the 1830 sample some persons in small municipalities have the same parents (as it sometimes took two years to have 120 births), and also there are of course twins. At the moment parents, partners and children are only linked to the sample person. In the digital version their name is still missing, making linking rather difficult. • Linkage percentage: Rural 1830, 1850, 1870: 99%: nearly always parents were traced, and children were traced, while the number of sample persons leaving observation without a reason known (death, migration) is extremely limited. For the other cohorts (urban and 1811): a considerable number of persons (max. 5%) only show up in birth records, and also a large number has not been well linked to parents, partners and children (I guess some quarter of all cases) • Quality of linkage (own evaluation): 1830, 1850, 1870 rural: Extremely good. Urban and 1811: Good quality (for the links available), perhaps a few mistakes in it, as they have not been controlled anymore since about 1997.

Variables

Events

Variables

1. On individuals: The database has been constructed from the perspective of the sample members and contains the following variables. It has to be noted that the quality of the rural cohort of 1830, 1850 and 1870 (3,240) are of a much higher quality than the cohort of 1811 and of the cohorts of the city of Groningen. -name of the sample person -birth date of the sample person -birth place of the sample person -death date of the sample person -death place of the sample person -date of leaving parental home of sample person -date when leaving observation with cause (death, migration outside the Netherlands, too old – nearly only for the 1870 cohort -, or lost without trace) -migration history (dates and places) -indication of having been unmarried live-in servant in life -occupation before marriage -occupation a few years after marriage -occupations later in life (usually not very well dated) -name of the father (not digitalised) -birth place of the father -birth date of the father, or an indication of that. -death place of the father (if before the marriage of the sample person) -death date of the father (if before the marriage of the sample person) -occupation of the father at time of the birth of the sample person -occupation of the father some 15 year after the birth of the sample person -ability of father to write a signature at the birth certificate or in the marriage register -name of the mother (not digitalised) -birth place of the mother -birth date of the mother, or an indication of that. -death place of the mother (if before the marriage of the sample person) -death date of the mother (if before the marriage of the sample person) -occupation of the mother at time of the birth of the sample person -occupation of the mother some 15 year after the birth of the sample person -ability of mother to write a signature in the marriage register -date of marriage of parents -municipality of marriage of parents -date marriage of the sample person (to a maximum of 2 have been digitalised) -place marriage of the sample person -ability to write a signature on the marriage certificate of the sample person -name of marriage partner sample person (not digitalised) -birth place marriage partner -birth date marriage partner -death place marriage partner -death date marriage partner -ability to write a signature on the marriage certificate of the marriage partner -occupation of the marriage partner upon marriage -occupation of the marriage partner a few years after marriage (and later occupations) -children: names (not digitalised), birth dates, birth places (not digitalised), death dates (if still living at home) 2. On households: The information on the composition of the household of the sample person at any date is not very complete, and is not digitalised.

Coding / Reference systems

Occupational titles: The implementation of HISCO and Hisclass is work in progress at the moment (May 2015).

Locations: Names of locations have been standardized on the level of the municipality, no other georeferencing codes have been use until now.

Religion, civil status, etc.:Religion and civil status have been standardized.

Data representation

The database is in Excel as a spreadsheet. Actually information in several spreadsheets relate to the same person. Originally the database was in Reflex, however in 1995 it was converted in Excel. We are now busy making it suitable for a IDS-structure.

Kinship relations

Recording

The database is constructed around the sample persons and the other persons are always related to this sample person.

Depth of information

Three generations: parents, sample persons and children (although these were only taken into account when still at home). Siblings of the sample person are not included.

Publications

1. Main publications about the database itself

Kooij, P. (Ed.). (1993). Dorp naast een stad. Hoogkerk 1770-1914. Assen: Van Gorcum.
Kooij, P. (Ed.). (1998). Where the twain meet. Dutch and Russian regional development in a comparative perspective 1800-1917. (Historia Agriculturae 28). Groningen: NAHI.
Paping, R. (1999). Gezinnen en cohorten: arbeidsstrategieën in een marktgerichte agrarische economie: de Groningse kleigebieden 1830-1920’. In J. Kok, A. Knotter, R. Paping, & E. Vanhaute (Eds.), Levensloop en levenslot. Arbeidsstrategieën van gezinnen in de negentiende en twintigste eeuw (pp. 17-88). (Historia Agriculturae 29). Groningen/Wageningen: NAHI.
Kooij, P, & Paping, R. (Eds.). (2004). Where the twain meet again. New results of the Dutch-Russian project on regional development 1750-1917. (Historia Agriculturae 34). Groningen/Wageningen: NAHI.

2. Main or exemplary publications on research based on the database

Paping, R. (2004). Family strategies concerning migration and occupations of children in a market-oriented agricultural economy. The History of the Family. An International Quarterly, 9 , 159-191.
Kooij, P. (2011). Uit de klei getrokken: de levensloop van migranten uit de Oost-Groninger geboortecohorten Beerta en Winschoten 1830 en 1870. In T. Engelen, O. Boonstra, & A. Janssens, Levenlopen in transformatie: liber amicorum bij het afscheid van prof.dr. Paul M.M. Klep. Nijmegen: Valkhof Press.

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