A historical database: finding our possibilities and limits Case: Oosterhesselen Erwin H. Karel/Richard Paping (Digital Humanities Pitch April 17th 2014)

Background of the project Main question: analysing common life in Oosterhesselen Method: combining reconstruction of nuclear families (demographic) and history of housing (social-economic) by a micro-history approach – Developed method should be useful for local historians in the end Sources: Anything that can be found about Oosterhesselen

Available sources : BURGERLIJKE STAND (registration office) – DTB boeken ( ) – Burgerlijke Stand (after 1811) – Nominatieve lijsten (1826) – Lijsten met knechten en dienstboden (several years) BELASTING (taxes) – Haardstedenregister – Kohieren van hoofdelijke omslag (after 1815) – Hondenbelasting ( ) – Patenten (1806) – Veetellingen (1808) – Accijns op ‘t gemaal (1825) – 30 e en 40 e penning (before 1800) FRANSE BRONNEN (Napoleontic era) – Gesteldheid van de bevolking (1798) MILITAIR (military) – Burgermachtlijst (1798) – Militielijsten ( ) – Keuringslijsten lotelingen ( ) SCHOLEN (schoollists) – Schoolgeldlijsten ( ) KADASTER (land registers) – OAT´s (1834) – Minuutplannen (1834) GERECHTELIJKE BRONNEN (court sources) – Vredesgerecht ( ) – Momberindexen (before 1800) – Schultegerecht (before 1800) – Etstoel (before 1800) – Notariële aktes ( ) – Successiememoires ( ) KERK (parish books) – Diaconieboeken ( ) – Lidmatenregister ( ) – Kerkelijke belasting (several years) GEMEENTEBESTUUR (archive of municipality) – Raadsnotulen ( ) – In- en uitgaande stukken ( )

Creating a database Basic knowledge how to create a database Existing genealogical programs not useful: – no possibilities for data-analysing; – no possibilities to combine family data with other data Existing demographic programs are based on processing bulk data (statistics), not useful for a micro history approach

Structure of the database person relations farmstead File based on ID number Tables based on sources Queries based on databases profession Linked by ID-number Linked by farmstead number

Example person chart

Example family chart

Some results Number of three-generation families living on the same farm was limited in first half of 19 th century. Geographical mobility among small farmers and labourers higher then often presumed. Rural succession myth: only rich farmer families stay for several generations on the same farm. Small farmers often moved to another farm, their children (also the eldest son) started some where else a farm.

Two difficulties Database works, but we reached the limits of our IT-knowledge (unable to make data available on Internet) Gap between approach by historians and IT specialists: – Input-output model (has to be developed during research process) – Loosing control over your data