RECONSTRUCTING THE EXTENDED KIN-NETWORK IN THE NETHERLANDS WITH GENEALOGICAL DATA - METHODS, PROBLEMS, AND RESULTS

This paper discusses the use of genealogical data for the study of the historical development of kinship networks in the Netherlands, 1830-1 990. There are two main problems in using genealogies: the year of dea th is missing for a sizeable part of the research population; and the information available on all relevant branches is far from complete. A mixed estimation procedure was used to impute the missing years of de ath. Overcoming the second problem is more difficult; the only solutio n was to exclude individuals without children from the analysis. If th ese and other limitations of genealogies are not ignored and the effec ts of various types of under-registration are carefully assessed, gene alogies can provide valuable information for our understanding of hist orical kinship patterns. The empirical results, using data on more tha n 160,000 persons, show that demographic changes in Dutch society duri ng the last 160 years have significantly affected the kinship configur ation.