THE DETERMINANTS OF EARLY FERTILITY DECLINE IN TEXAS

This study examines the determinants of fertility control in a frontie r population made up largely of German-Americans during the years from 1850 to 1910. The analysis employs a complex register of population c onstructed from census enumerations, civil and ecclesiastical vital re gistration, and tax assessment rolls. The article begins with a series of bivariate analyses with cohort of mother's birth, religion, ethnic ity, and husband's occupation determining marital fertility. The secon d half of the paper presents a multivariate model of the determinants of fertility using these and other demographic characteristics as inde pendent variables. The conclusions emphasize the importance of the ove rall trend toward fertility decline in the United States, as well as t he role of religion and of occupational differences, in determining ch anges in fertility behavior in the population of Gillespie County, Tex as.