Urban Kin Propinquity Using Geocoded Complete Count Census Data, 1880

Matt Nelson , University of Minnesota

Declining kin propinquity in the United States between 1790 and 1940 has recently been established. Historically, urban kin propinquity rates were far lower than rural rates. While some evidence supports lower kin propinquity in urban areas compared to rural areas, previous estimates included some methodological shortcomings. Geocoded Census data corrects for some of the previous methodological issues. Using geocoded data for 39 cities in the 1880 Census, I attempt to provide an updated measure for urban kin propinquity. Numerous checks to insure accurate kin propinquity links include controlling for common surnames, identifying ideal household distance thresholds to identify kin propinquity, and consistent life course results for those with propinquitous kin. I hypothesize that results will be slightly higher than previous estimates and validate that previous sequential isonymic linking methods provided an accurate description of kin propinquity in urban areas historically.

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 Presented in Session 3. Population, Development, & the Environment; Data & Methods; Applied Demography