Neil Chick - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Neil Chick
Australian Geographical Studies, Oct 1, 1974
Australian Geographical Studies, 1974
The processes by which a community-wide family reconstitution can be attempted depend upon the lo... more The processes by which a community-wide family reconstitution can be attempted depend upon the logic of record linkage. A very large body of literature exists on the subject, and this chapter will summarize the more relevant aspects, taking salient points from work done, for the greater part, in France, Canada, England, Israel and the United States.
came to the conclusion that even after 200 years of study by sociologists and others, we are stil... more came to the conclusion that even after 200 years of study by sociologists and others, we are still as far as ever from a satisfactory definition of community. 1 The decision to sidestep the problem of finding a suitable definition for the term "community" was a pragmatic one, though academically less than satisfactory. Community reconstitution for our purposes might be described as a procedure for combining the analysis of the characteristics of a spatially or socially bounded collection of families and enterprises, based on a range of documents, each of which adds insights of its own, as well as providing a means of validating the information provided from the other sources. For example, a community-wide family reconstitution project might be based on parish registers and civil vital data. When this is seen in the light of a cross-sectional analysis of the community, based on a population listing or an enumeration, and pertinent data from deeds and wills, the view of the community is widened. In addition, items of information -such as ages and birthplaces, land tenure, assessed annual values of properties, and the means of transmission from person to person, family to family and generation to generation, of land -can be added to enrich ones understanding. The objectives of community reconstitution could be expressed in relation to historical and social scientific research along the following lines, among others: 1. To extend our traditional historical knowledge of the social conditions of life in specific types of community, e.g. using the 1843 Census of Van Diemens Land, fragments of which survive for both some rural and urban settlements. This enumeration is usually deficient in nominal data except for the head of the household, and owner or proprietor of the land. This Census might be linked with the land records held in the Deeds Office and the Lands and Surveys Department records held in the Archives Office, and the Assessment rolls published in the Hobart Town Gazette. 2. A similar analysis could be performed on the enumerations edited by Irene Schaffer for the period 1803-1822. 2 Such a project would require returning to the original documents, as this publication imperfectly presents the source 1 Macfarlane, Alan in collaboration with Sarah Harrison and Charles Jardine, 1977.
Australian Geographical Studies, Oct 1, 1974
Australian Geographical Studies, 1974
The processes by which a community-wide family reconstitution can be attempted depend upon the lo... more The processes by which a community-wide family reconstitution can be attempted depend upon the logic of record linkage. A very large body of literature exists on the subject, and this chapter will summarize the more relevant aspects, taking salient points from work done, for the greater part, in France, Canada, England, Israel and the United States.
came to the conclusion that even after 200 years of study by sociologists and others, we are stil... more came to the conclusion that even after 200 years of study by sociologists and others, we are still as far as ever from a satisfactory definition of community. 1 The decision to sidestep the problem of finding a suitable definition for the term "community" was a pragmatic one, though academically less than satisfactory. Community reconstitution for our purposes might be described as a procedure for combining the analysis of the characteristics of a spatially or socially bounded collection of families and enterprises, based on a range of documents, each of which adds insights of its own, as well as providing a means of validating the information provided from the other sources. For example, a community-wide family reconstitution project might be based on parish registers and civil vital data. When this is seen in the light of a cross-sectional analysis of the community, based on a population listing or an enumeration, and pertinent data from deeds and wills, the view of the community is widened. In addition, items of information -such as ages and birthplaces, land tenure, assessed annual values of properties, and the means of transmission from person to person, family to family and generation to generation, of land -can be added to enrich ones understanding. The objectives of community reconstitution could be expressed in relation to historical and social scientific research along the following lines, among others: 1. To extend our traditional historical knowledge of the social conditions of life in specific types of community, e.g. using the 1843 Census of Van Diemens Land, fragments of which survive for both some rural and urban settlements. This enumeration is usually deficient in nominal data except for the head of the household, and owner or proprietor of the land. This Census might be linked with the land records held in the Deeds Office and the Lands and Surveys Department records held in the Archives Office, and the Assessment rolls published in the Hobart Town Gazette. 2. A similar analysis could be performed on the enumerations edited by Irene Schaffer for the period 1803-1822. 2 Such a project would require returning to the original documents, as this publication imperfectly presents the source 1 Macfarlane, Alan in collaboration with Sarah Harrison and Charles Jardine, 1977.