Colonial New England Probates, 1631-1776 (ICPSR 34940)

Version Date: Feb 11, 2014

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Principal Investigator(s):
Gloria Main, University of Colorado-Boulder; Jackson Main, University of Colorado-Boulder; Peter H. Lindert, University of California-Davis

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR34940.v1

Version V1

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Summary

The Colonial New England Probates collection features data drawn from administrative records of 18,509 estates probated between the years of 1631 and 1776 in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. The data focus on measures of economic wealth, such as gross personal wealth, debts receivable, debts payable, and estate inventory values for consumer goods and real estate. Historical currency deflators and price indices are also incorporated. Geographic variables include sub-region, county, colony, and town. Demographic information for deceased estate owners includes age, sex, occupation, marital status, and parental status.

Citation

Main, Gloria, Main, Jackson, and Lindert, Peter H. Colonial New England Probates, 1631-1776. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2014-02-11. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR34940.v1

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Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

town

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1631 -- 1776

Data Collection Notes

  1. This data collection contains several variables that appear to be derived from other variables. Many of the derived variables featured undocumented codes; ICPSR has labeled some codes where possible. No additional information was provided.

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Study Purpose

This study aims to facilitate historical economic analysis through the dissemination of administrative records data which highlight variations in the amount, distribution, and composition of wealth in colonial New England.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Deceased individuals with estates probated between the years of 1631 and 1776 in colonial New England.

Unit(s) of Observation

individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

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Original Release Date

2014-02-11

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • Main, Gloria, Jackson Main, and Peter H. Lindert. Colonial New England Probates, 1631-1776. ICPSR34940-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2014-02-11. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR34940.v1

2014-02-11 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Created variable labels and/or value labels.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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Weight

The data are not weighted; however, the dataset contains a weight variable (AGEWT), which users may wish to apply during analysis. No other information was provided regarding weights.

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.