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
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Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit
town
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.
Universe
Deceased individuals with estates probated between the years of 1631 and 1776 in colonial New England.
Unit(s) of Observation
individual
administrative records data
Mode of Data Collection
record abstracts
Original Release Date
2014-02-11
Version Date
2014-02-11
Version History
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.
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.

This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.