As an economic
historian, much of my work involved the collection and analysis of individual
level and regional wealth data from late 19th and early 20th
century central Canada. This work
began in the 1980s with my thesis on wealth in Wentworth County under Peter George at McMaster and became a long term
career project that used probate and census data to look at the determinants of
Canadian wealth holding as well as its distribution. After 30 years, the responsible thing to do
was to try and find a home for the data and in this regard I am delighted to announce
that after conversations with Sara Janes at the Lakehead
University Library Archives, a home has been found for the data collection
and it has migrated so to speak. While
the full electronic access to the data files is still in progress, the
collection now has
an entry point. A fuller description
of the data set is available at the Archives site.
The data in the
Canadian Regional Historical Micro Data Collection consists of over 12,000
probated decedents in Ontario and Manitoba for the period spanning
approximately 1870 to 1930. In terms of
the components housed at the Lakehead University Library and Archives, there
are:
1)
Canadian Historical Regional
Micro-Data Collection: Survey Sheets: Approximately 12,000 estate files
recorded on 3 to 5-page survey sheets (8” by 11”) comprising approximately 25
linear feet of material.
2)
Canadian Historical Regional
Micro-Data Collection: E-Files: 11 sets of e-files in excel format with
accompanying coding information, approximately 30 MB of data.
3)
Canadian Historical Regional
Micro-Data Collection: Microfilm Resources: Several boxes of microfilm of
estate files for Ontario in 1892 and 1902 and the Thunder Bay District, 1885 to
1930. Note that these will become part of the Northern Studies Resource Centre
collection of the Paterson Library.
The work
involving data collection and research has occurred over more than 30 years
starting in the late 1980s with thesis research for a PhD in Economics at
McMaster University, Hamilton and then occupying the bulk of an academic career
at Lakehead University. Along with the
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship that funded the PhD (1986-1990) and the collection of
the original Wentworth County estate files, there were three additional SSHRC
Standard Research Grants (1991-94; 1999-02 and 2007-10) which helped put
together the rest of the data.
The historical
probate wealth micro data was collected for four regional areas: they are
Wentworth County, Ontario (1872-1927), Thunder Bay District, Ontario
(1885-1927), Ontario (1892, 1902) and Manitoba (1873-1927). Along with over 12,000 estate files collected
in hard copy survey sheets which are now housed in the Lakehead University
Archives, there are electronic data sets that have been generated that will eventually
be available through hyperlinks through the provincial Permafrost digital
data preservation system. Much of
the wealth and asset information as well as personal information on the survey
sheets has been placed in Excel spread sheets.
Variables include gender, occupation age at death, wealth, portfolio composition,
religious affiliation, birthplace, etc…However, there was substantial anecdotal
and personal information taken down as well as details on bequests and estate
division that was never coded and inputted and is still available in the
paper-based survey forms. There is still
research that can be done by coding and inputting the estate division details
and subsequently analyzing it. While
some preliminary work was done with Wentworth County in this regard and
available for Wentworth County 1872 to 1892, funding for this last stage never
materialized and remains undiscovered country. These decedents are also a
potential resource for anyone doing genealogical research.
So, this is a
preliminary message. When the data links are fully up and running, I will do
another post. Until then, if there are
questions about accessing the collection including the electronic data in
advance of full hyperlink access, they can be directed to Sara Janes at the Lakehead
University Archives [sjanes1@lakeheadu.ca (807) 343-8272]. Again, my thanks to the Lakehead University
Archives for helping preserve this data for future research work.
