Mining archival genealogy databases to gain new insights into broader historical issues

Abstract

Purpose Several genealogical databases are now publicly available on the Web. The information stored in such databases is not only of interest for genealogical research but might also be used in broader historical studies. As a case study, this paper aims to explore what a crowdsourced genealogical online database can tell about income inequality in Denmark during the First World War. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on 55,000 family-level records on the payment of local income taxes in a major Danish provincial town (Esbjerg) from a publicly available database on the website of The Esbjerg City Archives combined with official statistics from Statistics Denmark. Findings Denmark saw a sharp increase in income inequality during the First World War. The analysis shows that the new riches during the First World War in a harbour city such as Esbjerg were not “goulash barons” or stock-market speculators but fishermen. There were no fishermen in the top 1per cent of the income distribution in 1913. In 1917, more than 37 per cent of the family heads in this part of the income distribution were fishermen. Originality/value The paper illustrates how large-scale microdata from publicly available genealogical Web databases might be used to gain new insights into broader historical issues.