Reconstituted families of Cheapside, London, 1538-1721: Documentation

Description

This data collection contains five comma separated variable files that are the tables of a relational database representing nuclear biological families reconstituted from parish register baptism, marriages and burial events for a sample of five parishes in Cheapside, London. The family reconstitutions were conducted in a Microsoft Access 2000 database using chains of SQL queries performed (using various intemediary dictionaries) on the transcribed parish registers of the data collection ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’. 

This data collection was created by Gill Newton at the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure between October 2003 and September 2006 as part of the AHRB-funded project People in Place. 

The reconstituted parishes are:

All Hallows Honey Lane		
St Mary le Bow		
St Pancras Soper Lane	
St Mary Colechurch
St Martin Ironmonger Lane

Events recorded in the registers of Mercer’s Chapel, located within the sample area in Cheapside, were also used in the family reconstitutions (and are similarly contained within the data collection ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’). The dates covered by the family reconstitutions are 1538-1721, although it should be noted that there are some gaps in the parochial registration in some of parishes. The first three parishes listed above were reconstituted as one parish group, and they possess one set of united registers in the post-Fire period. The remaining two parishes were reconstituted separately.

An alternative version of this resource together with the related resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’ exists as a Microsoft Access 2000 database containing user interface Forms for viewing reconstituted families and transcriptions of the underlying parish register baptism, marriage and burial events. This database was created by Gill Newton. The .csv files of this data collection were generated from this database
Structure and Related Datasets

MLines.csv	346087 bytes	3809 lines + field names on first line	text values in ""	
HLines.csv	274357 bytes	3809 lines + field names on first line	text values in ""	
WLines.csv	128383 bytes	1915 lines + field names on first line	text values in ""	
CLines.csv	1003149 bytes	9027 lines + field names on first line	text values in ""	
RelOrServLines.csv 	23023 bytes	246 lines + field names on first line	text values in ""	

There are five tables representing reconstituted families as a whole, their component Wives, Husbands, Children, and, for some of the reconstitutions, Servants and Relatives. The tables are joined by the [FamNum] field of each, as indicated in the table and field descriptions given below. These tables are also related to the data collection ‘Parish registers of Cheapside, London’, which contains full transcriptions of parish register baptism, marriage and burial events for the five sample parishes and Mercer’s Chapel itemised above. There are joins between the key field of tables in that database and foreign key fields of this database as indicated in the field descriptions below.

Mlines.csv

Each record represents a reconstituted family, stemming from an actual or assumed marriage. There are 11 fields as follows:

FamNum (Integer)
Unique identifier for each reconstituted family.

Place (String)
Locational scope of a family reconstitution. There are three possibilities: 

United parishes	the three parishes of All Hallows Honey Lane, St Mary le Bow and St Pancras Soper Lane, all London, which unite in the post-Fire period.	
St Mary Colechurch	the parish of St Mary Colechurch, London	
St Martin Ironmonger Lane	the parish of St Martin Ironmonger Lane, London	

datesort (Date)
Duplicates [ActualMarDate] field where not null, or else [DummyMarDate] field.

ActualMarDate (Date)
Date of marriage, where a link to a registered marriage has been made. Drawn from the marriage Event table record for a family's Husband and Wife. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

DummyMarDate (Date)
Date of first Event table record belonging to a reconstituted family, where no marriage link has been made. Usually drawn from the earliest dated child baptism Event table record belonging to a family. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

EndDate (Date)
Date of end of marriage. Duplicates Wife [burdate] where known, or else Husband [burdate]

MarEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of marriage for a family's Husband and Wife, where a link to a registered marriage has been made.

LengthOfMarriage (String)
Calculated from the number of completed years between [ActualMarDate] and [EndDate] where both are known, or else between [DummyMarDate] and [EndDate] and set to “>=n” where n is the number of completed years. Null where no [EndDate] is known.

NumChildren (Integer)
Calculated total number of children linked to a marriage, excluding duplicated baptism or burial records.

NumRegBirthsInclStillbornBurials (Integer)
Calculated total number of children linked to a marriage for whom a registered baptism exists, or is implied by the burial record (Type CBURDUMMYBAP; see Clines table below), or where the burial is of a stillborn or abortive child (Type CBURSTILLBORN; see Clines table below). 

FamilySurname (String)
A family’s surname. Usually the same as the field [Surname] in the Hlines table, described below.

Hlines.csv

Each record represents a reconstituted family’s Husband. A reconstituted family must have a Husband record. A Husband is the father (or presumed father) of children linked to a reconstituted family and the spouse (or presumed spouse) of a family’s Wife. There are 30 fields are as follows:

FamNum (Integer)
Unique identifier for each Husband and also a foreign key indicating the reconstituted family (Mlines table) to which a Husband belongs.

Surname (String)
Surname of a family's Husband. An unstandardised string usually drawn from the earliest Event table record belonging to a family where the husband's surname is given.

Forename (String)
Forename of a family's  Husband. An unstandardised string usually drawn from the first Event table record belonging to a family where the husband's forename is given. Null where not given in any family event.

BapPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’)  record of a family’s Husband's baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made.

BapDate (Date)
Date of a family’s Husband's baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made. Drawn from the Person table record of a Husband's baptism. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

BapEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Husband’s baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made.

BurPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table(from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Husband's burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.

BurDate (Date)
Date of Husband's burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.  Drawn from the Person table record of a Husband's burial. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

BurEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Husband’s burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.

MarriageOrder (String)
Calculated field showing showing whether the family represented by [FamNum] is the first, second, third etc marriage for a Husband. ">=n" indicates that this is either the husband's number n marriage or a subsequent one. Usually drawn from the marital status given in the Person table record of a husband’s marriage, or inferred from the marital status given in a Person table record of a Husband’s earlier or later marriage, or inferred from the existence of earlier or later marriage links, or inferred from the existence of a link to the Husband’s baptism, or set to “>=1” where no information is known or calculable. 

EarlierFamNum
Foreign key corresponding to [FamNum] field) identifying a subsequent family (Mlines table) for which the Husband in this family is also the Husband, but with a different wife, where a link to another reconstituted family has been made.

LaterFamNum
Foreign key (corresponding to [FamNum] field) identifying a subsequent family (Mlines table) for which the Husband in this family is also the Husband, but with a different wife, where a link to another reconstituted family has been made.

MarPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a husband's marriage, where a link to a registered marriage has been made.

MarResidence (String)
BurResidence (String)
MarOccupation (String)
BurOccupation (String)
The above four fields repeat occupational or residence information for a Husband as given in his registered marriage or burial, where such information exists. Drawn from Person table [Occupation] and [Residence] fields. 

AnotherResidenceDate (date)
AnotherResidence (String)
AnotherOccupationDate (Date)
AnotherOccupation (String)
YetAnotherResDate (Date)
YetAnotherRes (String)
YetAnotherOccDate (Date)
YetAnotherOcc (String)
The above eight fields repeat occupational or residence information and dates for that information for a Husband, as given in some registered event other than the husband’s marriage or burial, where such information exists. Usually the source will be a registered baptism or burial of a Child in the family, or a registered burial of the family’s Wife. Drawn from Event table [date] field, adjusted to the Gregorian calendar, and Related_person table [Occupation] and [Residence] fields. 

AgeAtBurial (String)
Usually a calculated value of the husband age at burial in completed years, derived from the difference between [Bapdate] and [Burdate], where known. Also used to repeat age information given in a husband’s registered burial, drawn from 
 
AgeAtMarriage (String)
Usually represents a calculated husband age at marriage in completed years, derived from the difference between [Bapdate] and Mlines table field [MarDate] , where known. Also used to repeat age information given in a husband’s registered marriage, drawn from the Person table record for a Husband’s marriage. 

AgeAtFamilyStart (Integer)
Calculated husband age in completed years at the start of a reconstituted family, where the date of marriage is not known. Derived from the date given in Mlines table field [DummyMarDate], where [Bapdate] is known but Mlines table field [MarDate] is not.

AgeAtFamilyEnd (Integer)
Calculated husband age in completed years at the end of a reconsituted family. Derived from the diffeernce between [Bapdate] and Mlines table field [EndDate], where both are known.

LengthofWidowhood(mths) (Integer)
Calculated duration in completed months between the end of one reconstituted family and the commencement of another that represents a remarriage for the husband. Derived from the difference between Mlines table field [EndDate] and the [ActualMarDate] field of the reconstituted family referenced in [LaterMarID], where such information is available.

Wlines.csv

Each record represents a reconstituted family’s Wife, who is the mother (or presumed mother) of children linked to a family and the spouse (or presumed spouse) of a family’s Husband. A family may or may not have a Wife record. Where no details about the Wife are known from any of the events linked to a reconstituted family, no record has been created. There are 30 fields are as follows:

FamNum (Integer)
Unique identifier for each Wife and also a foreign key indicating the reconstituted family (Mlines table) to which a Wife belongs. 

PreMarriageSname (String)
Surname of a wife prior to marriage. An unstandardised string drawn from the Person record of the wife's marriage, where a link to a registered marriage has been made, or drawn from a Wife’s baptism Person record where a link to a registered baptism has been made. Null where not known.

Fname (String)
Forename of a family's Wife. An unstandardised string usually drawn from the first Event table record belonging to a family where the Wife’s forename is given. Null where not given in any family event.

OwnBapPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a family’s Wife's baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made.

OwnBapDate (Date)
Date of a family’s Wife's baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made. Drawn from the Person table record of a Wife's baptism. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

BapEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’)  record of a Wife’s baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made.

BurPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Wife's burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.

BurDate (Date)
Date of family’s Wife's burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.  Drawn from the Person table record of a Wife's burial. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar. 

BurEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Wife’s burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.

MarOrder (String)
Calculated field showing whether the family represented by [FamNum] is the first, second, third etc marriage for a Wife. ">=n" indicates that this is either a Wife’s number n marriage or a subsequent one. Usually drawn from the marital status given in the Person table record of a Wife’s marriage, or inferred from the marital status given in a Person table record of a Wife’s earlier or later marriage, or inferred from the existence of earlier or later marriage links, or inferred from the existence of a link to the Wife’s baptism, or set to “>=1” where no information is known or calculable. 

EarlierFamNum (Integer)
Foreign key (corresponding to Mlines table [FamNum] field) identifying a previous reconstituted family for which the Wife in this family is also the Wife, but with a different Husband, where a link to another reconstituted family has been made.

LaterFamNum (Integer)
Foreign key (corresponding to Mlines table [FamNum] field) identifying a subsequent family for which the Wife in this family is also the Wife, but with a different Husband, where a link to another reconstituted family has been made.

MarPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Wife's marriage, where a link to a registered marriage has been made.

MarRes (String)
BurRes (String)
MarOcc (String)
BurOcc (String)
The above four fields repeat occupational or residence information for a Wife as given in her registered marriage or burial, where such information exists. Drawn from Person table [Occupation] and [Residence] fields. 

AnotherResidenceDate (Date)
AnotherResidence (String)
AnotherOccupationDate (Date)
AnotherOccupation (String)
YetAnotherResDate (Date)
YetAnotherRes (String)
YetAnotherOccDate (Date)
YetAnotherOcc (String)
The above eight fields repeat occupational or residence information for a Wife, as given in some registered event other than the Wife’s marriage or burial, where such information exists. Usually the source will be a registered baptism or burial of a Child in the family, or a registered burial of the family’s Husband. Drawn from Event table [date] field, adjusted to the Gregorian calendar, and Related_person table [Occupation] and [Residence] fields. 

AgeAtMarriage (Integer)
Usually represents a calculated Wife age at marriage in completed years, derived from the difference between [Bapdate] and Mlines table field [MarDate], where known. Also used to repeat age information given in a Wife’s registered marriage, drawn from the Person table record for a Husband’s marriage. 

AgeAtBurial (Integer)
Usually a calculated value of the Wife age at burial in completed years, derived from the difference between [Bapdate] and [Burdate], where known. Also used to repeat age information given in a husband’s registered burial, drawn from 
 
AgeAtStartOfFam (Integer)
Calculated Wife age in completed years at the start of a reconstituted family, where the date of marriage is not known. Derived from the date given in Mlines table field [DummyMarDate], where [Bapdate] is known but Mlines table field [MarDate] is not.

AgeAtEndOfFam (Integer)
Calculated wife age in completed years at the end of a reconstituted family. Derived from the difference between [Bapdate] and Mlines table field [EndDate], where both are known.

LengthofWidowhood(mths) (Integer)
Calculated duration in completed months between the end of one reconstituted family and the commencement of another that represents a remarriage for the Wife. Derived from the difference between Mlines table field [EndDate] and the [ActualMarDate] field of the reconstituted family referenced in [LaterMarID], where such information is available.

Clines.csv

Each record represents a Child that has been linked to a reconstituted family. A family may have one, many or, exceptionally, no Child records. There are 22 fields as follows:

ChildIndex (Integer)
Unique identifier for each Child belonging to a family.

Datesort (Date)
Repeats information in a Child’s [BapDateNS], [BirthDateNS], [BurDateNS] or [DeathDateNS] field. 

FamNum (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the reconstituted family to which a Child belongs (Mlines table), and also the Husband and Wife of that family.

Type (String)
Type of link that has been made between a reconstituted family and a Child, used to indicate a number of inferences that may have been made. CBAP is the standard and most common type, representing a link to a registered baptism (which may or may not also be linked in turn to a registered burial, registered marriage and/or subsequent family). All registered baptisms except foundlings, parentless parish children and children without surnames have been assigned to a family even where no other events belong to that family. The full list of options and their meanings is:

CBAP	link is to a registered baptism	
CBAPADULT	link is to a registered baptism that took place in adulthood	
CBAPDUMMYBUR	link is to a registered baptism that indicates the Child died soon after being baptised. No corresponding registered burial has been found so the Child is assigned a burial date identical to the date of baptism (or date of birth where known).	
CBAPDUP	link is to a registered baptism that duplicates another registered baptism (and should therefore be discounted)	
CBUR	link is to a registered  burial for which no corresponding baptism has been found. The burial date fits into the sequence of baptisms belonging to a family, with acceptable birth intervals, so the child may be considered to have died in the interval between birth and baptism.	
CBURDUMMYBAP	link is to a registered burial that indicates the Child was baptised. Note that many of these are chrisom children. No corresponding registered baptism has been found so the Child is assigned a birth date identical to the date of burial (or date of death where known).	
CBURDUP	link is to a registered burial that duplicates another registered burial (and should therefore be discounted)	

CBURNOTINFANT	link is to a registered burial for which no corresponding baptism has been found. The burial either has age information that indicates the Child was not an infant, or the burial date does not fit into the sequence of baptisms belonging to a family (compare with CBUR). The burial is assumed to be that of an older child baptised outside the parish(es) in observation for family reconstitution. 	
CBURPROB	link is to a registered burial that only probably belongs to a family, for the parents are not named in the burial record.	
CBURSTILLBORN	link is to a registered burial that indicates the child was stillborn or abortive.	
CMARNOLINK	link is to a registered marriage known to belong to a family (usually because parents’ names are stated in the marriage record) where no corresponding baptism has been found.	

Sex (String)
The sex of the Child. Usually inferred from information given in the Person table record of a Child’s registered baptism or burial, or else from the Child’s forename. M for males, F for females, X where the sex is unknown.

BapPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’)  record of a Child’s baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made.

BapEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’)  record of a Child’s baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made.

BapDateNS (Date)
Date of a Child’s baptism, where a link to a registered baptism has been made. Usually drawn from the Person table record of a Child’s baptism, but see field [Status] below. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

BirthDateNS (Date)
Date of a Child’s birth, where a link to a registered baptism has been made and the date of birth is stated, or where an inference has been made from the Child’s registered burial (see [Type] field above). Usually drawn from the Person table record of a Child’s baptism (but see field [Status] below) or, where inferred, burial. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

BurPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’)  record of a Child’s burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.

BurEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Child’s burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.

BurDateNS (Date)
Date of a Child’s burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made or where an inference has been made from the Child’s baptism record (see [Type] field above). Usually drawn from the Person table record of a Child’s burial (but see field [Status] below) or, where inferred, baptism. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

DeathDateNS (Date)
Date of a Child’s death, where a link to a registered burial has been made and the date of death is stated. Usually drawn from the Person table record of a Child’s burial, but see field [Status] below. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

Forename (String)
Forename of a Child. An unstandardised string usually drawn from the Person table record of a Child’s baptism, or else from the person table record of a Child’s burial. Null where not stated in any registered event.

OwnFamID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying a Child’s own family (Mlines table), ie the family of which he or she is Wife or Husband, where a link to either a registered marriage, or a registered baptism(s) or burial(s) that name the Child as a parent, has been made.

MarDateNS (Date)
A Child’s date of marriage, where a link to a registered marriage has been made. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.
 
FamStartDateNS (Date)
Repeats the [DummyMarDate] field of a family of which a Child is a Wife or Husband, where a link to a registered baptism(s) or burial(s) that name the Child as a parent has been made without any link to a registered marriage. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

AgeAtBurial (Integer)
Calculated field indicating the age in completed years of a child on burial, where a link between a registered baptism and a registered burial has been made. Usually based on the difference between fields [BapDateNS] and [BurDateNS]. Calculated from [BirthDateNS] and [DeathDateNS] fields where available. 

AgeAtMarriage (Integer)
Calculated field indicating the age in completed years of a child on his or her marriage, where a link between a registered baptism and a registered marriage has been made. Usually based on the difference between fields [BapDateNS] and [MarDateNS]. 

BirthIntervalInDays (Number)
Calculated field indicating the elapse in days between the actual or inferred birth or baptism of a child and that of his or her next youngest sibling, as ordered by field [Datesort]. Where given for the first child in a family it represents the elapse between the date of a Wife and Husband’s marriage and the birth or baptism of their first child. Not calculated between twins or Child records of type CBUR, CBURPROB, CBURDUP, CBAPDUP, CBAPADULT , CBURNOTINFANT or CMARNOLINK (see [Type] field above).

Status (String)
A field which partially duplicates the most pertinent information from the Condition table record of a child’s baptism or burial, and from the Person table record comments or memo fields. It also contains indications of any corrections, alterations or assumptions that have been made to baptism or burial dates, multiple birth status, illegitimate status, and duplicate status (see [Type] for this last). 

AgeAtOwnFamStart (Integer)
Calculated field indicating the age in completed years of a Child on the first event in a family to which he or she is the Wife or Husband, where such a link has been made and where no link to a registered marriage exists. Derived from the difference between the field [BapDateNS] and the [DummyMarDate] field of the reconstituted family identified in the Child’s [OwnFamID] field.

RelOrServlines.csv

Each record represents the burial or marriage of a servant or relative belonging to a person that has been linked to a reconstituted family as a Husband or Wife. “Relative” here encompasses all familial relationships except biological children, which are accounted for in the Clines table. These types of links do not normally form a part of family reconstitution and have not been made in the United parishes reconstitution or the Clerkenwell reconstitution. There are 13 fields as follows:

RelServIndex (Integer)
Unique identifier for each relative or servant belonging to a family. 

Type (String)
Indicates what type of link has been made. The options are:

RELBUR	link is to a registered burial of a relative of the family. Relatives encompass all extended family. The relationship is as given in the registered marriage, drawn from a Related_person table record, but not including children of the Husband and Wife.	
RELMAR	link is to a registered marriage of a relative of the family. Relatives encompass all extended family. The relationship is as given in the registered marriage, drawn from a Related_person table record, but not including children of the Husband and Wife.	
SERVBUR	link is to a registered burial of a servant to the family. The relationship is as given in the registered burial, drawn from a Related_person table record. Note that the servant attribution also includes apprentices.	
SERVMAR	link is to a registered marriage of a servant to the family.  The relationship is as given in the registered burial, drawn from a Related_person table record. Note that the servant attribution also includes apprentices.	

FamNum (Integer)
Foreign key indicating the reconstituted Family to which a Relative or Servant belongs.

Forename (String)
Unstandardised forename of a relative or servant, drawn from the Person table record of a Servant or Relative’s burial or marriage, depending on which type of link has been made (see [Type] field, above). Null where not stated.

Surname (String)
Unstandardised surname of a relative or servant, drawn from the Person table record of a Servant or Relative’s burial or marriage, depending on which type of link has been made (see [Type] field, above). Null where not stated.

BurDateNS(Date)
Date of burial of a Relative or Servant. Drawn from the Person table record, where a link to a registered burial has been made. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

BurEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Relative or Servant’s burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made.

BurPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Relative or Servant’s burial, where a link to a registered burial has been made. 

MarDateNS (Date)
Date of marriage of a relative or servant. Drawn from the Person table record, where a link to a registered marriage has been made. Adjusted to the Gregorian calendar.

MarEventID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Event table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Relative or Servant’s marriage, where a link to a registered marriage has been made. 

MarPID (Integer)
Foreign key identifying the Person table (from the related data resource ‘Parish Registers of Cheapside, London’) record of a Relative or Servant’s marriage, where a link to a registered marriage has been made. 

Relationship (String)
Relationship of a Relative or Servant to a family’s Husband or Wife. 

BelongingToWhichFamilyMember (String)
Whether a Relative or Servant is related to a family’s Husband or a family’s Wife in their registered burial or marriage. Can be “husband”, “wife” or “unstated”. Where known, drawn from the relationship stated in a Related_person table record of the burial or marriage.