Urban Kin Propinquity in the United States, 1880

Matt A. Nelson, University of Minnesota

Families living near patrilineal kin in the United States underwent a long run decline between 1790 and 1940, with urban kin propinquity rates significantly lower than rural rates. While some evidence supports lower kin propinquity in urban areas compared to rural areas, previous estimates included some methodological shortcomings, specifically relying on sequential ordering of households rather than actual distance away. Geocoded Census data corrects for some of the previous methodological issues. Using geocoded data for 39 cities in the 1880 Census, urban kin propinquity rates are updated. Numerous checks to insure accurate kin propinquity links include controlling for common surnames, identifying ideal household distance thresholds to identify kin propinquity, and consistent life course results for those with propinquitous kin. Preliminary geocoded results show higher kin propinquity rates than previous sequential method estimates, but geocoded results within the same enumeration district validate previous sequential isonymic linking methods, which suggests previous results still accurately described the decline of kin propinquity in the United States.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 183. Roles of Kinship: Demographic Outcomes and Methodology