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The quality and representativeness of longitudinal datasets play a central role in historical migration research. In this study, we apply the child-ladder (CL) method to a population-scale family tree dataset to analyze U.S. interstate family migration from 1850 to 1920. The CL method infers moves from changes in birthplaces between successive children, allowing for more precise dating of migration events. However, it is limited to families with at least two children. To evaluate the representativeness and utility of family trees for migration research, we compare the CL data to the IPUMS Multigenerational Longitudinal Panel (MLP), which tracks household moves across census decades and serves as a proxy for broader population migration. The CL data reveal higher migration rates, suggesting a likely closer approximation to migration levels in the overall population. Also, by capturing intercensal and return migrations, the CL method provide a detailed view of migration patterns across space and time. Despite differences in migration rates, both datasets reveal similar regional migration structures, especially in the earlier periods. These findings show that population-scale family trees when analyzed using the CL method, offer a valuable complement to linked census data by enhancing our understanding of long-term U.S. migration patterns and regional divisions. 

Roots & Migrants (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28934120) is a free-to-use story map application developed to enhance public scientific literacy and engagement with respect to historical population dynamics and migration through visual storytelling. This tool is designed with a user-friendly interface that makes it accessible to individuals with little or no GIS (Geographic Information Systems) or cartography background. Roots & Migrants was developed using a user-centered approach including a collaborative workshop with high school teachers and students. Feedback from the workshop offered insights from both high school students and teachers with regard to content, design, and potential curriculum activities. By integrating this tool into high school curricula, the tool aims to promote historical awareness and a deeper understanding of the role of population dynamics in shaping the United States. 

Despite the progress made toward generating and utilizing population-scale family trees to study historical population dynamics, little is known about their representativeness for the entire population. In this article, we confront the inherent complexities and biases in historical data collection and shed light on the extensive areas of history that remain unknown, unrecorded, or inaccurately portrayed. Although we do not provide definitive solutions for these data gaps, we aim to initiate a dialogue on these critical issues, contributing to the discourse on ethical data collection and representation in historical research. We first report on the preliminary results of a record linkage experiment between family tree records and a historical census, emphasizing the need for methods that integrate historical data from multiple sources to systematically evaluate representativeness. The experiment reveals significant underrepresentation of certain groups in the United States, notably Native American, Black, and Mexican persons, as well as those from eastern Europe, southern Europe, and Ireland. These findings underscore the ethical responsibilities that should guide historical research, including the need to address underrepresentation and improve methodologies to better reflect the diversity of population dynamics and migration patterns. To complement these efforts, we advocate for the use of interactive story maps to amplify the qualitative narratives of underrepresented populations and integrate them into the broader historical narrative. Our endeavor to map migration and demographic changes is not just about tracing the past; it’s about shaping a more equitable and comprehensive understanding of history that honors the diversity of all its participants. 

Geocoding is a fundamental yet complex step in temporal studies due to constantly evolving administrative borders and place names, and the uncertainty of geographic and temporal information. For example, identifying locations within crowdsourced datasets, such as family trees, is complex because recorded place names may be uncertain, inaccurate, and contain varying spellings (for instance, full names or abbreviations) and in inconsistent formats, such as mentioning only the country, or state, or a combination of city, county, state, and country. Moreover, place names and administrative boundaries drastically change over time, adding another layer of complexity to the geocoding process of fine-scale places. This paper presents a workflow for geocoding birthplaces of US-born individuals from crowd-sourced genealogical files spanning from 1789 to 1940. We introduce a method that geocodes the birth locations at the finest possible level by matching places with corresponding historical administrative boundaries within a range of individuals’ birth years. Our preliminary study analyzing 72,335 trees with over 250 million individual records shows the potential of our approach for use in complex crowd-generated spatio-temporal datasets. 

Using a population-scale family tree dataset, this paper proposes a study of migration regions and their evolution in the U.S. between 1789 and 1924. To extract migration events, we use the child ladder approach, which traces family moves based on changes in birthplaces of consecutive children in each individual family. We calculate a time series measure of migration rate and partition the time into optimal periods so that each period has a distinct migration network. We apply community detection to derive migration regions from each network of different periods. We map these regions and use a pair-counting measure to statistically compare the similarity of regions in consecutive time periods. Migration regions reveal the extent to which the strong regional identities we see today, and, in the past, which were rooted in migration. The North/South divide was pervasive not only in the early periods but throughout U.S. history. Migration regions are important for understanding the development of regional and national cultural forms such as music, literature, foodways, and dialects, as well as political divisions and events.