Magazine of Early American Databases (MEAD)

The Magazine of Early American Datasets (MEAD) is an online repository of datasets compiled by historians of early North America. MEAD preserves and makes available these datasets in their original format and as comma-separated-value files (.csv). Each body of data is also accompanied by a codebook.  MEAD provides sweet, intoxicating data for your investigations of early North America and the Atlantic World. 

MEAD is sponsored by the McNeil Center of Early American Studies and the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. 

Please click on the titles of the datasets below for full bibliographic information, files in original and .csv format, codebook, and more. 

If you would like to submit data, please contact Billy G. Smith (bgs at montana dot edu) or Andrew M. Schocket (aschock at bgsu dot edu).

Please submit your data! Although clean data is nice, better to submit messy data than no data at all. Messy files can be replaced with cleaner ones in the future. Messy data mounted on MEAD is preserved; messy data waiting forever to be cleaned will be lost. OpenRefine is a free, easy tool to use to clean data. A tutorial on using OpenRefine is available from Programming Historian: https://programminghistorian.org/en/lessons/cleaning-data-with-openrefine

We welcome coordinated submissions to MEAD and to the Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation (JSDP), in which data articles are published in the JSDP and the dataset is ingested into Enslaved.org’s linked open data hub, while the dataset is preserved with MEAD. Simply indicate in your submission if you would like to pursue this option if your dataset is relevant to both platforms.  

For more about this project, read the feature on it on Common-Place.org. 

Questions? please contact Billy G. Smith (bgs at montana dot edu) or Andrew M. Schocket (aschock at bgsu dot edu). 

The MEAD-iators who brought you this resource: 
Mitch Fraas, Digital Research Services, University of Pennsylvania Libraries 
Nicholas Okrent, Research and Instructional Services, University of Pennsylvania Libraries 
Andrew M. Schocket, Department of History and American Culture Studies Program, Bowling Green State University 
Billy W. Smith, Department of History, Philosophy, and Literary Studies, Montana State University
Sarah Wipperman, Repository Services, University of Pennsylvania Libraries

 

 

 

McNeil Center for Early American Studies (MCEAS)

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Dataset
    Quit Rent Rolls in Philadelphia County (Penn Family Estates), Due 1688/9
    (2020-08-26) American Philosophical Society
    This dataset was created from a volume listing quit rents due in Philadelphia County, 1 March 1688/9, held within the Penn Family Estates Collection at the American Philosophical Society Library. Quit rents (also quitrents or quit-rents) were fees collected by proprietors of the British colonies, in this case William Penn, to reinforce power and ownership over the land rented by farmers. They also represented a way for the English Crown to keep hold over the colonies. The dataset lists names of individuals and their status (first purchaser, renter, etc.), quantity of land in acres, dates of survey and dates of purchase, amount and form of payment of rent, and other details. This dataset is a part of the Magazine of American Datasets (MEAD). To view more of the collection, visit https://repository.upenn.edu/exhibits/orgunit/mead.
  • Dataset
    Record of indentures of individuals bound out as apprentices, servants, etc., and of German and other redemptioners, 1771 October 3 - 1773 October 5
    (2018-12-31) American Philosophical Society
    This dataset was created from a volume of over 800 pages that records information pertaining to individuals entering contracts of indentured servitude in Philadelphia from 1771-1773. Each entry contains details about the person to be indentured, including their name, country of origin, length of contract, and amount of debt owed. The records not only list the name of the person, but contain details on their profession and on the terms of the indenture. Although the volume is described as the records of German immigrants, there are other indentures included, such as that of John Slour, "a free negro," records of those arriving from Ireland, and of young Philadelphians choosing to enter indentured contracts. The volume had been on loan to the City Archives until 1987. During that time, approximately twenty pages went missing. Otherwise, the volume appears to be complete and contains over 5,000 records. This dataset is a part of the Magazine of American Datasets (MEAD). To view more of the collection, visit https://repository.upenn.edu/exhibits/orgunit/mead.
  • Dataset
    Outgoing Post, 1748-1752, Philadelphia Post Office Records
    (2016-12-31) American Philosophical Society
    This dataset was created from a volume of 372 pages that records receipt and dispatch of all mail in the Philadelphia Post Office between May 25, 1748 and July 23, 1752. Outgoing mail was simply listed by number of sheets and weight, not by individual letters. The records were kept during Benjamin Franklin's tenure as Postmaster of Philadelphia. This dataset is a part of the Magazine of American Datasets (MEAD). To view more of the collection, visit https://repository.upenn.edu/exhibits/orgunit/mead.
  • Dataset
    Incoming Post, 1748-1752, Philadelphia Post Office Records
    (2014-01-01) American Philosophical Society
    This dataset was created from a volume of 372 pages that records receipt and dispatch of all mail in the Philadelphia Post Office between May 25, 1748 and July 23, 1752. Deliveries into the Post Office from out of town were listed, letter by letter, by the names of the addressees, weight and amount due, paid or free. The records were kept during Benjamin Franklin's tenure as Postmaster of Philadelphia. This dataset is a part of the Magazine of American Datasets (MEAD). To view more of the collection, visit https://repository.upenn.edu/exhibits/orgunit/mead.