St. Martinville Louisiana Baptism Network

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la_stmartinville_catholic_transcription.csv (13.67 KB)
Penn collection
The Magazine of Early American Datasets (MEAD)
Discipline
Subject
baptism
social network analysis
New France
Louisiana
Acadian
American Studies
Genealogy
History
History of Gender
History of Religion
Women's History
Region
St.Martinville, Louisiana
Funder
Grant number
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Date issued
2022-12-01
Distributor
Scholarly Commons, University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Related resources
Maeve Kane, "The Capacious Sacrament of Necessity." https://observablehq.com/@mkane2/baptismal-network-comparison-statistics Digital humanities project in progress.
https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=0&article=1055&context=mead&type=additional
Permalink
https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/39797
Author
Contributor
Abstract

This dataset includes a transcription of the baptismal register for the French Catholic church Saint-Martin des Attakapas, now modern St. Martinville Louisiana, as well as a cleaned version of each baptism formatted as source-target pairs for social network analysis. The data includes 163 baptisms from 1756 to 1794, mainly of displaced Acadians. A handful of enslaved and Indigenous people are also represented. The data has been prepared for network analysis by regularizing the spelling of names. Source/Target pairs for network analysis were created by creating a pair between all adults who participated in a baptism. The network is assumed to be undirected. The year of baptism or edge creation is included in the edgelist file.

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.

Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.48659/074v-9479
Comments
This dataset was created as part of the research for my ongoing project comparing baptismal networks in early North America. I have taken care to minimize mistakes and err on the side of caution in identifying individuals who appear in the dataset under multiple name spellings as the same individual, but I cannot guarantee it is free from human error. In assigning gender to individuals within the network, I have drawn on my own experience as a researcher and documentary evidence where available. The dataset is offered "as is," and researchers are encouraged to consult the original records in the event of uncertainty. If you have feedback, notice errors in the data, or have further questions, please contact me at mkane2@albany.edu.
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Collection
Datasets