Population Registers of Sart, Belgium, 1811-1900

The population registers of Sart are part of the Historical Database of the Liège Region (HDLR), which was collected with funding from the University of Liège and the National Institute on Aging (NIA). HDLR is a collection of data describing the characteristics and vital events of individuals from a sample of municipalities in Eastern Belgium spanning the period from 1806 through 1900. It consists of nineteenth century and early twentieth century microdata, which means that it provides information on individuals and the households they belonged to. Because the focus of the National Institute on Aging funded project was on the dynamic of life course transitions, particular attention was given to sources with a longitudinal dimension, showing not a static cross-section but a span of time. The Belgian population registers are exceptionally good sources for longitudinal analysis. Since these registers record dates of in- and out-migration, we are able to reconstruct the population at risk at every point in time. In addition, population registers give us information about household composition as it changed over time. Since migration is recorded in the population registers, a much wider range of analyses are possible. They allow us to reconstruct the biographies of everyone living in these municipalities during most of the nineteenth century. We know not only when they were born, married, and died, but also the lives of their parents, siblings, and children. In other words, it is possible to trace the individuals through time.