Preprint

Geographical dispersal of kin in Europe and the United States: 1700-1900

Colasurdo, A., Alburez-Gutierrez, D., Mulder, C. H.

SocArXiv papers
19 pages.
SocArXiv
submitted: 18 June 2025 / last edited: 18 June 2025 (2025), unpublished

DOI:10.31235/osf.io/fnbqa_v1

Open Access

Abstract

Individuals are embedded in kinship networks that frequently extend across national borders. The emergence of international families, in which relatives are geographically dispersed, is often seen as a contemporary phenomenon driven by globalization. However, a cross-national historical perspective on international families is lacking. In this paper, we use the online genealogical database FamiLinx to investigate the dispersion of international families across countries and over time. We find a high degree of international geographical dispersion in historical family networks between 1700 and 1900 in Europe and the United States. The percentage of individuals with descendants living abroad was higher in Europe, while the percentage of individuals with ancestors living abroad was higher in the US. In most of the analyzed European countries, we observe an increasing likelihood of individuals having at least one relative living abroad that peaked at around 1850, with the proportion of children living abroad growing rapidly over time. Our findings provide valuable insights into how historical migrations shaped kinship structures, improving our understanding of the historical dispersion of kin across countries and informing debates on the potential of kin to influence migration behaviors.