This quantitative study of Piotrków Trybunalski traces the evolution of the population in the typical early modern semi-agrarian town in which the majority of activity was concentrated in the Jewish suburbs into a provincial capital in Congress Poland. Through the use of longitudinal aggregations and family reconstruction it explores fertility, mortality, and marriage patterns from the early nineteenth century, when civil records were introduced, until the Holocaust, revealing key differences as well as striking similarities between local Jews and non-Jews. The example of Piotrków set in a broader European context highlights variations in the pre-transitional demography of Ashkenazi Jewry and lack of universal model describing the âtraditionalâ or âeastern Europeanâ Jewish family.
Tomasz M. Jankowski, Ph.D. (2014), was a post-doc scholar at the Friedrich-Christian-Lesser-Stiftung (2018-2021). He specialises in historical demography and social history of the Jews. He is the co-author of Hebrew Polish Tango (2019).
Note on Place Names and Their Transliteration Acknowledgements List of Figures and Tables Abbreviations
Introduction
1 Quality of Vital Registration
â1âLegal and Ideological Context
â2âSex Ratio at Birth as a Quality Measure
â3âRegional Perspective
â4âLocal Perspective
â5âAdditional Indicators of Registration Quality
â6âCauses of Under-Registration
â7âVital Registration in Piotrków Trybunalski
â8âConclusions
2 The Jewish Town of Piotrków
â1âWhat Is a Shtetl?
â2âThe Twin-Town
â3âEconomic Conditions
â4âSocial Inequalities
â5âNaming Patterns and Social Attitudes
â6âPopulation Dynamics
â7âConclusions
3 Marriage and Household Formation
â1âQuality of Marriage Registration
â2âAge at Marriage
â3âPermanent Celibacy
â4âMarriage and Socio-Economy
â5âRemarriage
â6âDivorce
â7âHousehold Formation
â8âEndogamy and Social Networks
â9âConclusions
4 Births and Fertility
â1âMarital Fertility
â2âPremarital Conceptions and First Birth Interval
â3âBirth Intervals and Spacing
â4âNonmarital Births
â5âConclusions
5 Deaths and Mortality
â1âInfant and Child Mortality
â2âDistribution of Age at Death
â3âBreastfeeding, Mortality and Natural Increase
â4âMaternal Mortality
â5âCauses of Death
â6âLocal Health Care
â7âConclusions