Creating a Historical Migration Dataset from Finnish Church Records, 1800-1920

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Vesalainen, Ari, Kanerva, Jenna, Nitsch, Aida, Korsu, Kiia, Larkiola, Ilari, Ruotsalainen, Laura, Ginter, Filip
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Vesalainen, Ari
Kanerva, Jenna
Nitsch, Aida
Korsu, Kiia
Larkiola, Ilari
Ruotsalainen, Laura
Ginter, Filip
author_facet Vesalainen, Ari
Kanerva, Jenna
Nitsch, Aida
Korsu, Kiia
Larkiola, Ilari
Ruotsalainen, Laura
Ginter, Filip
contents This article presents a large-scale effort to create a structured dataset of internal migration in Finland between 1800 and 1920 using digitized church moving records. These records, maintained by Evangelical-Lutheran parishes, document the migration of individuals and families and offer a valuable source for studying historical demographic patterns. The dataset includes over six million entries extracted from approximately 200,000 images of handwritten migration records. The data extraction process was automated using a deep learning pipeline that included layout analysis, table detection, cell classification, and handwriting recognition. The complete pipeline was applied to all images, resulting in a structured dataset suitable for research. The dataset can be used to study internal migration, urbanization, and family migration, and the spread of disease in preindustrial Finland. A case study from the Elimäki parish shows how local migration histories can be reconstructed. The work demonstrates how large volumes of handwritten archival material can be transformed into structured data to support historical and demographic research.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_07960
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Creating a Historical Migration Dataset from Finnish Church Records, 1800-1920
Vesalainen, Ari
Kanerva, Jenna
Nitsch, Aida
Korsu, Kiia
Larkiola, Ilari
Ruotsalainen, Laura
Ginter, Filip
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
I.4.6, J.5
This article presents a large-scale effort to create a structured dataset of internal migration in Finland between 1800 and 1920 using digitized church moving records. These records, maintained by Evangelical-Lutheran parishes, document the migration of individuals and families and offer a valuable source for studying historical demographic patterns. The dataset includes over six million entries extracted from approximately 200,000 images of handwritten migration records. The data extraction process was automated using a deep learning pipeline that included layout analysis, table detection, cell classification, and handwriting recognition. The complete pipeline was applied to all images, resulting in a structured dataset suitable for research. The dataset can be used to study internal migration, urbanization, and family migration, and the spread of disease in preindustrial Finland. A case study from the Elimäki parish shows how local migration histories can be reconstructed. The work demonstrates how large volumes of handwritten archival material can be transformed into structured data to support historical and demographic research.
title Creating a Historical Migration Dataset from Finnish Church Records, 1800-1920
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
I.4.6, J.5
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.07960