Barry Reay

Microhistories

Microhistories is an excellent book that introduces you to the use of microhistory in investigating British history. It used a particular area of Kent between 1800 and 1930 and uses as much archival records of possible. There is a mixture of written and oral histories that has been used to illustrate the chapters in the book.

What the historian Barry Reay does is use the technique of family reconstitution, which is a very useful historical research device. The technique, links together life events recorded in the registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials which allow for an in depth demographic analysis which is not possible at the national level of historical investigation. As a historian you have to take in to account that with all constitutions the size of the data sets do vary, and one of the negatives is that it misses the mobile sections of the population.

The way Reay has used the family reconstitution he has also linked to other records such as rate books and school log books, court records, tithe records, probate, poor relief (workhouse), newspapers and census data. At the same time as using all this data the author makes it very clear that this is not a comprehensive history of the area.

What this book is, is an extended exercise in the use of microhistory, where local history can be used for wider issues to be considered. It also shows that a microstudy can range well beyond geographical and historical boundaries.… (meer)