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Abstract
The aim of this study is to analyze the model of fertility based on reconstructed individual histories of families in the Lutheran Parish of Trzebosz in the borderland between Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) and Silesia in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In total, 656 pieces of information on deliveries by 132 women were reconstructed. Fertility was assessed on the basis of the length of protogenetic and intergenetic intervals. Partial fertility rates by age of women and the relative cumulative number of births were calculated. In the Lutheran Parish of Trzebosz the average age at marriage was 26.6 for grooms and 25.1 for brides. The fertility of women with a completed reproduction cycle was 6.72 children. The average age of women giving birth to their first child was 25, while they had their last child at 39.6. The average length of protogenetic intervals was 19.9 months, while the average lengths of successive intergenetic intervals were 26 and 27 months. The shortest birth intervals characterized women aged 20–29, which confirms high fertility in this age category. The high fertility among Lutherans under 30 is also supported by partial fertility rates and the relative cumulative number of births. The model of fertility in the Lutheran Parish of Trzebosz differs from those proposed for the Lutheran populations of historical Western Europe. Here the fertility figures became similar to those of Catholic parishes from historical Polish territories representing the non-Malthusian model of reproduction, without the use of birth-control agents and methods.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks are dedicated to Professor Olgierd Kiec for many helpful comments, suggestions and discussions.