Changes in fertility relative to starting, stopping, and spacing behaviors in a migrating Mennonite community, 1775-1889

Abstract

Fertility change over time in a migrating Mennonite church congregation is reconstructed through genealogies developed from church registries of vital events during 1725-1924. The congregation was located in Prussia from 1725-1821, in Russia from 1822-1874, and in Kansas, U.S.A., from 1875-1924. Age-specific marital fertility rates were relatively low and usually peaked for women aged 25-29. Total fertility rates ranged from 1.19 to 5.29. These relatively low figures for a natural fertility population may partly reflect underreporting of births and deaths of infants, but it also reflects the heterogeneity in fertility evident for this population. Some women had many children while others were having either few or none. This pattern changed twice. Fertility was lowest during residence late in Prussia and early in Russia, peaked during residence late in Russia, and has decreased slightly for women born in the United States.

PIP: Age specific fertility rates among Mennonites are examined and compared with fertility rates of the Ohio Amish, Hutterites, English parishes, Bavarian parishes, and US women. Data are developed from church registries of fertility during 1725 and 1924. During 1725-1821, records pertain to Prussian births; during 1822-74, to Russian births; and during 1875-1924, to American births. Results indicate low fertility as 1.19-2.72 for controlled fertility populations and 4.14-5.29 for natural fertility populations. Fertility peaked for women aged 15-19 years, with the exception in the period 1850-74. Fertility was at least 4.0 after 1775. The total marital fertility ratios for women aged over 30 years ranged from 38% to 59%. Parity progression ratios were high throughout the age span for all cohorts; slight declines appeared in the cohort of women born during 1875-99, who had later age at marriage and married husbands of the same age. The mean age of husbands increased over the entire study period and averaged 2 years older than wives. Birth intervals did not show much variation during the study period, but average time from first marriage to first birth did show some change. There were decreases in birth interval after the Prussian period from 50.4 months during 1775-84 to 32.3 months during 1875-99. The proportion of women with no children increased after the last Prussian period (1725-1824) from 15% to 22.3% in the early US period (1875-99). The proportion of women with small families was 34% in the Prussian period, followed by a decline to 16% and 28% in the Russian period and then an increase to 35% for the US period. The proportion with 7 or more children also varied, but eventually declined to 16.5% for US born women. The most fertile period was the late Russian period of 1850-74, which was characterized by low mean age at marriage and long reproductive periods and relatively good economic conditions. The highest fertility was between 1850 and 1899. Fertility of Mennonite women with 7 or more children was closest to the fertility of Amish and Mennonite women born between 1825 and 1848. Fertility declined for these high fertility women after 1875. Over the entire span, the reproductive pattern showed some women with many children and some women with few children.