Bricks without straw: Using linked census data to estimate child mortality in the pre-registration era of the United States

We describe a method to estimate child mortality using linked IPUMS full-count census data for the decades following the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses. We compare the estimates to several external sources and conclude that the method represents a viable way to estimate and model child mortality at individual and aggregate levels over the course of the mortality transition. We demonstrate an example use of the method by mapping county-level mortality estimates for the 1910–1920 period. Finally, with the help of model life tables, we construct complete life tables by race and decade at seven levels of geography—urban/rural, city, county, state economic area, state, census division and nation—and make these data available for public use.