Cathy Day created a database of over 20,000 individuals in two villages in Wiltshire, England, using a wide array of data sources to link them into extensive pedigrees.  She relied heavily on a small army of volunteers to transcribe over a million lines of records, which were principally from baptism, marriage and burial registers. She also used the indexed censuses for Great Britain which are now available online, as well as numerous other sources of data, including wills, admons, newspapers, settlement examinations, bastardy bonds, charity lists, army records and information from descendants. Individuals were linked into multi-generation families, often spread across several parishes, and categorised by religion, occupation, birthplace and marriage place.  An online version of the database is avaialable.

This is the first study to use pedigrees of a mainstream English population to determine cousin marriage rates amongst ordinary labourers, tradesmen and farmers, and to demonstrate the association between cousin marriage, occupation, religious affiliation, geographical mobility and illegitimate reproductive experience. Using birthplace rather than place of residence, it shows the geographical source of spouses, their parents and grandparents. The marriage prospects of parents of illegitimate children and the children themselves are described, along with the association between being the mother of an illegitimate child and both low geographical mobility and high rates of cousin marriage.

Dr Cathy Day is a Visiting Fellow in the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, and ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment.