From census sheets to flagship data: A social historian’s journey with administrative data

In this reflective blog, Dr Bogusia Wojciechowska shares her journey from historical migration research to advancing administrative data for public good at ADR UK.

Dr Tom Emery’s keynote at this year's ADR UK Conference sparked a personal reflection on the long and complex history of administrative data. He spoke of its use during pivotal moments — from the Peasants’ Revolt to WWII — not always for the public good. As someone who has worked with historical records to understand migration and labour market change, I found his words deeply resonant.

Starting out in "demographic research"

Long before I encountered the term “administrative data,” I was immersed in what was then called “demographic research.” I linked 19th-century census records (1841–1871), birth, marriage and death records to trace rural migration during Britain’s industrialisation. This was a time of profound economic upheaval and transformation in the labour market. My focus was on how these shifts affected real people, just as today we might examine the impact of the technological revolution on jobs and livelihoods.

As a mixed methods researcher, I’ve always sought to bring the human voice into statistical narratives. During my own study, because the historical data wasn’t anonymised, I could identify individuals who had disappeared from the locality I was studying. Driven by curiosity and compassion, I reached out to countries that had encouraged immigration; the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, to see if any descendants had preserved family documents.

Discovering personal accounts

The response was extraordinary. I spent a month working in Australia and New Zealand, welcomed into homes and family archives. These collections offered vivid, personal accounts of the emigrant experience; stories that enriched my research far beyond what the numbers alone could tell.

One of my favourite discoveries was about the Deal boatmen. Though not part of my original case study, their story was too compelling to ignore. 

In the late 1850s, the boatmen of Deal, Kent found themselves facing a very precarious future. The role they had fulfilled for generations, supplying and guiding vessels around the treacherous Goodwin Sands, was becoming obsolete due to the rise of steam-powered vessels. Hearing about their plight, the New Zealand Government invited them to help establish a fishery in Lyttelton Harbour, shipping out six families and one boat. Although this venture failed, they were quickly recruited to set up a landing service at Timaru, (a 2-3 day journey by sea), offloading goods from ships anchored offshore as the town lacked a proper wharf. Today their legacy is present in the existence of ‘Deal Street’ in what was once known as ‘Dealmans Town’ in Timaru. 

Administrative data research today...

This kind of linkage work was groundbreaking for a social historian at the time. Today, I’m privileged to be part of ADR UK, helping to advance the use and linkage of administrative data for the public good.

Through our current work, of course, we follow strict guidance to ensure data is released securely and safely, with individuals’ data de-identified. But whether we’re looking at 19th-century census sheets or modern datasets, the goal remains the same: to understand how societal change affects real lives and to ensure that data serves the people it represents.