Until late in the nineteenth century a considerable proportion of Dutch
children had lost one or both parents by the time they reached adulthood.
This was a consequence of low life expectancy, the high age at which
reproduction started (partly due to late marriage) and high fertility within
marriage. For the Netherlands in the period 1850 to 1900, the proportion
of persons aged 20 or less who had lost one of their parents is estimated
between 8 and 11 per cent; another 1 to 2 per cent had lost both parents.
Despite the fact that orphanhood was a very common phenomenon in
earlier centuries, little is known about how orphans in the past fared
materially and psychologically, and our knowledge about the consequences
of orphanhood, in particular full orphanhood, for the child is
restricted. Only a general impression from diaries, letters, autobiographers
and similar sources can be obtained. It is very difficult to acquire
information on orphans – especially those outside institutions – from the
customary demographic sources. Information on the effects of institutional
care for orphans and their ‘institutional careers’ is also very limited,
mainly as a result of the lack of good, individual-level data indicating the
age, occupation or family background of inmates at the time of their
admission or exit.