If you are looking into an event that took place before that type of data was gathered, here are some steps you can follow.
1. Look at newspapers. Are stores opening? Are new buildings being built? What are the advertisements/classifieds like?
2. Look into marriage records. During times of turmoil, one of two things will happen. Either parents will freak out and decide they need to marry their daughters off now (fewer mouths to feed, make sure she is cared for, etc.) OR the opposite, no one will get married. So what changes are you seeing?
3. Look into birth records. If there are fewer births in a given year, it may mean that food and healthcare were scarce and lead to miscarriages or people trying to not have children.
4. Look into death records. Deaths may rise during a period of economic turmoil. This could be because food is scarce, charity by others is diminished, healthcare is hard to get and/or pay for, and so on. Disease also tends to be more rampant when an economy is affected poorly.
