hello, it was apparently very common for Italians to arrive that way, particularly the ones who came originally as seasonal workers, who would work as they walked (playing music, selling statuettes etc). Most of the immigrants at this time were from northern and central Italy (the mas exodus from the south cam much later) and particularly from the Appeninie valleys where Emilia Romagna meets Liguria and Tuscany. If you check the archives there was an early exchange on this subject where a lister kindly pointed out an article from the Genealogist's Magazine, around 1987 which talk about where they tended to cross into France, and where they picked up the cross-channel ships and the records that exist. They were almost certainly too poor to afford the fair, which is why they left Italy looking for work either seasonally or permanently. Best wishes, Elaine > I have just been informed that my Italian Great-Grandfather Ferrie and his > brother walked across Europe from Italy to England (well, I know they would > have to take a boat for the channel crossing :-)). Would this have been a > common way of emigration during the 1850s/1860s, or was it because they were > too poor to afford the fare? Opinions welcome! > A Williams > [email protected] > ==== ANGLO-ITALIAN Mailing List ==== > Inaugural Meeting of the Anglo-Italian Family History > At the SOG Fair at 3pm For the venue address look at > http://www.dreamwater.net/anglersrest/Italian.htm > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go > to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >