Thought you all might like this information I got from another list. >I am going to pass on a tidbit of Info 1816: The year without a summer > >As a result of the eruption of MT. Tambour Volcano in Java 1815, 12,000 >island residents lost their lives. The Volcano is also to blame for an >unusual weather pattern the following year in North America, resulting in >mass migrations of people trying to avoid the ensuing climatic changes. > >The summer of 1816 was unusually cold, with killing frosts and even >snowfall destroying crops throughout the United States. June and July were >the coldest months, 19 states had snowfall in June! There were no fall >harvests; animals and people starved; wild animals ravaged the frontier. >Not understanding the meteorological causes, people blamed the wrath of God >for their hardships. Some, destitute and despondent, committed suicide. > >By 1817 the climate had returned to normal. However, many had moved to >warmer parts of the country and numerous farmers left for the cities to go >into industrial work. > >If you have no explanation for why your ancestor may have migrated or you >can not determine exactly when it happened just sometime around 1815-1820 >consider that this event may have been the cause. > >>From the Jefferson Co. Genealogical Society Newsletter, Jefferson City, TN. >Feb. 1995