This one 1816 - was the major trigger point resulting in mass-migration of families from the New England and Middle Colonies coast area to the western New York, western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. The cause of it? Mount Timor on island of East Timor. So much ash into stratosphere to block the sun the following year. The only other volcano with such distruption took place about AD 525 - Krakatau. The one in 1883 didn't make such a dent but lethal enough to kill 36,000. AD 525 was the benchmark giving rise to new empires and downfall of old empires. Most notable is the rise of Islam, along with the end of the Roman Empire. As general rule, check the weather disruptions and financial panics to determine the large-scale migrations. David Cindy Amrhein wrote: > > This is in reference to one of the old newsies which brought up > discussion on some of the lists concerning early weather and the "year > there was no summer" in 1816. Thought it might be of interest to the > rest of you as well. > There are several references for weather to be found in local history > books of NY State. > -Joseph Ellicott and Stories of the Holland Purchase by Clara L.T. > Williams 1936 > -Pioneer History of the Holland Purchase - by O. Turner 1850 > -History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps & Gorham's Purchase, and > Morris' Reserve also by O. Turner 1851, which can be read on line in its > original form at the "Making of America" website through Cornell > University. The link to the book is: > http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ACM0485 > > Other books on the Holland Purchase will recite letters from Ellicott > back to Holland describing how bad land sales were going. One of the > major reasons was poor crops, bad weather and people getting extremely > sick or dying. > Here are some quick bits: > > From the Pioneer history of the Holland Purchase: > In reference to the settlement of Orleans Co. " It will be seen few lots > were sold there, previous to 1807, thought but little was done in the > way of founding a village. Sickness alone would have prevented it in all > the early years; and in later years - the projection of the Erie Canal, > arrested the projects of Commercial depots along the lakes. "... > ... "Mr. Caleb Powers, from whom we derive some local reminiscences of > Pike, says, that in 1816 and '17 there was much suffering for food among > the new settlers in all that region."... > > From Joseph Ellicott Stories of the Holland Purchase: > ...."There was no doubt of the value of the soil along the lake shore, > but there was a wide belt of dense dark forest and wet soil; its whole > aspect repulsive and forbidding. This region was sickly in the early > years and settlement was slow." > > Also in a news article submitted by S. PIERSON'S from his journal which > he states he started in 1810: > LEROY Gazette > July 20, 1859 > --Unseasonable Frosts -- > Written for the Leroy Gazette by S. PIERSON, in his 81st year, July 4, 1859 > ... I will now pass over many unseasonable frosts to 1816. This will > long be remembered as the cold summer, in which we had frosts more or > less severe through all the summer months. A large black spot on the > sun was plainly visible to the naked eye, and sometimes when the air was > hazy or smoky, it was not painful to my eyes to gaze at it for some minutes. > The sun did not shine clear, but with a kind of glimmer as when an > eclipse is coming on. This dark spot continued visible for many days to > the naked eye. Its magnitude I cannot attempt to describe. To some it > might appear as large as a good-sized Cook-stove. Others might think it > resembled a balloon; -- others again might think it was the black tariff > we heard so much about a few years ago. But whatever it was considered > ominous of some great event or calamity, and many various were the > predictions and prognostications of what retributive justice had in > store for us; none of which ever came to pass as far as I know and > believe.".. > Some other highlights from his article: > Notes a killing frost in July 17 & 18, 1810. > -June 7, 1842, great frost. > -June 11, 1842, hard frost and abundance of ice. > -June 14 & 15, 1847, some frost, coldest ever known; corn and garden > withered and blown to death. > -June 1, 1848, some frost. Thermometer at 34; on the first day of Jan. > last it stood at 63, it being 29 degrees colder on the first day of > June, than it was on the first day of Jan. 1848. > -Sunday, June 5, 1859, great frost and ice. > -May 1834, from 12 to 16 snow squalls, sleighs out, ground frozen. > -May 30, 1845, tremendous frost, ice 1/2 of an inch thick, killed corn, > potatoes, garden and vegetables. > > He also discusses the great frost of 1834 where no fruit grew in the > area that year. This is a large article but if the list is interested I > will type it all up. > > -- > Cindy Amrhein > Town of Alabama Historian > Genesee Co., NY > > ********************** > Historian's Page - Alabama, NY > http://www2.pcom.net/cinjod/historian/ > Experience the town of Alabama in Genesee County, New York. History, tombstone inscriptions, census records, history of the Tonawanda Seneca Indians and the Iroquois. Enjoy a good murder mystery? Read about the murders of Polly Frisch. > > APHNYS > (The Association of Public Historians of New York State) > http://www.tier.net/aphnys/ > > Genesee County, NY website. Includes History Department, (under "Historian") > http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/ > > The Genesee Area Genealogy Society lists the names and addresses for all the Genesee & Wyoming County Historians > http://www.rootsweb.com/~nygags/hist.htm > > ==== GEN-NYS Mailing List ==== > Have you seen the USGenWeb New York Page? > http://www.rootsweb.com/~nygenweb/