Thanks...will add this to the notebooks I'm making up for our kids... KINGSLEY@aol.com wrote: > Good reading.. > brenda~ > kingsley@aol.com > > ============================================================ > GEORGE G. MORGAN: "ALONG THOSE LINES . . ." > "Thirteen Reasons Our Ancestors Migrated" > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> > ============================================================ > We are a very mobile society today. People think nothing of accepting a job > offer in another state or in another country on the other side of the globe. > But it was not always so. In other times, the decision to migrate to another > place was a very major consideration. It was fraught with risk and danger, > and > meant leaving many things behind. Undertaking such a move might also have > meant > never seeing parents, siblings, other family members, and friends again. It > was > a very big decision! > > Do you know where your ancestors came from? Do you know what influenced their > decision to migrate? Do you know why your ancestors settled where they did? > The answers to these questions can help you better understand your ancestors > and, in turn, help you develop better hypotheses about them. > > In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, let's consider thirteen prominent > reasons why ancestors might have migrated from one place to another. > > THIRTEEN REASONS WHY ANCESTORS MIGRATED > > Let me first say that the thirteen reasons that follow cannot possibly > encompass > the universe of factors that influenced our ancestors to make a move. > However, > these thirteen (in no particular order) appear throughout history as the most > common reasons for migrating to a new place. > > Religious or Ethnic Persecution. The desire for the freedom to exercise one's > religious beliefs, or to pursue the lifestyle of one's ethnic group, is one > the > most overwhelming reasons for migration of our ancestors. Protestants > practiced > their religion in secret during the rule of Catholic monarchs across Europe. > You will recall stories of the Puritans, Quakers, and Huguenots and their > migrations to establish some of the most successful settlements in the New > World. In addition, the persecution of Jews throughout history forced many of > them to relocate again and again, and many migrated again to settle in the > newly > formed nation of Israel after its formation in 1948. Were your ancestors > persecuted, and as a result, did they migrate elsewhere? > > Natural Disasters. Drought, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, fires, hurricanes, > and other natural disasters were life-altering catastrophes that caused people > to leave one place and move to another. Recent examples include the Johnstown > Flood of 1889, the hurricane in 1900 that decimated Galveston, TX, the San > Francisco earthquakes of 1906 and 1989, the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, > and > this year's devastating wildfires near Los Alamos, NM. All of these > calamities > resulted in loss of life and destruction of property, and many survivors > abandoned the area and migrated elsewhere. Were your ancestors victims of > such > a catastrophe? > > Famine. Drought and plant diseases are common natural causes of famine; wars, > land mismanagement, and other human-caused disasters also result in famine. > Whatever the reason for famine, people cannot withstand starvation for long, > and > they often migrate elsewhere. Consider the Irish Potato Famine, the Dust Bowl > of the Great Depression in the United States, the accounts of Chinese famines > in > Jung Chang's book "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China," and the TV news > accounts we frequently see of famine in Africa. Starving people will become > refugees to seek sources of nourishment. Did any of your ancestors migrate > because of famine? > > Economic Problems. The economic problems of an area can cause people to > migrate. > Consider the tale of the French stonemason, who because of economic inflation > and government politics in the early 1800s, could not find enough work to feed > his family and his parents. On hearing of the growing housing development in > upstate New York created by the opening of the Erie Canal, he sold everything > and moved his entire extended family to America; there he began what became > one > of the most successful building concerns in what is now the Buffalo, NY area. > > War. The conflict and destruction caused by war is a major cause for upheaval > of > persons. People may have been fleeing approaching armies, or the men may have > been trying to avoid conscription in order to protect and provide for their > families. They may have lost their homes and possessions as a result of > bombing. They may also have been the targets of political or ethnic > persecution. They may even have been like Anne Frank, the Jewish girl whose > diary recounts her family's persecution, flight, and hiding in Amsterdam > during > World War II. Wars displace people and make them refugees. Were your > ancestors > participants in or victims of a war? > > Political Strife/Turmoil/Oppression. Political conditions may be too > oppressive > to be endured, and as a result, people may flee to other areas or countries. > The United States has for centuries been a haven to Europeans emigrating to > seek > freedom from political oppression. German citizens emigrated during the 1930s > to avoid the expanding Nazi menace; Russian athletes and dancers defected to > the > United States when they had an opportunity to visit; and Cuban refugees > continue > to attempt to flee the Castro regime. Were your ancestors trying to avoid > political oppression when they came to North America? > > Following Family and Friends. Many people followed other family members or > friends who had already moved somewhere else. Tales and promises of better > living conditions, prosperity, or opportunity to start a new life were > sometimes > irresistible lures. Pioneers who went west in wagon trains to settle in > California and Oregon wrote home with glowing descriptions that convinced > families and friends to join them. And who can forget the irresistible lure > of > gold in California in the late 1840s and 1850s? Sometimes, too, people > decided > to accompany their family members or good friends when they decided to > migrate. > In my own ancestry, I can trace four brothers and their entire families and > seventeen families that were their close friends, including their minister and > his family, who all migrated from Cecil County, MD to Mecklenburg County, NC > in > the 1740s. This was not uncommon. Did your ancestors follow or accompany > other > family or friends to another location? > > Adoption. Adoption forces the movement of the adoptee from one place to > another > without his or her control. Not only were there simple family-to-family > placements, but the Orphan Trains also carried children from cities across > North > American and placed as many as 150,000 to 200,000 children in new homes in > forty-seven states, Canada, and South America. Was one of your ancestors an > adoptee? Was your ancestor relocated by the Orphan Trains? > > Slavery. Unfortunately, the heinous institution of slavery was responsible for > rending families apart and relocating tens of thousands of persons. The sale > or > exchange of human beings removed people from Africa to the New World, and then > from place to place as a result of sale or barter. Were any of your ancestors > slaves? > > Forced Relocation of Native Americans. As the colonies and states grew and > expanded, Native Americans were deemed "in the way of progress." Armed > conflicts between Native Americans and white settlers and their armies > ensued. > Ultimately, the Native Americans lost and were coerced or compelled to sign > treaties with the government. These treaties called for the ceding of Native > American lands and the permanent relocation of American Indians to parcels > referred to as reservations. Many died in the relocation marches, such as the > "Trail of Tears." Were any of your ancestors Native Americans who were forced > to relocate to a reservation? > > Criminal Incarceration/Deportment. Some criminals were transported to the > colonies to serve their sentences of hard labor or to simply get rid of them > permanently. Others were offered the option of relocating to a colony rather > than face prolonged imprisonment in their homeland. James Edward Oglethorpe, > for instance, devised a plan for the colony of Georgia to be populated by the > debtors released from prison and the so-called "worthy poor" of London. > Australia was originally a penal colony. Were any of your ancestors > criminals > or debtors who were deported to another place? > > Not a First Son. It was common in the Middle Ages (and later) for the eldest > son > to inherit all property on the death of his father. He could allow his mother > and other siblings to remain or could force them to leave. Sisters to the > eldest son were usually married off; depending on the size of the estate and > the > temperament of the inheritor, his brothers either remained on sufferance or as > employees of the eldest son, or they were encouraged to strike out on their > own > to make their own way in the world. Was your ancestor an inheriting eldest > son, > or one who moved on to make it on his own? > > Great Financial Opportunity. We've all heard tales of immigrants who came to > America to see the streets that were "paved with gold." Many immigrants left > family, friends, and everything familiar for the opportunity to make a new > life > and to prosper. Probably more than any other reason for migrating, this is > the > most common. Did your ancestor come to the United States to make a fortune? > > GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT > > There were many motivations for your ancestors to migrate from overseas to the > New World. Once here, they learned firsthand of opportunities where they > landed > and beyond, and they may have moved once, twice, or more times until they > found > what suited their needs. > > It is important to do more than just fill in pedigree charts for your > ancestors. > Learn all you can about their families. Research the history of the area in > which your ancestor began his or her life, and try to determine when he/she > moved. What factors may have influenced the decision to migrate? Where did > the > person(s) migrate to? Did they make multiple moves? Why? And finally, why > did > they settle where they did? Many of the answers to these questions may help > you > better understand your family and the values they shared and imparted to > succeeding generations. Maybe you'll learn a little more about yourself in > the > process! > > Happy Hunting! > > George > _________________________________________________________________ > > Copyright 2000, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved. George G. Morgan is a proud > member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, > Inc. > (ISFHWE). He would like to hear from you at atl@ahaseminars.com, but due to > the > volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail message > received. > > Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual research. Visit > George's Web site at http://ahaseminars.com/atl for information about speaking > engagements. George is also the author of "The Genealogy Forum on America > Online," which is available in the Ancestry Online Store at: > http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog/product.asp?pf%5Fid=1101046&dept%5Fid > =10102000 > > Brenda K. Wolfgram Moore > kingsley@aol.com > http://members.aol.com/fiddlerben/gtindex.html > surnames: Wolfgram, Kratochvil, Secor/Sicard, Jacques, > Leguerre, Vallee and and