Portrait of an English Migration : North Yorkshire People in North America

The story of Yorkshire immigrants, what they left behind, and what they brought to North America. __Portrait of an English Migration__ recounts the history of those who left North Yorkshire for North America between the eighteenth century and the early twentieth century. Focusing on individual stories of migrants and their families, this book provides many personal glimpses of the migration experience of those who left England's largest county to build new lives in the United States and Canada. "Portrait of an English Migration recounts the history of those who left North Yorkshire for North America between the eighteenth century and the early twentieth century. Focusing on individual stories of migrants and their families, this book provides many personal glimpses of the migration experience of those who left England's largest county to build new lives in the United States and Canada. Exploring the local history, geography, and cultures of Yorkshire and the key places of settlement in North America, William Van Vugt deepens our understanding of the historic migration process: how local conditions and access to information influenced migration decisions, the role of local networks in migration patterns, and the significance of family connections, religious identities, and land ownership to the migrants themselves. He considers the extent to which English migrants shaped regional culture and contributed to economic development, addressing ongoing questions about identity and what it meant to be English in North America. Full of first-person accounts and stories from migrants themselves, Portrait of an English Migration is both a sweeping history of two centuries of migration and an intimate look at the lives of generations of Yorkshire people who crossed the ocean to make a new home."-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Portrait of an English Migration 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Figures 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 18 1 Origins 29 2 Beginnings 37 3 After the Revolution 44 4 Lead 56 5 Leaving 68 6 The Journey 83 7 The Upper Mississippi 103 8 Adjustment and Assimilation 116 9 Mining and Smelting 127 10 Upper Canada 144 11 Farming 162 12 Iowa 179 13 Native Americans 188 14 Religion 196 15 The Gold Rush 219 16 Politics, Reform, and War 227 17 The Steamship 239 18 The Post-War Economy 246 19 Farming after the War 258 20 The Great Plains 266 21 Texas 279 22 Canada 290 Conclusion and Epilogue 305 Notes 316 Bibliography 378 Index 394