Thank you, Mark, for your enlightening message. I have been teaching
historical geography for 7 years and have made it a point to explode
the myths you mention. My students are often surprised because the
facts about American migration often don't fit with what they have
learned prior to college.
My own family history contains examples of some of the facts you
mention. My Harrison ancestors migrated from York County, VA to
eastern Ohio in the early 1800s. Before doing so, however, they
sent out Harrison Ratcliff (whose mother was a Harrison) to find a
suitable place to settle, locate land to purchase, and basically
check out the place. Only then did they make the trip, which
according to journal accounts, was not a particularly arduous trek.
I have some ancestors who immigrated to the U.S. from Wales in 1854.
They arrived in New Orleans, which was a major port of entry for
immigrants planning to settle in the Mississippi valley, Missouri, or
points further west. My Welsh ancestors traveled to Utah along the
Mormon trail. Then, in 1855, they left Utah and migrated eastward
to Kansas.
For anyone interested in a good, in-depth, but readable study of
the historical development of North America, I'd suggest the Making of
America series by Donald W. Meinig, a geographer at Syracuse Univ.
Volume 1 covers the colonial period from 1492 to 1800; volume 2
covers the period from 1800 to the 1860s. Volume 3 is in the works.
The maps are wonderful, instructive, and in some instances thought
provoking. Every now and then, Meinig will throw in a quote that
makes one question our usual view of American history, such as the
quote from a wealthy Spanish-American woman of California in the 1840s
complaining about all the uncultured (and illegal) immigrants swarming in
from the United States.
Thanks again for this refreshing piece of mail.
Mike Ratcliffe
[email protected]