I think one thing we need to remember is the fact that in Europe only the
eldest son inherited substantially. Younger sons may have migrated because
that was the only way they were going to acquire land holdings for
themselves. Is it naive to assume that that may have increased migration ...
not only to American, but even as a part of the westward migrations once
here?

Thanks,
Linda

> -----Original Message-----
> From: A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State
> history. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Wayne Miller
> Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2000 10:21 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: early immigrant miscreants
>
>
> While there were a certain percentage of immigrants who left everything
> and everyone they knew to strike off into an uncertain, harsh, often
> dangerous, uncomfortable future thousands of miles away, I have to believe
> they were the minority. So what were their motivations? We are all aware
> of the Irish escaping the Potato Famine (or the Brits not allowing enough
> food to feed the folks who grew it). And certainly there were those who
> wanted to escape wars and such. But for the most part, those who were not
> forced (the narrow group that Honor seems to be addressing one racial
> component of) were, to put it bluntly, misfits, miscreants, and
> malcontents. This is not putting a value judgement on why they fit into
> this catagory, nor is it saying that they were not worthy of finding a
> home of their own on this continent (even at the cost of those who
> possessed the land before them).
>
> It does point to the importance of the frontier in shaping America (as
> Frederick Jackson Turner pointed out a hundred years ago). And it points
> out the importance of corn. This gift of the Native American is so
> productive that it allowed anyone who was fed up with 'civilization' to
> strike out with a bag of seed corn with a reasonable expectation that they
> would be able to grow enough food to survive. This is part of the search
> for personal freedom and liberty that has defined the American political
> and value system.
>
> My two cents.
> Wayne Miller
>
>
> On Tue, 11 Jul 2000, Honor Conklin wrote:
>
> >     This is thought provoking.  One must take into account who
> is making the statements.  Similar statements can be found in the
> Missionary Journal of New York State, 1803, written by Timothy
> Mather Cooley (a Mather descendant) as he made his way across
> northern NYS where people were without ministers and urban, or
> even village, level education.
> >    The key points I took from Edward Ball's Slaves in the
> Family is that  Africans sold Africans to European and American
> slave traders for qualities that weren't desirable - including
> enemy tribal membership, thievery, adultery, etc,. but who also
> possessed attributes that the slave owners found worthwhile to
> make an investment in - physical stamina, intelligence, hard working.
> >
> > Honor Conklin
> >
> > >>> [log in to unmask] 07/11/00 03:11AM >>>
> > In various accounts of early American settlements and frontier
> communities I've read descriptions of  the substantial numbers of
>  their residnets that were criminals, n'er-do-wells, drunkards,
> loafers and othe drags on society .  But these accounts are only
> anecdotal.
> >
> > I wondered if many of these miscreants were the result of Great
> Britain dumping its unwanted in the colonies, as they exported
> criminals to Australia. My question is, could anyone direct me to
> studies of the number of lawbreakers and/or convicted criminals
> that were sent from the British Isles and Ireland ( or from any
> other nation, such as France, if that were the case) to the
> American colonies?
> >
> >  [I understand, of course, that many emigrants from England
> labeled as criminals were only financial failures from debtors'
> prisons, or political revolutionaries, such as those from Ireland
> and Scotland].
> >
> >
> William Ringle
> >
>
> **************************************************************************
> Wayne L. Miller                         Special Collections Librarian
> Feinberg Library                        2 Draper Avenue
> 518-564-5206                            Plattsburgh, NY 12901
> [log in to unmask]      or             [log in to unmask]
>         "I wonder what will happen today!"  -Maggie Muggins-
> "Not even God can change history...which is why he tolerates historians."
>                                         -Voltaire
> **************************************************************************
>