Week 49 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is New Horizons. When I think about my immigrant ancestors, I imagine their perilous journeys to North America. What were they thinking and feeling? What motivated them to leave their native lands and make the uncertain voyage to what was a vast and untamed wilderness for some of them? Most were hoping for a better life and left their countries of origin behind to find religious freedom, to have some say over whom they married, or to provide a better standard of living for their families. Others were brought here as POWs, forced into indentured servitude an ocean away from the homes and freedom they were fighting for. Each of them braved uncertainty and embraced a new horizon.
My Mayflower ancestors Constance Hopkins, John Howland, the Brewsters, and Elizabeth Tilley sought religious freedom in the wild lands of New England. Unwilling to follow the Church of England, pilgrims like them fled to the Netherlands, but felt they were losing their language and cultural identity and chose to risk everything to form their own community an ocean away. Many in their fledgling settlement perished that first winter, including Elizabeth Tilley’s parents, leaving the young girl orphaned. These pioneers probably felt a sense of strength derived from their religious beliefs.
My ancestors arrived in what is now Canada as soldiers, fur-trappers, and farmers, but it was a lonely life. Men outnumbered women six to one until King Louis XIV funded the Filles du Roi, or “King’s Daughters.” Women between the ages of 15 and 40, largely from urban areas, were given the option to come to New France and marry one of the settlers. In France, these women faced a life of uncertainty. With little-no dowries, nor any say in choosing a spouse, the prospect of journeying to a new land may have been appealing and thrilling. Each woman was provided with a dowry, a trousseau, housing and domestic training by the nuns until they were married, and the freedom to choose their own husbands. About 800 of these hopeful, daring women made the voyage, and most produced at least one descendant. With no shortage of food, and a nice bonus from the king once a woman produced 10 or mor children, most people of French-Canadian descent have at least one Filles du Roi in their tree. These brave women looked out across the ocean and faced their new lives with hope and optimism.
I have a few Scottish ancestors in my tree who were unwillingly brought to New England as POWs, forced into indentured servitude after the Battles of Dunbar and Worcester in 1650 and 1651. Cromwell’s armies defeated the Scotts, but were unsure what to do with the prisoners, fearing that they would regroup if set free. Meanwhile, the Great Migration of Puritans to North America had ended, and the new colonies needed workers. Under Cromwell’s orders, as many as 400 Scottish POWs were sent to New England, among them my ancestors John Waddle, John (Mac)Bean, and Alexander Gordon. Men like them were stolen from their homeland and sold into forced labor for terms of 6-8 years. Most never returned to Scotland. I imagine they felt both fear and anger over their uncertain prospects.
German immigrants arrived in America in three distinct waves. These men and women left their homeland due to a variety of reasons such as overpopulation, industrialization, loss of farmlands, and to seek out political and religious freedom. My German ancestors arrived during what is known as the Second Wave (1820-1871). With the influx of cheaper, mass-produced goods during this time period, skilled artisans like my 3rd great-grandfathers Jacob Wolf, a cabinet maker, and Henry Steltz, a tailor, may have struggled to find work and support their young families. Both men settled in large cities (New York and Boston), had several more children, and were able to provide a higher standard of living for their families than they would have had in Germany at the time. They likely faced their new future with a sense of determination.
Whether they were seeking religious freedom, the ability to marry and own land, financial security and work, or if they came here against their will yet managed to forge a path, each group of my ancestors had a set of unique reasons that drove them to new horizons in a strange land.
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