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Archiver > GEN-NYS > 1998-01 > 0885861881


From: Jean Snow <>
Subject: Re: 1810-1830 immigration
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 16:44:41 -0800 (PST)


Perhaps some moved farther West after 1816 in hopes of better weather! The
explosion of Mount Tambura in the Dutch East Indies in April 1816 spewed
debris into the atmosphere which dimmed the skies of much of the Northern
Hemisphere, making temperatures all over the world plummet. It snowed in
June in New England and killing frosts continued through August. They wryly
called this "The Year Without a Summer" or "Eighteen Hundred and Froze to
Death." "Volcano Weather: The Story of 1816, the Year Without a Summer" by
Henry & Elizabeth Stommel, Seven Seas Press, Newport RI, c 1983 will give
you a good idea of what they faced.
I think also that there were (are?) a lot of places in NE and NY where the
soil was so poor it was called "hard scrabble." Many people look for ways to
better themselves, and if the land beyond was free and open, why not go? I
feel sorry though for the poor women of the Westward Trek, who had little to
say about leaving families, familiar circumstances, and certain comforts to
travel by wagon or horse, pregnant or not! BTW, I hope many of you saw the
recent PBS special, The Midwive's Tale. It is a fascinating picture of how
our ancestors struggled to live. Jean

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