Person:William Barker (15)

If you use English naming conventions, there are likely to be brothers names Charles and Francis in this generation of the Barkers.

From Steve and Jane Barker

Our Barkers could have been in NY prior to MI. Aunt Lou, who is 87 and still driving and living on her own, says that she had always heard that they came to PA first. She has an excellent memory, but she is not infallible.

Early They Came by Paul Peck (a listing of early settlers of Jackson County)

East Portage Township (later Waterloo Twp) 1840 Barker, William A man 60-70 and a woman 50-60 with a boy 15-20; and a girl 10-15.

Immigration possibilities

William Barkerborn Port (Destination)Year

n/aAllegany (Allegheny) County, PA1827 Source: (Vol 1 1798-1840) p. 8; (Vol 2 1841-1855) p. 4

   Western PA Gen. Society

"A List of Immigrants Who Applied for Naturalization Papers in the District Courts of Allegheny Co., PA

n/aPrince Edward Island1817 Source:"The Voyage of the Valiant" in the Charlottetown Patriot 24 Nov. 1932, p. 1-4

n/aNew York, NY1820 Source:New York City Passenger List Manifests Index 1820-1824

age 21Philadelphia, PA1817 Source:Arrivals at the Port of Philadelphia 1800-1819 Michael Tepper, Editor. Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co. 1986. Date & arrival port. These records are located at Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Center for Immigration Research, Philadelphia

I wonder?

From Sandy <GB HlnMT 1@@aol.com> My husband's Barker family immigrated in 1806 from Todmorden, in Lancashire, England, to Barre, New York. John Barker married Nancy in England. They had four sons.

From West to Far Michigan

Authors of travel accounts and semi-autobiographical fiction portrayed the Michigan landscape in a Romantic perspective. All presented an optimistic image of the West, a theme prevalent in nineteenth-century American literature, to a popular audience. Charles Fenno Hoffman's Winter in the West (1835) was a typical travel account, in which he waxed poetic at the beauty of prairie scenery and made extravagant claims regarding the ease of farming in this "garden of the Union". Hoffman and others stressed the ideal and dismissed the detrimental aspects of the new country, creating exaggerated perceptions that shaped the perspective of immigrants and influenced the nature of their settlement...

... the well-drained interior forests exhibited "rolling, heavy timbered land, of the first quality, interspersed with oak openings, plains, and occasionally prairies," or "dense and lofty forests and scattered groves, interspersed with timber of the largest size."

... The "Long Winter" of 1842-43 finally destroyed the perception of a warm West in Michigan. Like the winter of 1935-36, it brought severe cold of long duration and lasted nearly five months. The early onset of winter caught settlers unprepared and abruptly ended the shipping season on the lakes. Conditions were especially hard for farmers. Wells dried up and hay and fodder became scarce by late winter. The Livingston Courier commented, "the few who have any to spare command any price that their consciences will allow them, or their cupidity prompt them to ask." In the midst of the season, one resident of New Buffalo compared it to "a New Hampshire winter." Starvation again took a heavy toll on livestock, and many new residents survived the winter on less than adequate supplies.

... Toward the western part of Washtenaw and Lenawee Counties, travelers encountered uneven terrain that marked the hydrological divide separating rivers running east and west on the peninsula. Characterized by hills and lakes, many of which could often be seen at one time, this "uneven and rough" land possessed the charm of mountainous countryside and appealed to the Romantic eye, but was perceived as a "poor country" for agriculture.

... The promise of cheap and abundant land also reached beyond the United States to attract Europeans from regions where agriculture was undergoing stressful changes. In Great Britain, uneven harvests and the effects of the Napoleonic Wars played havoc with the production and marketing of foodstuffs. Furthermore, the Industrial Revolution led to the rapid commercialization of agriculture, which displaced farmers and prevented others from taking up this occupation... Many saw the American West as a viable alternative to their unhappy economic situation and elected to seek their fortunes there.

America appeared to offer this growing surplus agricultural population the resources necessary to become independent farmers. British observer Henry Fearon portrayed the American West as a refuge where poor immigrants might find the means to support their families and prosper.

Success in frontier agriculture, however, required capitalization to establish a farm... Although poor, most European farmers were not destitute... For example, grain farmers, faced with market losses, declining profits, and an inability to adjust production, comprised the majority who came to the United States during the peak of British immigration. Seldom did they lack the means, skills, or experience necessary to become successful commercial farmers.

1. ↑ Vital Records - Miscellaneous Sources
   Son William's Death Certificate.