Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

European Migration Series
© Julie Goucher, August 2022

This post is part of a series about European Migration. You can read the complete series HERE.

This is a much less specific migration move, in terms of reasons, locations and even purpose. Migrating for a better life is very personable.

Let us look back at the position of Europe. Between 1550 and 1770 there was significant exploration to other parts of the world, with Spain and Portugal leading the way. In addition to Spain and Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Britain began exploration and claiming territory as their own.

That claiming of territory meant that nationals of that country had the scope of being able to migrate, either in with a permanent aim, or even in part, though that depended on the employment that was being undertaken. Some commonality between all five countries above, was the establishing of colonies in the Americas, or what we would class now as north America (Canada included), and south America or what is seen as Latin America.

North America provided the opportunity for migration; establishing communities who wanted more opportunity and more freedom. Over the decades there were many migrants to America, whether that was to the New England region or elsewhere in the country. Some were tempted by religious freedom, others by acquiring land through Land Grants, or just the ability to achieve something that was better than in the native country.

Over the coming weeks as this series develops and expands, we will examine some specific reasons, or migration groups.

European Migration Series
© Julie Goucher, August 2022

This post is part of a series about European Migration. You can read the complete series HERE.

The story of migration, and understanding that story is of importance to genealogists and family historians.  In the understanding of that story, it enables us to have a more rounded view of snapshots of the lives of individuals in context, when so many, many people left their native lands. This is much in the same way a camera takes lots of mini pictures in poor light, it uses the multiple images to build the final picture taken, so viewers see a clear and concise image.

Migration is deep routed in my own family, and has led me over three decades to explore the lives of people and places, which eventually developed beyond my own family, to become a really important element of my research and interest.

I am the daughter of a migrant, albeit, a late migrant in the grand scheme of things. It was that migration and the understanding of it that led me to develop and expand my research, morphing into the formation of my One-Name Study for the Orlando surname, and my One-Place Study for the Sicilian commune of Sutera. Though my interest didn’t stop there. Other migrants arrived and deported both Britain and other parts of the globe, as military personnel, convicts and free settlers to Australia, and those who were desperate for a new life or even just to see what another country was like, before returning back to home turf, as my Grandmother’s uncle did.

Both my British and Sicilian family has migrated and travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, India, South Africa, Argentina and many others besides, and that is before I even focus on my specific studies.

The reality is, that migration is so much more than they got on a boat and went to ……There is the:

• HOW did they go?
• WHY did they go?
• WHEN did they go?
• WHERE did they go?
• WHO did they go with?
• WHAT did they do when they were en-route, when they arrived, and beyond?

© Julie Goucher, 2016

A deeper understanding is essential, as that gives us context, foundations and above all clarity, for understanding

Your People, in Their time and in Their Place

Whenever I talk about European Ancestors either in a presentation, workshop or even the Pharos course, I try to stress this. The subject is a huge one, my written text is about 50,000 words and has been sliced and diced in various ways, for various reasons. In addition, I am still writing, adding to the original text.

The European Migration Series is going to be a long series, some of the posts might be on consecutive days, while others might be a week or so apart. The series is currently scooped out on a rather large pile of index cards, and is subject to be tweaked over the coming weeks. Different migration groups likely share commonality with other groups, regardless of the catalyst for migrating, how they migrated, when they migrated, why they migrated and where they migrated to.

The posts are going to cover a wide range of reasons, locations, timespans, individuals and resources etc. The commonality might mean there is going to be some overlap and I will attempt to keep posts short and concise.

What to do next? To get the most out of the series , or for European research guidance there are a few things I recommend:

1. Subscribe via email, Facebook or Twitter follow, then you will be alerted to new posts when they publish
2. Leave comments or questions on posts – I might answer questions at the bottom of the post, create a separate Q & A or do both
3. The European Ancestors section on the menu bar has a link for this series and a variety of other posts – what is currently published is a mere fraction of what I have.
4. Consider taking the Pharos European Ancestors course (750)