Shropshire Routes to Roots

1. Introduction

Emigration in the 1840s

The years of the 1840s saw a wave of revolutions and protests for change in European countries, brought about by anger at the increasing gap between rich and poor, especially the fact that only the wealthy had voting rights. In the 1840s, the way politics, religion and society were formed seemed stale and old-fashioned. America, on the other hand, was a blank canvas. The American War of Independence had led to the creation of the United States of America in 1783. Here was a country with the most modern and free political system in the world. There was also cheap land - and lots of it. It was a country in which men could make their own way, where hard work was rewarded not by bulging the pockets of their masters but an increase in their own wealth.

John Barnaby

By 1847, large numbers of people from all over Europe and Britain had begun to emigrate to America, hoping to make their fortunes. Some time during the late 1840s, a man called John Barnaby left his family farm in Montford, Shropshire, and set sail to America. He wrote many letters home to his brother, William, trying to persuade him to leave behind 'Old England' and join him in the New World.

Envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Barnaby, Belmont, Shrewsbury, Old England [Shropshire Archive reference: 5453/5/1]

The sources on the following pages are taken from two of his letters, one from 1850 and one from 1848. What did John Barnaby think of his new life, and how did it compare with the one he had left behind in England?

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