Unit 1: Our Families’ Stories In Wisconsin
by
Dr. Ava L. McCall and Thelma Ristow
History Of Main Cultural Groups |
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Resources |
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Activities |
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This unit will focus on the family histories of the students and teachers and other main ethnic/cultural groups, what led to their emigration from their homelands, what drew them to Wisconsin, where their families settled in Wisconsin, and what helped families stay in Wisconsin.
Students need to learn that history includes the stories of themselves and their families as well as the stories of people very different from themselves. By beginning the study of the history of Wisconsin with a focus on students' family histories, students may be more motivated to learn about Wisconsin history and develop the personal connections which make history more meaningful and memorable.
1. Students will develop greater knowledge of and appreciation for their family history, the influences that led their families to move to Wisconsin, to settle where they did, and factors which helped their survival in Wisconsin.
2. Students will develop greater knowledge of and appreciation for the histories and cultures of the main ethnic/cultural groups in Wisconsin.
3. Students will develop literacy skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
4. Students will develop cooperative learning skills by working with others.
National Social Studies Thematic Strands
First, this unit will incorporate the culture thematic strand by focusing on aspects of culture and cultural diversity from the students' and teachers' backgrounds as well as main ethnic/cultural groups in Wisconsin. This strand is important because it provides students with opportunities to become more aware of and appreciate their own culture and the culture of others. Such understandings can contribute to people developing more harmonious relationships with diverse groups.
Second, this unit will also focus on the people, places, and environment thematic strand by including ways the physical environment of the homelands and Wisconsin influenced our family histories. For some cultural groups, they left their homelands because of environmental changes and were attracted to Wisconsin because of its physical and cultural environments. The inclusion of this thematic strand will help students understand reasons for emigration from one place and immigration to another place.
Third, this unit will address the global connections thematic strand by helping students understand how events in one part of the world such as war and economic crises can influence life in another part of the world. A number of ethnic/cultural groups who settled in Wisconsin came here because of a lack of economic opportunities or fear of persecution following war in their homelands. By incorporating this thematic strand, students will have opportunities to understand the global connections of their own family histories and the history of main ethnic/cultural groups within Wisconsin.
School District Social Studies Curriculum Objectives
1. 1a Students will define the terms state, country, and world in relationship to their family histories.
1. 1c Students will locate Madison and other major cities in the state on maps and globes in relationship to their family histories.
1. 1d Students will describe the location of countries of their ancestry relative to the U.S. and Wisconsin.
1. 1e Students will locate places in Wisconsin relative to physical features.
1. 1f Students will locate positions of continents and oceans in relationship to their family history.
1. 2a&d Students will locate the major parallels (North and South Poles, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the Equator) on world maps and globes as markers to identify similarities and differences in the climate of their families' homelands and Wisconsin.
1. 2b Students will identify the hemispheres on maps and globes in relationship to their family histories.
1. 2e&f&g Students will use latitude and longitude and a grid system to locate places in their family history on maps and globes.
1. 3a Students will describe factors that helped influence the location of a particular town or city in Wisconsin.
1. 3b Students will describe factors that helped influence the growth and development of cities in Wisconsin.
1. 3c Students will locate Madison, Wisconsin and explain why it became the capital of Wisconsin.
1. 3d Students will analyze the reasons for the locations of major economic activities, population groupings, and transportation systems in Wisconsin.
2. 1b Students will define the characteristics of major landforms in relationship to their homelands and where their families settled in Wisconsin.
2. 1d&j Students will locate major bodies of water and river systems in Wisconsin and explain how they influenced the settlement of the state.
2. 1f Students will describe features of climate, natural vegetation, forests, and prairie lands in their homelands and Wisconsin.
2. 1h Students will compare climate conditions including wind, ocean currents, and elevations in their homelands and Wisconsin.
2. 1k Students will evaluate the effects of the climate in Wisconsin on agriculture, use of fuels, and recreational activities.
2. 2a Students will define ways that people changed the landscape when they settled in Wisconsin.
2. 2c Students will use maps to identify where ethnic groups settled and remain in Wisconsin.
2. 2d Students will describe the human characteristics of urban and rural areas in Wisconsin.
2. 2e Students will compare characteristics of places used for farming, mining, manufacturing, forestry, fishing, and recreation.
2. 2g Students will describe and evaluate how Wisconsin developed based on its resources.
2. 3c Students will classify ways in which Wisconsin has changed over time.
3. 1c Students will identify Wisconsin resources i.e. rivers and waterways whose value changed over time due to changing technology such as transportation developments.
3. 1d Students will list ways Wisconsin immigrants depend on the use of the environment (such as climate and vegetation).
3. 2c Students will identify areas in Wisconsin with high population densities and give reasons to explain these concentrations.
3. 2e Students will list ways Wisconsin immigrants adapted to their environment through their housing.
3. 2i Students will understand the influence of climate on the development of agricultural communities as immigrants moved into Wisconsin.
4. 2c Students will identify on a world map the homelands of their ancestors prior to immigration to Wisconsin.
4. 2i Students will understand how communication and transportation networks were part of the immigration process to Wisconsin.
4. 3b Students will trace the movements of their ancestors from their homelands to Wisconsin resulting in the growth of the U.S.
4. 3d Students will describe several movements of people from places in the world to Wisconsin as an example of a changing pattern in world geography.
15. 1 Students will identify ethnic groups who settled in Wisconsin, where they located, their work, and cultural contributions.
15. 2 Students will identify current local ethnic groups in their own community.
School District Literacy Curriculum Objectives
Reading Band E
Reading Strategies
Students will use a dictionary to gain information when reading.
Students will use the index, table of contents, and glossary to gain information when reading expository text.
Students will use a variety of word analysis strategies to decode words.
Students will use a variety of comprehension strategies to gain meaning from more complex text.
Reading Responses
Students will improvise in role play.
Students will prepare written responses to show meaning inferred from text.
Students will demonstrate understanding of a piece of literature.
Students will express and support an opinion on the author's purpose.
Students will analyze text to show understanding of character traits and actions.
Students will evaluate the behavior of characters from different cultural perspectives.
Students will paraphrase informational/expository text.
Students will read orally with expression.
Interest and Attitudes
Students will choose books of personal interest related to the curriculum unit.
Students will participate in SSR.
Students will independently choose books appropriate to their reading level.
Students will demonstrate effective listening and speaking habits.
Writing Band E
Writing Mechanics
Students will construct more complex sentences.
Students will write passages with clear meaning, accuracy of spelling, and appropriate punctuation and grammar.
Students will use a dictionary and/or thesaurus to check and extend vocabulary for writing.
Students will write statements, questions, commands, and exclamations.
Students will consistently use legible handwriting.
Students will use the editing mechanics of spelling, indentation, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization.
Writing Strategies
Students will link paragraphs into a cohesive structure.
Students will write for different purposes.
Students will write from different perspectives.
Students will use the writing process to prepare for publication.
Students will incorporate feedback from adults and peers through revising and editing.
Writing Responses
Students will write a summary of expository texts including the main topic, main ideas, and supporting details.
Students will respond to text through logs or journals.
This unit will include the experiences and perspectives of different ethnic/cultural groups, including the students themselves. The unit will be relevant to the students because it will offer many opportunities for students to connect their lives and experiences to the curriculum in meaningful ways. The unit will also incorporate critical thinking skills and the analysis of diverse viewpoints.
Our Families’ Stories In Wisconsin: Background Knowledge
Ava L. McCall's Family History
I am the only member of my family to live in Wisconsin. My husband David Calabria and I came here for economic reasons, so that I could teach at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Wisconsin also attracted me because it was similar to my home state of Indiana in the importance of agriculture in its history and culture. In addition, I was attracted to the progressive views in the state regarding education, labor, and equal rights issues. We remain in Wisconsin largely because we enjoy our home and because of the satisfaction I find in my work as a teacher educator.
My maternal grandparents are Ava Melvin Lashley whose background we believe is Irish and Charles Lashley, who may have some German background. They owned land and were farmers in southern Indiana. I'm unsure why they left their homeland and came to Indiana. Grandmother and Grandfather Lashley had nine children during 19 years: Helen, Juanita, Joe, Agnes, Bertha, Russell, Ruby, Herman, and Anna Marie Lashley McCall, my mother. Joe died in a swimming accident during World War II and Herman and Russell both built new houses on the family farm. Helen, Juanita, Agnes, and Bertha married, had families, and lived in Washington, Indiana. Ruby and her family moved to Florida when I was in elementary school. Mother moved to live on my father's family farm after she married my father.
I was named after my maternal grandmother and I remember spending week-long vacations with her in the summer. We took baths in the pond (there was no indoor plumbing) complete with soap, wash cloths, and towels. I can remember Grandmother slipping in the pond and explaining "a turtle got my toe." We drank cold water pumped from the well and stored in a water bucket on the inside porch. Everyone drank from the same tin ladle and bucket all day, but the water always seemed very cold. Together we swung on the porch swing every evening and watched the road as it disappeared with the growing darkness and the appearance of the fire flies around the yard. The rhythmic, night time sounds of the swing squeaking as it moved back and forth, Grandmother's quiet voice, and the voices of the crickets and frogs were part of this ritual until Grandmother announced, "It's time to hit the hay." I later realized "hitting the hay" was a metaphor for going to bed. Then we went inside and together slept on thick feather beds, so deep they almost engulfed us once we lay down on them. Sleeping with Grandmother was a treat, and I seemed to do this often. Perhaps she knew I would be afraid if I slept alone.
As a special treat each visit, Grandmother usually took me "to town" and bought me a new dress at Penney's. I'm unsure how we got to town because Grandmother didn't drive and I did not remember Grandmother and Grandfather Lashley ever owning a car. I always looked forward to these new dresses each visit, although I now realize Grandmother did not have much money for such luxuries. Grandmother was also a quilter, although I have no memories of her actually quilting. I remember she saved fabric scraps and made a beautiful quilt out of scraps of fabric of clothing made for family members by my mother or her sisters which she gave to Mother to save to give me as a wedding gift. Grandmother did all the stitching by hand; I'm not sure she had a sewing machine. During one of the regular Sunday afternoon family visits with Grandmother and Grandfather Lashley, Grandmother called me over and told me she had something to give me "if something should ever happen to me." I later discovered this gift was several silver dollars which I received after she died in 1957 when I was nine years old.
I have fewer memories of Grandfather Lashley, who was 10 years older than Grandmother. He was no longer actively involved in farming when I was growing up and visiting in the summers, but still spent a great deal of time outside. Grandfather wore overalls, usually sat in a chair outside, smoked a pipe, and spoke little. Grandmother and Grandfather were both rather reserved and invested most of their energy in their family and farming, with little involvement in the local community. Grandfather died in 1961.
My mother, Anna Marie Lashley McCall, was born on New Year's Day in 1927. She was the youngest of nine children and she and Uncle Herman were the only ones who graduated from high school. Mother wanted to attend college to become a nurse, but her family could not afford it. After Mother married my father in 1945 at the age of 18, they moved to a small house on the McCall farm. My parents had five daughters; I am the oldest. Charlotte, Mary, Andrea, and Nancy follow. Mother developed a strong work ethic growing up which she has maintained all her life and passed on to her children. She worked for wages outside the home most of the time we were growing up. Mother first worked in a factory which produced rubber products such as raincoats, then the majority of her work life was spent as a cashier in a grocery store. Mother also worked very hard at home. She always had a very large garden and froze and canned excess vegetables every summer which provided much of the food for the year. Mother sewed most of our clothes, washed them in her wringer washer, and hung them on the clothes line to dry until she bought her first automatic washer and dryer when I went to college.
Two of Mother's outstanding talents are her cooking/baking and quilting. She bakes delicious pies, cakes, breads, and cookies and prepares very large meals in record time. When we were growing up, our large meal of the day was at noon, especially when Dad was planting or putting up hay and had extra "hired hands" to feed. These meals consumed the entire morning in preparation and another hour or two afterward in cleaning up. While these meals were delicious, the amount of labor involved in cooking and cleaning up was often unrecognized and unrewarded. Although I have few memories of Mother quilting when we were growing up, she became an avid quilter after her daughters left home and she could devote more time to quilting. Mother has made over a hundred quilts, some given as gifts to friends and family members, some sold at quilt shows, and some kept. Mother continues to stockpile quilting supplies and will have to live another 50 years or so to consume all the fabric she has collected for new quilts.
My paternal grandmother is Tillie Pearl Taylor McCall who was born on December 5, 1892 in southern Indiana. She was one-half German. Her father was Ulysses "Louis" Grant Taylor, whose father was a German immigrant. Grandmother McCall's mother was Mary Elizabeth Franklin Taylor, also of German descent. The original German names were Frankenberger and Mergenthayler which were changed to "Franklin" and "Taylor." I'm unsure why my great great grandparents left Germany and settled in Indiana. To raise the money for Grandmother McCall to attend school beyond high school, Grandmother's mother sold a cow. Grandmother remembered her father saying after high school she could either work in someone else's kitchen or teach school. Grandmother decided she preferred teaching. She attended a six-week training session to become licensed as a teacher at the normal school in Terre Haute, Indiana, which later became Indiana State University. She taught school for only two years, from 1913 until 1915, but talked about those years a great deal, so they must have been important to her. At the time Grandmother was teaching, it was mandatory for women to quit teaching once they married. If Grandmother would have lived in a later era, she might have become a feminist as well as a career woman. But in the early 20th century, fewer options were available.
Grandmother and Grandfather McCall married in 1915 and moved to the McCall farm in Plainville, Indiana. They moved into the house where Grandfather was born and where Grandfather's mother still lived. Grandmother was very outgoing and involved in community activities. She was a charter member of the local home economics club, active in church activities, helped at the polls and voted every election day, and raised money for such organizations as the American Red Cross or the March of Dimes. One of my favorite stories was Grandmother encouraging women to vote after women's suffrage in 1920. She even volunteered to take women to the polls whose husbands discouraged their spouses from such political activities.
In addition to these community activities, Grandmother Pearl did all the household chores, helped milk the few cows which she, Grandfather, and my dad milked each day, raised chickens, sold eggs, planted and harvested vegetables from a large garden, froze and canned food from the garden, and at times helped in the fields. Grandmother Pearl invested considerable time in raising chickens. She bought incubators to incubate her own eggs, developing a line of leghorn chickens good for egg production. She supervised the building of a large chicken house for her laying hens, constructed from used lumber from a house. As Grandmother grew older, she devoted more time to her egg business and garden. She shipped eggs to New York and took orders from local customers which my parents or sisters and I delivered on Saturdays when we took piano lessons. When Grandmother became more frail and unable to live by herself, she moved into my parents' home in 1984. Grandmother died in 1991 at the age of 98.
My paternal grandfather is John Austin McCall, born on May 10, 1894 of Scottish descent. His father was Andrew McCall and Andrew's father William was the first McCall to settle in Indiana after migrating from the western Pennsylvania area of Altoona. William (either alone or with his family) traveled down the Ohio River on a boat aiming to settle on the Mississippi River in northern Illinois. He obtained the job of helping to fire the boilers on the steamboat which paid for the passage. For some reason, William did not like the northern Illinois area, so was returning to Pennsylvania when the steamboat broke down near Evansville, Indiana. While waiting for repairs to the steamboat, William heard about good farm land available in Daviess County, Indiana. He traveled to Daviess County and bought land near Prairie Creek, some of which the McCall family still owns.
Andrew bought additional land to create the 465-acre family farm the McCall family now has. Great Grandfather Andrew was known for his managerial abilities, accumulated some capital and land before he married at the age of 32. Land was inexpensive, and Andrew bought several small farms of approximately 40 acres from other farmers who decided to give up farming. At the time, a 40-acre farm would allow a family to exist, but not prosper. He married Mary Charlotte Peachee McCall in 1871. For their wedding, great Grandfather Andrew sold a wagon load of wheat in town for $2 which paid for the $2 marriage license. They had six children, but five died in childhood. Grandfather Austin was the only child to live into adulthood. Great grandmother Mary ran the house with the help of a hired girl. They also had "hired hands" who helped with the farm work and stayed overnight in the bedrooms upstairs. These workers were young people who needed to become established. Even after they no longer worked for great Grandfather Andrew and great Grandmother Mary, they came back to visit. Large noon meals were a tradition in order to feed the workers and family. Regularly, relatives and former workers stopped by for this noon meal. Meals included homemade bread or biscuits, fried slices of pork cut from meat stored in the smokehouse, cooked potatoes and canned vegetables from the cellar, gravy, and canned fruit for dessert. Great Grandmother Mary grew and preserved all the food they needed. Great Grandmother Mary continued to live in the same house with Grandmother Pearl and Grandfather Austin after they married and great Grandfather Andrew passed away. However, my grandmother and her mother-in-law did not get along well.
Grandfather McCall was actively involved in farming and such community activities as encouraging the movement of utilities (electricity and telephone service) to local farming communities. Unlike Grandmother, he believed church involvement could be limited to attendance on Easter and Christmas. Grandfather loved to read and spent hours sitting in his favorite "reading chair" and reading magazines such as The Reader's Digest. He was also very particular about the yard and his 1950 Buick. The yard had to be mowed in a certain way and he spent many hours washing and polishing the Buick. Grandfather loved to talk about history and our family history and at times wanted to discuss these subjects with me, but as a child, I unfortunately found these topics uninteresting. Grandfather did not like my first name "Ava," because it reminded him of Ava Gardner whom he disliked. Grandfather always called me by my middle name "Louise" which I was not particularly fond of, but would never complain about, especially to my grandfather. Grandfather died in 1962 when he was only 68 years old.
My father is John Austin McCall, Jr. and he was born September 17, 1923 in southern Indiana. He was always called "Junior" by those who knew him and his father, a name he disliked greatly. Since he was the only child, his parents expected him to continue farming the family farm. Dad attended Purdue University and studied agriculture for one and one-half years, but came home to work on the farm during World War II. Because Dad was needed to work on the farm, he was not called to serve in the military during the war. After he and Mother married in 1945, they settled in a small house down the road from his parents on the family farm.
Dad had a number of health problems as a child and young adult. He contracted scarlet fever as a child and Guillian-Barre Syndrome soon after I was born. The scarlet fever impaired his hearing and the gillian barres damaged the muscles in his left leg and caused him to walk with a limp most of his adult life. The physical labor involved in farming many times was very difficult for my father. His parents had high expectations for his work on the farm and it was challenging to meet them. The physical proximity of our home to Grandmother and Grandfather McCall's home offered little respite from their expectations and careful scrutiny. Dad was very involved in community activities all his adult life, from running for the local school board (he was never elected much to Mother's relief) and being involved in all school activities, to working in soil conservation programs and organizations, to being part of the Farmer's Union, to supporting political candidates with views he agreed with and working to defeat those he disagreed with.
Dad has always enjoyed music, especially classical music and opera, took piano lessons as a child, and he and Mother insisted my sisters and I also take lessons. Dad's interest in education was apparent in his careful scrutiny of our homework and report cards. Getting good grades was one way to win praise. One distinct memory I have of Dad growing up was his regular school visits. One day during the school year Dad would unexpectedly show up at school, enter the classroom, nod at the teacher, and sit in the back of the room observing the lesson. The teacher, of course, called on me more to show I was learning. I felt both pride in my father's interest in school and embarrassed that no other parents engaged in such activities. Mom and Dad both knew all the teachers, respected them, believed they were doing a good job of teaching, and supported their teaching and disciplinary practices. If I complained to Mom and Dad about the ways any of my teachers disciplined me, these complaints fell on unsympathetic ears. If I experienced difficulty learning something, it was my own weakness, not the teacher's.
Music and education have both become very important to my sisters and me in various ways. All of us took piano lessons growing up. Most of our lessons were on Saturday mornings. On Friday evenings we all rushed to practice the pieces we were to learn for the next lesson, trying to make up for the daily practice we should have done. We also played instruments in the school band. I played the flute, Charlotte the cornet, Mary the saxophone, and Andrea played the clarinet. Charlotte, Mary, and Andrea took voice lessons and were in demand for solos and ensembles at various school, church, and community functions. My role was usually that of piano accompanist for their singing, especially for Charlotte as we were very close in age and attended the same events. It seemed to be commonly understood in the family that I did not possess the singing talent of my younger sisters. However, I compensated by developing skills as an accompanist and not only played for my sisters, but also played for church services as well as the school choir while in junior high and high school.
Music was one of the few recreational activities we had growing up. We did not have the time or money to take family vacations. I can remember taking only two trips during which we stayed overnight. We were expected to work hard helping prepare meals and do housework; planting, weeding, harvesting, and preserving food from the garden; mowing our yard and Grandmother's yard and lane; and at times helping Dad in the field when he was planting or harvesting. I preferred housework to work outside and as the oldest assumed primary responsibilities for cleaning the house while in elementary school and in meal preparation and clean up while in high school, especially when Mother was working outside the home. Charlotte and I also divided the mowing responsibilities, so each week we spent several hours pushing the gasoline-powered mowers back and forth over the yards. I dreaded the times Dad hired many high school boys to help put up hay, plant, or harvest crops. This meant much of the morning was devoted to making a dessert, frying or baking a meat, and cooking several vegetables for the large noon meal. Mother could accomplish all this much more easily than I, but I was expected to help her. When Mother was working outside the home, it was my responsibility to prepare these large meals, and my younger sisters assisted. These experiences still influence my reluctance to prepare large meals and my desire to cook and bake only occasionally.
My parents' interest in education certainly influenced my decision to become a teacher, one of two professions along with nursing obviously open to women when I graduated from high school in 1966. All of my adult life since I graduated from college has been devoted to education, either teaching or attending school full time. Charlotte and Mary also obtained degrees in education and have spent many years as teachers while Nancy and Andrea have taught as volunteers in Sunday School or literacy programs. These family traditions continue.
History Of Main Cultural Groups
Why did they leave their homeland?
Germans began leaving Germany in 1830. Some Germans left for religious freedom since Bismarck (the German leader at the time) wanted the government to overrule the Catholic Church. Some left for political reasons because they disagreed with government leaders, some fled after trying and failing to make the government more democratic, or they wanted to avoid being called into the army. Some Germans left for economic reasons. They found the high cost of living, high taxes, and low wages in German cities where they had gone to find work and live too difficult to survive. For those remaining in rural areas, they left because they could not own land since only the oldest son inherited the family farm. The crop failures of the 1840s also precipitated some German emigration.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
Germans are the largest ethnic/cultural group in Wisconsin and about half of Wisconsin residents claimed German ancestry in the 1990 census. Some came for economic reasons. They could purchase good farmland offered for sale at cheap prices ($1.25 an acre in 1880). Some Germans came to find work at higher wages and pay lower taxes than in Germany. The economics of traveling to Wisconsin were eased with the ability to travel through the Great Lakes and the possibilities for shipping goods on the Mississippi River. Some Germans came for political and social reasons. They could vote after living in Wisconsin one year and had the freedom to start their own schools, churches, and newspapers. The social attraction of living with other Germans who shared the same cultural and/or family background who were already living in Wisconsin provided yet another reason for moving to Wisconsin.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
Some Germans settled in eastern Wisconsin to farm. Many settled in Milwaukee to make it one of the most German cities in the nation. Germans worked as tanners, carpenters, bakers, tailors, shopkeepers, and furniture makers in Wisconsin. They settled mostly in counties in the southeastern and eastern corridor of the state: Marathon, Shawano, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Green Lake, Dodge, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Washington, Ozaukee, Jefferson, and Milwaukee Counties.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
German immigrants worked in flour and saw mills and factories, opened small shops or businesses, worked as mechanics, masons, and shoemakers, worked on farms, railroads, or as lumbermen, or bought land and farmed.
Why did they leave their homeland?
Some left for political reasons, the desire to be free of English rule. Many left for economic reasons. Poor farmers, or cotters, struggled to grow enough food and poor people also lived in large cities. When the great potato famine occurred in the 1840s, many people starved or died of disease. Potato crops, a staple in the Irish diet, were unable to grow because of cold weather, rotted after harvesting, were of poor quality, or were destroyed by mold. Farmers could not pay rent and had to move. More and more people had no way to survive.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
They came for the farmland, especially the open prairie land in Washington and Ozaukee Counties. Some worked as fur traders or in the lead mines in southwestern Wisconsin. After the Irish Emigrant Aid Society was formed in Madison, they helped new Irish immigrants find jobs and homes in Wisconsin.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
Farmers settled in Washington and Ozaukee Counties. Some worked as fur traders or in the lead mines in southwestern Wisconsin in the 1820s and 1830s. Early settlements began at Prairie du Chien, Patch Grove, and Bloomington. Others moved to Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Dodge Counties.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
Irish Americans survived economically by working as fur traders, farmers, and miners. Some may have worked on the railroads and in trades such as carpenters. A few became involved in state government. The Irish Emigrant Society was likely an important source of support for new Irish immigrants in finding jobs and homes.
Why did they leave their homeland?
Poles left Poland for political reasons. In the 1830s and 1860s, Polish freedom fighters tried to free their land from Russian, Prussian, and Austrian rulers. When they failed, they had to flee for their lives. In Prussian Poland, Poles left for political reasons. The Polish language and national anthem was being replaced with German in order to help Bismarck create a German empire. Poles also left for economic reasons since little work was available in their homeland. In Russian Poland, most farmland was operated by rich landlords, but peasants planted and harvested crops on small areas of land. Although factories were built in Russian Poland, not enough jobs were available for everyone who wanted to work. In Austrian Poland, farm land was divided among the sons, but as the farms became smaller and smaller over the years, they became too small to feed a family. Large fields were owned by rich landlords. However, overall in Austrian Poland, food was scarce, jobs were few, and taxes were high. Some Polish people left for religious reasons when the government tried to pull the people away from the Catholic Church.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
Most Poles came to Wisconsin between 1870 and 1910. Poles came for economic reasons; they were recruited to work on the railroads, worked as farmhands or lumberjacks, and bought farms. Polish people also came for social reasons--they were friendly with the German community in Wisconsin because they had lived in German areas in Europe. They also came because their Polish friends and families moved to Wisconsin. After the first Polish immigrants moved to Wisconsin, they wrote letters to friends and relatives still in Poland encouraging them to emigrate to Wisconsin. A Milwaukee land company urged Poles to settle in Wisconsin. They advertised the land, gave information about crops and farm equipment, sold lumber, offered to plow settlers' fields for a fee, and built churches, schools, and a monastery for the Polish immigrants.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
Most settled together in cities and developed Polish neighborhoods. A minority chose to become farmers. The first Polish farmers settled in Portage County; one-third of Portage County residents claim Polish ancestry. Farmers took products to sell or exchange in a market square in Stevens Point. Another group of Polish settlers moved to Trempealeau County in the early 1860s and bought land to farm. Another rural community developed in Brown, Oconto, and Shawano Counties in the villages of Pulaski, Sobieski, and Krakow when a Milwaukee land company urged Poles to settle there.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
Polish farmers were able to make a living from their farming in Portage County. In addition, newspapers, schools, and churches in Portage County helped preserve Polish culture. For the farmers in Trempealeau County, in the winter, men worked in lumber camps to earn extra money while in the summer, women, children, and men worked together in the fields. Through community celebrations, such as weddings and dances, the Polish in Trempealeau County were able to meet their social needs. In Milwaukee, Polish immigrants began Polish Catholic Churches and schools and newspapers printed in Polish. Most Polish men in Milwaukee found jobs in factories; women worked as maids or cooks. They opened neighborhood groceries, butcher shops, bakeries, drugstores, and other small businesses. Polish doctors, lawyers and architects also worked in Milwaukee and now Poles work in every type of business and profession. Because Poles settled together in neighborhoods, they elected Poles to city and county posts who could represent their interests.
Why did they leave their homeland?
Many Norwegians left Norway for economic reasons. In Norway, there was little land to buy for farms and the land was rocky which limited agriculture. Small farmers had difficulty growing enough food for their families to last through the long, cold winters, especially if crops failed. Few could afford to pay the high taxes. Limited jobs were available in cities and what jobs there were paid low wages.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
The first Norwegians settled in Wisconsin in 1838 and continued to settle in Wisconsin through the early 1900s. Norwegians moved to Wisconsin because of economic opportunities; sailors, business people, craft workers, and especially farmers could continue the same jobs they had in Norway. After the first Norwegians settled in Wisconsin, they wrote to their friends and families in Norway encouraging them to move to Wisconsin and frequently sending tickets for their trip. Steamship companies also encouraged Norwegians to sail to the United States and published materials about Norwegians who had successfully settled in the U.S. Many Norwegians wanted to own their own land.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
The first Norwegians settled in Jefferson in Rock County. Others built Muskego in Racine County, named after Muskego Lake in Norway. Eventually Norwegians lived all over Wisconsin. Another settlement was located in Dane County.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
Norwegians helped one another and provided the social support necessary for survival. When the first Norwegians arrived in Wisconsin, they shared a small cabin until each family could build their own cabin. Norwegians often settled in small groups. The Norwegian community of Muskego also built a Norwegian Lutheran Church and published a Norwegian newspaper. Norwegians also took advantage of economic opportunities and bought land and farmed, and worked in cities as lumberjacks, millhands, miners, and quarry and factory workers.
Why did they leave their homeland?
Limited economic opportunities in Finland was a significant factor in the Finnish emigration to Wisconsin. Most Finns were farmers in Finland, but struggled to survive due to limited land for farming. Rocky hills, forests, lakes, and marshes were prevalent which reduced the land available for growing crops. As farm land was divided among the children in large families or passed on to the eldest, not enough land was available for the children to have their own farms. When the children grew up, they were forced to become hired hands on other farms or rent land to farm. When farming became more mechanized, fewer workers were needed on farms. Farmers who rented land were forced to harvest the landowners' crops before harvesting their own as well as pay rent on the land. Land prices became more expensive which exceeded what many potential farmers could pay. In cities, workers exceeded the jobs available. Factory workers worked long hours under dangerous conditions for low pay. Unemployment was high. Craft workers such as bakers, tailors, carpenters, shoemakers, and tanners also found it difficult to make a living. The Finns also left their homeland for political reasons. When Russia controlled Finland in the late 1800s, they limited the rights of Finns to publish newspapers, hold meetings, and vote. Mandatory military service in the Russian army in the early 1900s precipitated the move of many men from Finland.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
Economic opportunities, especially farming, attracted the Finns. The majority of Finnish immigrants farmed. Finnish miners could also mine iron and granite in Wisconsin. The geography of Wisconsin around Lake Superior especially was attractive to the Finns because it reminded them of their homeland.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
Finnish people had difficulty learning English, so often settled close together. Farming settlements were created in Price, Douglas, Vilas, Ashland, and Clark Counties. Finnish miners worked in iron mines at Montreal in Iron County and in granite quarries in Marinette and Waushara Counties. Workers and their families also lived and worked in Superior, Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
Finns provided social support for survival by living close together. They formed cooperatives, organizations owned by the members, and operated stores. They also created Finnish newspapers and churches and celebrated Finnish holidays together. Finns also took advantage of economic opportunities frequently by farming with women and men working together to develop the farms. Women helped in feeding, tending, and milking the cows and generally being in charge of the dairy. Other economic opportunities included mining lead and granite. During the winter when they could not mine, Finnish miners worked on the lumber crews cutting and stacking logs in the north woods. Finnish ship workers loaded iron ore onto ships in Allouez during the warm months when ships could get through the ice to reach port. In the cities of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha, Finnish workers worked in machine shops and tanneries with many serving as labor union leaders focusing on getting better wages and working conditions.
Why did they leave their homeland?
The first French came temporarily to Wisconsin to work as fur traders, missionaries, and explorers. Fur was plentiful along the Great Lakes and native people were skilled in hunting fur-bearing animals, which attracted traders to develop trading relationships with Native Americans in the area. For missionaries who believed their calling was to convert native people to Christianity, the presence of many Native Americans precipitated their movement to Wisconsin. For explorers interested in learning more about the North American continent to use its resources for France's benefit, they were drawn to Wisconsin to explore the Great Lakes and other water routes. Some settlers came to live permanently. Since 1800 most French immigrants came from Canada rather than France.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
The first French came temporarily for economic reasons, to earn money as fur traders or to the water ways in Wisconsin. Some French came to work as lumber workers and farmers. Missionaries also came to Wisconsin to convert native people to Christianity.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
French often settled on rivers because they worked along rivers. They scattered among communities like Cadott, Chippewa Falls, Coleman, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Lena, Marinette, Niagara, Oconto, Paoli, Prairie du Chien, Rice Lake, Somerset, Superior, and Two Rivers. Somerset is one of the most French communities, originally settled as a farming community. Today, French live all over Wisconsin.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
French fur traders and explorers developed relationships with different Native American tribes in order to learn survival skills. They had to learn the different languages and something of the cultures in order to trade successfully with the tribes. Traders first had to purchase goods such as iron rools, kettles, ornaments, and guns to trade for beaver skins from Native American nations. For those traders who were dishonest in their dealings with native people, they destroyed good relationships with the tribes. Explorers had to develop knowledge of the wilderness, and skills in making their own shelter, weapons, tools, and canoes. They had to learn how to hunt, fish, and cook. Explorers also needed to learn different Native American languages and customs in order to deal successfully with native people and learn from them. French Canadian farmers had to clear the land and plant crops, perhaps working as lumberjacks in the winter to earn additional income.
Why did they leave their homeland?
The Dutch left the Netherlands or Holland between 1845 and 1855. They left for economic reasons. Few jobs, small farms, and high taxes contributed to economic struggles. When fields were flooded and crops were damaged or lost, economic difficulties increased for farmers. Poor quality water also led to disease and death among the Dutch. When potato crops, a staple in the Dutch diet, were destroyed by disease in 1845 and 1846, there were severe food shortages among the people and food riots resulted. Some left the Netherlands for religious reasons. Protestants and Catholics both were unhappy with the government and the Catholics wanted religious freedom and the right to send their children to Catholic schools. Some Protestants disagreed with the Reformed Church and wanted to begin their own church. Another immigration wave began after the Civil War due to crowded living conditions in Holland.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
For the Dutch who left the Netherlands for religious reasons, groups of Dutch immigrants were often led by pastors or priests to Wisconsin. Churches formed organizations to help emigrants travel to their new homes together. After they arrived in Wisconsin, they began communities and churches.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
Most Dutch settled in five areas: (1) Milwaukee and Franklin; (2) Alto; (3) Oostburg and Cedar Grove; (4) Little Chute and Holland; and (5) New Amsterdam. Dutch Catholics settled in the Fox River valley while Dutch Protestants settled in Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Dodge, Columbia, and La Crosse Counties.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
Moving together in a group and creating a Dutch community provided the social support Dutch immigrants needed. The communities also developed their own churches, including both Reformed and Christian Reformed congregations. Dutch immigrants were also able to purchase and clear land and farm.
Why did they leave their homeland?
From 1500 to the 1800s, approximately 50 million Black Africans were kidnapped from West African countries and forced onto slave ships to travel to North America, South America, and islands in the Caribbean. There, they provided free labor in gold and silver mines and on plantations to grow crops like sugar. Most slaves in North America worked in the agricultural southern states where the cultivation of cotton, tobacco, and rice required a large labor force.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
African Americans came to Wisconsin because of economic opportunities. Black trappers, guides, boatmen, and interpreters accompanied French and British fur traders to Wisconsin during the fur trade era. Later, when Wisconsin was under British control, they continued these positions and also served as soldiers. Sometimes slaves were forced to move to Wisconsin with their owners. Although the Ordinance of 1787 forbid slavery in the Northwest Territory, southern soldiers stationed at Fort Crawford and lead miners from southern states brought slaves into southwest Wisconsin in the 1820s. These slaves became free by 1850. After slaves were freed in southern states prior to the Civil War, they had to emigrate from their home state and some came to Wisconsin during this time. Many African Americans came to Wisconsin for freedom, educational, and economic opportunities. Some slaves escaped from slavery following the Underground Railroad with the last stations in Wisconsin and settled in Wisconsin, even after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which allowed slave owners to capture slaves in "free" states like Wisconsin. A number of African Americans were attracted to the cheap farm land in Wisconsin and moved to begin farming their own land. After the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in 1865, many more African Americans moved to Wisconsin. During World War I and World War II, African Americans moved from the South to Milwaukee to work in factories to support the war effort. The majority of African Americans came to Wisconsin since the 1940s searching for better jobs and living conditions.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
Free Blacks founded the town of Chilton in the 1840s. Free Blacks settled the frontier community of Cheyenne Valley in Vernon County and escaped slaves or recently freed African Americans settled Pleasant Ridge in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin before the Civil War. Milwaukee also became an urban center for African Americans.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
African Americans made a living through farming and factory work. In the Cheyenne Valley community, African Americans and European Americans integrated, intermarried, and cooperated in building schools and churches and developing the land. Although the school had no African American teachers, community members of both races socialized as well as worked together. It became the larger of the two communities. Men also worked as lumberjacks and at other jobs associated with wood such as barrel, shingle, and lath makers and stave cutters. Although there was little interracial marriage in the Pleasant Ridge community, it is believed the community created the first integrated school district in the state in 1870 with both European American and African American teachers.
Why did they leave their homeland?
The Hmong originally lived in the highlands of Laos, as one of 60 ethnic groups. Many fled their homeland due to war. The Hmong assisted U.S. soldiers, the Royal Laotian Army, and South Vietnamese soldiers in fighting the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. When the Americans withdrew from Vietnam in 1975, the Hmong feared reprisal from the Communists once they came to power. From 1975 through 1992, more than 100,000 Hmong escaped across the Mekong River into Thailand while approximately 200,000 remained in Laos. The Hmong lived in refugee camps in Thailand from a few years to over a decade and 100,000 to 120,000 now live in the U.S.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
The Hmong largely migrated to Wisconsin because Wisconsin churches offered to help them settle in Wisconsin. The two main church groups were the U.S. Catholic Conference and the Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services. They helped the first Hmong families move to Wisconsin in the mid-1970s until the mid-1980s. Hmong who came after 1986 were sponsored by their relatives. Since Hmong prefer living with their relatives, once some families settled in Wisconsin, other family members moved to Wisconsin as well. In addition, Wisconsin has offered educational and economic opportunities.
Where did they settle in Wisconsin?
There are large Hmong communities in La Crosse, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Wausau, and Milwaukee.
How did they survive after moving to Wisconsin?
After the Hmong began immigrating to the United States in 1980, their most pressing needs were finding housing, food, and clothing, then they could focus on learning English, obtaining basic education, and finding employment. Surviving economically and culturally continues as a concern today. The Hmong remain among the poorest citizens in the United States with 70 percent receiving welfare benefits and only 2 percent obtaining an education beyond high school. The cultural tradition of cooperation has also helped Hmong people survive. If the Hmong want to begin a business, buy a shop, van, or house, they may ask others in the clan to help. Each family gives what it can with no expectation for paying back the money. Family members may also help out in the business or farm.
Why did they leave their homeland?
Mexican Americans left Mexico because of limited economic opportunities. Many came from farms or "ranchos," small farms that do not produce enough to support a large family or large farms which belong to someone else. Mexican farm workers also had limited pay and educational opportunities. Although more schools are being built in rural areas in Mexico, children may still be unable to attend these schools because they are needed to help with farm work.
Puerto Ricans left Puerto Rico because of economic problems: low wages, high unemployment, and a high cost of living. Because Puerto Rico is an island, most goods must be imported which increases the cost of living.
Why did they move to Wisconsin?
Labor contractors went to Mexico during the 1920s and promised people steady work at good wages, sometimes replacing striking workers in Milwaukee industries. During the World War II Emergency Farm Labor Program, workers from Mexico were recruited to harvest crops because so many men were fighting in the war. Mexicans and Mexican Americans also migrated during this period from the southwest states to harvest crops and stayed to work in industries. Now more Mexican Americans work in factories than on farms. Young men may come to Wisconsin to work, earn money, and send it home to help their families. Some Mexicans came for social reasons. After relatives moved to Wisconsin, new Mexican immigrants moved to stay with relatives and find jobs.
Milwaukee factories encouraged Puerto Ricans to move to Wisconsin and work after World War II. Puerto Ricans were encouraged by labor recruiters beginning in the early 1950s to move to Milwaukee to work in factories, foundries, and tanneries. However, in the mid 1950s, workers lost their jobs and some returned to Puerto Rico.