Yorkshire was an area of great migration, those who moved within the county, those who moved in and out of the county and those who left Yorkshire and England. Most Europeans who emigrated travelled to America with more than 2 million English moving to America in the 1800s. The changes during the 1800s through the effects, and aftereffects, of the Industrial Revolution created great change in Yorkshire as well as the decline in lead mining and farming in rural areas and the Yorkshire dales. As people lost opportunities to earn a living in these areas they were pulled to the opportunities further afield, the mills towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire and further afield to America then later to Canada and Australia. As a member of a family emigrated this created a greater pull for friends and family to join them creating communities in another country. This was the case in New Diggings in Wisconsin where many people from Swaledale and Wensleydale left the declining lead mines to start new lives in the growing mines of America. This talk will explore the people who emigrated, the villages they left and the communities they joined along with the Yorkshire surnames which are now part of American life. Oral histories documented in the book ‘Those Who Left the Dales’ by the Upper Dales Family History Group are referred to as well as immigration records and original documents held at North Yorkshire Archives including the publication ‘History of New Diggings’ and a Dakota ‘recruiting’ lecture given in Wensleydale. The talk will provide an insight into the reasons for leaving Yorkshire, particularly the Yorkshire Dales, and the lives of those who emigrated.
Discount code: yorkshire26 (valid at Familytreewebinars.com)
Valid through: February 24, 2026
Facebook
X
Syllabus
Very knowledgeable presenter!
Enjoyed very much…gave me much to think on & explore.
Very informative and interesting presentation. Jude is an excellent presenter. Thank you!
A very wide-ranging talk with lots of interesting information from a very engaging speaker. Although the focus was on people emigrating from Yorkshire to the US, Canada and Australia a lot of the information would apply equally to emigrants from other parts of the UK.
I learned that it is good to know the history and background information for the general research so that the Genealogy will work better. History of “place” is necessary for context… it helps with explaining the where and the why.
Very helpful information to use in trying to trace my husband’s ancestors
What a delightful speaker. I have not yet determined where my Briggs family came from. Jude has given me some clues!
Very informative. Jude provided many clues to assist in our research. Particularly helpful was the discussion about the connections immigrants had prior to, and after immigration.