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Meaghan Lanctot

Mr. Gilden

International Relations

19 July 2016

My Migration History

Growing up, I always had school projects that involved tracing my family heritage.

However, until researching for this essay, I never realized that my family members actually fit

the definition of migrants, as they crossed many miles in order to start a new life for

themselves and, ultimately, are the reason why I am today.

Most of my family history can be traced back to Ireland, where my ancestors lived until

the mid 1800s. My great-great-great grandmother on my fathers side moved her family from

County Kerry, Ireland to Quebec, Canada to escape the countrys economic and physical

problems. Her children married French Canadians, and my family ancestors continued to live in

Quebec until the late 1910s. My great-grandparents moved from Quebec to Duluth, Minnesota as

my great-grandfather decided to take a job in the iron ore mines. My grandfather and his three

siblings were all born and raised in Minnesota. When World War II began, my grandfather

enlisted in the Army, although he never saw any action. Since he could not afford to attend

college, my grandfather moved to Chicago for work opportunities, and ended up founding his

own successful business. My family has continued to live in the Chicago area since then.

The reason for my ancestors departure from Ireland was the Irish Potato Famine of the

1850s. My great-great-great grandmother had extremely limited options as a widowed mother

with many children, so she decided to save her family from potential death, disease and

economic ruin by moving to Canada. Also during this time period, control of Canadas postal
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system is switched from Great Britain to Canada in 1851 (Important Moments 3). Fifteen years

later, the Dominion of Canada is created out of the official British North American colonies of

Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, marking an enormous step to self-autonomy

(Important Moments 4). My great-grandparents moved to the United States right after the end of

World War I for economic opportunities. When Great Britain declared war on Germany and the

Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914, Canada indirectly declared war as well as it was (and still

technically is) part of the British Empire (First World War 2). At the end of the war, my great-

grandparents decided to leave the economic troubles of Canada behind in pursuit of the

economic stability of the United States.

Although the United States joined World War I near the end for a short period of time, its

economy benefitted enormously. The country went into total war mode, which meant that all

resources went into the fight against Germany. The unemployment rate shrank considerable as

the need for weapons-producing factories increased enormously. The United States did not

experience the economic meltdown faced by Europe, as Europe faced an enormous

reconstruction process, debt repayment to the United States, and the emotional trauma of the

survivors of the war.

This economic boom soon turned into an economic crash as the United States was faced

with the most catastrophic financial crisis in history: the Great Depression. About one in four

Americans were unemployed during its worst years (making an astronomically high 25%

unemployment rate). Thankfully, all of my grandparents and their families survived this tragedy

without any major repercussion (i.e. parents losing their job, becoming homeless, etc.) After the

Great Depression came World War Two, and after World War Two my grandfather moved to

Chicago to find work. My family has had no more migration experience since then.
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I have learned so much more about my ancestors migration experience than I knew

before while researching and writing this essay. Although I knew why my family left Ireland, I

had no idea what made my great-grandparents decide to move to the United States in the first

place. I now wonder what would have happened if my great-grandparents had decided to stay in

Canada; would I be living in Quebec right now? Would French have been my primary language?

These questions and more are all incredibly thought-provoking and fascinating to ponder about,

and none of them would have come up had I not understood my familys migration background.

Word Count: 681

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Works Cited

"First World War (WWI)." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada, n.d. Web. 19 July

2016.

"Important Moments in Canadian History." 1800 to 1867. University of British Columbia, 19

Dec. 2012. Web. 19 July 2016.