"If you think economic times are hard now, think about what your ancestors had to live through!" With these words, Susan Farrell Bankhead opened a useful blog post entitled: "Catch the Real Villain: Factor in the Economy." Springfield family history and genealogy researchers will benefit from a careful reading of her words and the background sources she cites in her writing. She especially reminds us that the Depression of 1929 was not the other time that our country suffered from severe depression.
The essence of her article is to suggest that something many have been happening to cause your ancestor to move, as you follow their movements in your research. Most are economic, one was not. She uses, for example, 'The Summer That Never Was' in 1816 caused by an Indonesian volcano. During 1816, she notes, New Englanders has snow and frost in June, frost in July and August, crops failed, and 1800 persons froze to death. Maybe, she says, someone in your family was among that group.
How much debt are you carrying? Susan tells us: "If your ancestor was in debt about 1790, he could have been sent to prison. It was a Catch-22, however, because if he was in prison, he had no way to earn money to pay the debt! Thus, he may have spent a LONG time in prison or moved to avoid it." I am sure glad those days are gone, but these are historical facts that are good to know.
To me, the most interesting scenario described was the Panic of 1837 (see The History Box). This began a five year depression. If you're family moved about that time, they may have been spurred by financial troubles. It could be said many people in our country, today, face some similar situations and will have to move in order to get their financial lives back in order. Because they do not want to do that, many will continue to suffer for years.
Check out this list, of various years of panic and depression, and you might be surprised to find useful information for your Springfield family history and genealogy research. What did you find? Comments welcomed.
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