I do not have a definitive answer to why there was a influx of
Englishmen to Clay County in the 1860's but would like to enter my
thoughts.
My ancestors were either migrant farm workers or coal miners in
Somerset, England. Working conditions were bad - long hours for little
pay. Miners would go into the mines before sun-up and come out of the
mine after sun-down. The Industrial Revolution was putting alot of farm
laborers out of work. One of my relations left Somerset because he did
not like being told what to do by the Clergy. Two members of my family
were transported to Australia for life, one for stealing a horse,
another for stealing a sheep and a bag of wheat. America was being
advertised in England as a land of opportunity and many left because of
the harsh conditions in England.
From what I have read, Brazil in the 1860's, was considered the "coming
great coal and iron city of the west". It was suppose to be a major
industrial city. An immigrant, arriving in the US around this time,
knew work would be available and they would be getting in at the
beginning of a major US city.
Researching surnames TARGETT, BOES and PENNA in Clay County, IN
Janet Satterfield