With Scarcely a Ripple

by Widdis, Randy William

• ISBN13: 9780773518452
• ISBN10: 0773518452
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ

Summary

Using a prosopographical approach that combines descriptive exposition, quantitative tabulation, and structural analysis, Randy Widdis determines the geographical and social origins of migrants, the distance and direction of migration corridors, and geographical destinations in both the United States and Canada. The study provides a new view of the invisible Anglo-Canadian, one of the largest and least understood immigrant groups in the United States. Widdis's results show that there were many differences between Anglo-Canadians, and that their experience in the United States was much more complex than is usually assumed. With Scarcely a Ripple not only contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of intra-regional, inter-regional, and return Anglo-Canadian migration but also interprets this movement in terms of the paradox of an emerging Canadian identity and a developing integration with the United States. It offers a historical geographical perspective on a subject that, in this era of free trade and globalization, is more relevant than ever.

Author Biography

Randy William Widdis is associate professor of geography, University of Regina.

Table of Contents

Tables	xi
Maps and Figures	xv
Acknowledgments	xvii
Preface: The Voyage	xix
PART ONE: CONTEXTS
Introduction	3	(5)
Where Is Here? The Problem of Identity	8	(36)
Charting the Voyage: National and Regional Perspectives of Migration	44	(43)
PART TWO: MOVERS AND PERSISTERS
Introduction	83	(4)
Continuity and Change in the Quinte Region	87	(28)
Change and Continuity among Four Generations of Quinte Families: A Genealogical Window	115	(64)
PART THREE: DESTINATIONS
Introduction	175	(4)
``We Breathe the Same Air'': Eastern Ontarian Migration to New York State	179	(76)
Red River Bound: Canadian Migration to Eastern North Dakota	255	(35)
The Last Best West? Return and Interprovincial Migration to Saskatchewan	290	(49)
PART FOUR: CONCLUSION
A Wall of Mirrors: Meanings and Interpretations of the Voyage	339	(18)
Appendix -- Tracing Strategies and Sources	357	(14)
Notes	371	(36)
Index	407