Notes
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Research Questions:
Who was my ancestor that immigrated to New Zealand
Frederick George Thomas, Mothers name was Sarah, Fathers name was James. When he was in New Zealand he had 9 children, and later died in an accident.
Sources: https://www.ancestry.com/
When did they migrate from?
They migrated in about 1865 from England, just a year after his sister died in NZ. Abraham Linchon was president of the USA, a few months later he was assassinated.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
What country did they come from?
Gloucestershire, England. Queen Victoria was queen at this time, this could be connected to the push factors. At the age of 21, he moved by a boat called “Peagas” from London To Auckland
Sources: https://www.ancestry.com/
Why did my ancestor leave the country they were in (push factors)?
Might have not liked queen victoria, there was lots of poverty in england around the time of his migration. There was a big population growth and England became overcrowded. England was also going through the industrial revolution so lots of people lost their jobs to the mass production of factories.
Sources: https://sites.google.com/site/thenorthsite/early-immigration-in-the-u-s-1
Why did my ancestor choose New Zealand to migrate to (pull factors)?
A big reason he came to New Zealand is that NZ had a much better employment rate, and a good education system. And a relaxed pace of life. My ancestor could have migrated because of all the unmined ores such as: Gold, Obsidian and Ponamu. Ponamu was a very rare resource at the time only because it is only found in New Zealand, this means people were trading it overseas, this pounamu could go for around $50/per kg overseas, this is about $1300 today!
Sources: http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/prices-for-1860-1872-1878-and-1882-groceries-provisions-dry-goods-more/
https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1860-1869
Which of these was the most likely factor causing them to migrate?
Probably the main factor would be the Job Employment Rate, the job rate was much higher in New Zealand than england. This is a very likely factor for my ancestor to move. In England it was very hard to get a good paying job, it was very common to have a poor lifestyle in England because of this, and some people only made around $8 per week ($250 today.) A dozen eggs back then would be around 25 cents, A cord of wood $5. $8 Was just enough to get you the essentials in the 1860’s.
Sources: http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/prices-for-1860-1872-1878-and-1882-groceries-provisions-dry-goods-more/
Other Sources: