Emigration – Why would you?

John and Julia Kidd emigrated to Australia sometime between 1907, when Clarissa was born in Durham, England¹ and 1913, when Selwyn was born in South Australia². After extensive research, no record of either departure or arrival can be found³.

One thing that records cannot reveal, is what motivated this nineteenth-century couple to emigrate to the furthest reaches of the British Empire and rebuild their lives in a primitive and isolated foreign land. This question fascinates me, perhaps because I never received a satisfactory answer from my parents about my own family’s emigration.

There are several questions to research before attempting an educated guess. Did John have no extended family? Emigration meant a loss of connection with the extended family, but John was one of seven children, had seven aunts and uncles and presumably numerous cousins⁴. Clarissa’s extended family are yet to be researched. Were they young and just starting out? They were both in their forties, with three young children². Were they poor? John was the eldest son and was raised in a household with two servants⁵, his father’s estate was worth £8,484 15s 3d⁶ he must have been moderately wealthy.

So, middle-aged and moderately wealthy with a growing family, not the kind of young-ambitious-nothing-to-lose stereotype that I had in mind. This leaves me wondering about the timing, (1907 – 1913). Were they politically savvy enough to foresee the world’s first global conflict?

There is much more that can be researched before making an educated guess about what motivated John and Julia Kidd to emigrate to Australia.

References:

1. England & Wales births 1837­2006 Transcription, (http://www.findmypast.com/: accessed 26 March 2016) [↩]
2. Adams, GF, Family History Workbook, unpublished. p 81.[↩][↩]
3. Adams, GF, Family History Workbook, unpublished. P 76.[↩]
4. Adams, GF, Family History Workbook, unpublished. P 77-78.[↩]
5. “England and Wales Census, 1871”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VBZ2-S1G: 24 July 2015), Pearson W Kidd in the entry for Jane Bell, 1871.; “England and Wales Census, 1881,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/Q271-FQXD: 19 August 2016), Pearson W Kidd, Bishop Wearmouth, Durham, England; from “1881 England, Scotland and Wales census,” database and images, Findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com: n.d.); citing p. 19, Piece/Folio 4993/145, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,382.[↩]
6. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1883, Pearson Ward Kidd (http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/ retrieved 11 January 2017) [↩]