Most of our ancestors came to America because of conditions at home. And that says a lot about people who would feel so strongly that they would take flight because of unbearable circumstances. These were families who had lived for countless generations in one place — perhaps for thousands of years. And yet they came to America. Why?
They came for two reasons. Both begin with the letter f: freedom and food. And you can append a third, family, as the action word.
The Importance of Freedom
In the Old Country, whichever it may have been, freedom for many had become abridged as it related to the practice of their religious beliefs. Often, a monarch would declare his religion as the only one that could be practiced in his kingdom. If a family felt so strongly against this, they often would choose to take flight rather than to submit to such persecution.
Food — A Matter of Survival
There was another big reason that people came to America. Since most nations were based on agricultural economies, as the crops went, so did the opportunities for people to be able to feed their families. As conditions grew progressively worse in a particular nation, more and more folks would seek another place where they might earn enough or grow enough to survive.
Northern Europeans Came First
Literally millions of people came from Ireland, Scotland, and Germany. They came for freedom and for survival.
Rich Farming Lands
When the earliest settlers came to the Juniata Valley, they came as far as Birmingham and the rich agricultural lands of Sinking Valley, Eden Hill, and the Warriors Mark area.
After the lands of the valleys to the east of Tyrone were taken, some people began farming in the Bald Eagle Valley, but unfortunately, any geologist quickly could have told them that the topsoil of this valley in which Tyrone lies isn’t as good as the valleys to the east. No, there weren’t very many folks who came here to till the soil in Tyrone’s Bald Eagle Valley.
Jobs Were the Draw
Most people who migrated directly here came because of the industries that were springing up in this area and the construction of the railroad. Countless others lived first at another place in America, before settling in Tyrone. The clarion call was for workers. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.
First, of course, was the availability of timber and iron ore. This led to the charcoal and iron furnace industry that made this region prosper for so many years. Peter Shoenberger (the “Iron Master”) and John Wright (the founder of Altoona) were instrumental in convincing Andrew Carnegie and the other railroad builders to choose this route, and it changed history. Had it gone through Maryland or even through Bedford County, our area would be like the Allegheny National Forest 80 some miles north of us — sparsely settled.
Impact of the Railroad
As the railroad put Tyrone on the “Main Street of America,” many other industries were started. Supplies of water and paper wood made it a natural spot for a paper mill. “Wood hicks” could make a good living. Men with mechanical skills were required to operate the equipment. Tanneries, quarries, and manufacturing plants were located here. Each one needed workers, and usually there was only one place to look: overseas.
When the Pennsylvania Railroad made Tyrone a division headquarters, this called for hundreds of additional employees. The influx of families from “the Old Country” became a torrent, as those who had the nerve to break away from home wrote back and told of the wonderful opportunities available here.
Where Did We Come From? Everywhere!
A look at the variety of churches in the Tyrone area demonstrates the vast number of nations from which people came. What a marvelous matrix of cultures and beliefs there is here — a collage that has brought together the people who now live here today. Whether a previous generation of today’s families brought them directly from an overseas country, or the first immigrants settled somewhere else, the people who live here now still represent a marvelous gathering of peoples of all cultures, living together as Americans, yet proud of their heritage.
Imagine “What If?”
What if families in Germany or Ireland or Scotland had been free to practice their religion as they chose? What if there had been no iron ore here in these valleys? What if Peter Shoenberger and John Wright had been unable to convince Andrew Carnegie? What if there were not a good supply of water and timber here? Or if there had been no persecution in Europe… or no Potato Famine?
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