Emigration from Glamorgan to US 1890s

[gilln]

I have discovered that my widowed great grandmother with her 4 young children went to the US in May 1894 on the SS Southwark from Liverpool to Philadelphia. She had lived at Charlotte St Dowlais in 1891 and her husband had died in 1892. It seems possible that assisted emigration was an alternative to poor relief at that time.
The family returned to Wales in September 1894 on the SS Ohio and lived in Ebbw Vale in 1901. Any ideas why ? or any other details of Welsh emigrants to Philadelphia would be of interest.

[merthyrlad]

Philadelphia was a popular destination for miners.
Some relations of mine who were miners in the Deri area went out there to continue their trade.

[lee]

There is a novel by the late Merthyr Tydfil writer Jack Jones called Off To Philadelphia In The Morning. It has also been serialised on TV.

[gilln]

Thank you for the replies, and I will try to get hold of the novel.

[robertjones]

There is an excellent book on the subject by the expert Dr Bill Jones:- Wales in America: Scranton and the Welsh 1860-1920. University of Wales Press.

I have come across male workers ( stone masons ) travelling backwards and forwards even several times a year but families often followed the father etc. ..... sadly I have discovered
one family arriving 5 days after the father had died and the children ended up in care.
I wonder whether they went out to join a male relative. Could this be possible?

[mtongirl]

Hi, this sounds a familiar story! My grandmother told how she had gone to America as a young baby(she was born in 1893) and returned after a few months. Her surname was Mitchell, and her sister was brought up by a childless aunt in Charlotte Street!