EXAMINING PATTERNS OF ITALIAN IMMIGRATION TO ...

database. On some of them, in fact, besides giving the exact address of the final destination
of the immigrant, it is also indicated if they were going to join relatives and/or friends. Many
of them actually did. 31
So far there are no specific reasons why many Italian immigrants from the province
of Lucca settled in Houghton County either. One of the things that they have in common
with the people from Canavese is the fact that these two areas have a significant mining
tradition, at least by Italian standards. 32 But the hypothesis that they both came here because
of their mining skills is far from being proven. Ships’ manifests offer some hints when
describing the occupation of the immigrant, but it is not certain if immigrants are declaring
the occupation they used to have, or the one they are hoping to have.
2.10 Comparisons
The following graphs show a comparison in the composition of the Italian
community according to birthplace in the years examined and help to give an idea of the flux
of Italian immigrants to Houghton County through the years.
In 1880 the Italian community is considerably small compared to the following years,
and it is mainly composed by the so-called pioneers, mostly single men who arrived a few
years earlier and had not started families yet. This explains the small percentage of
individuals not born in Italy, who are mostly children. In 1900 this percentage almost
doubles (31%) and the percentage of individuals born in Italy decreases proportionally
(68%). Although data from 1890 are missing and a more reliable comparison is not possible,
it is likely that the percentage increased because many of the immigrants married and started
to have children. Individuals born in Italy are still the majority of the community suggesting
that the flux of ‘new’ Italians to Houghton County is still relevant. In 1910 the community is
considerably larger than in 1900, but the percentage of people born in Italy decreases to
58%. This is a first indication that fewer ‘new’ Italians are reaching the Upper Peninsula. In
31 www.ellisisland.org.
32 In the area of Canavese some metals and minerals have been mined since the Roman period. The production
has never reached relevant industrial scale even during the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Considering the general
mining tradition in Italy, however, it would not be wrong calling the Canavese a mining area. The province of
Lucca is famous for its quarries of marble. There are also mines of metals and again even though they have
never reached a relevant industrial scale of production, the province of Lucca is definitely a mining area.
30