EXAMINING PATTERNS OF ITALIAN IMMIGRATION TO ...

Chapter VI - Conclusions
The main goal of this research was to rediscover the communities of the Italians who
lived and worked in Houghton County in order to raise the degree of attention given to the
social and cultural heritage that they left. The data and the information gathered have
generated a clearer idea of who the Italians that settled in Houghton County were. There is a
great deal of information that time and availability has prevented from being used in this
work. The results, however, represent a valuable continuum between previous studies and
possible future in-depth research projects.
The censuses have helped in determining the number of people that formed the
Italian community (born in Italy, of Italian descent, or married to Italians) in the years
examined. The first census year in which their number is significant is 1870; there were
twenty-one. From that year until 1910 the data show an increase in the community; in 1880
there were 220, in 1900 they reached 2,789, and in 1910 there were 4,384. In 1920 the
number of Italians remained stable at 4,379. The year 1930 shows a significant decrease to
2,839. Unfortunately there are no available sources to show the number of Italians living in
Houghton County in the years in between the census years. In fact, it is likely that their
number reached its peak around 1906-1907.
Data showed that most of immigrants came from just two Italian provinces, Torino
and Lucca. Although in later years the variety of provinces represented increased, from 1870
until 1930 the Italian community in this county was, and still is in the recollection of the
Italian descendants, formed by Torinesi/Piemontesi and Lucchesi/Toscani. Other regions
such as Lombardia and Veneto were also represented, but the number of Lombardi and
Veneti descendants never reached more than 150. Because it has not been possible to
establish regions of origin for many immigrants, further research could look at ships’
manifests from ports of arrival other than New York. Determining the port of departure, on
the other hand, is not easily done because Italians left from many different Italian and
European ports.
Interesting information has been gathered about the jobs that Italians had while living
in Houghton County. Previous studies and personal conversations would lead one to believe
that Italians in this region were mostly involved in mining jobs, and that many of them were
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