ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the migration behavior of approximately 2,000 family groups who were resident in rural areas of New York in 1855. It presents three substantive objectives. First, the process of migration selectivity was investigated by examining differentials between non-migrants and migrants with common origins. Second, the out-migration field was examined and the destinations of rural out-migrants were documented. Third, differentials among out-migrants categorized by distance migrated and by type of destination. The same differentials were significant among farmers, the largest occupational group. Additionally, the typical non-migrant farmer operated a farm that was roughly one and one-half times the size and value of that operated by the typical out-migrant farmer. Whereas the spatial pattern of the out-migration field conformed to the expected pattern, the differentials associated with distance migrated and the destination type varied in some respects from those hypothesized. Life-cycle characteristics and place ties generally were not significant differentials.
