Francophone Labour and Migrations in and Out of the Industrial Keweenaw Peninsula

Don Lafreniere, Michigan Technological University
Sarah Fayen Scarlett, Michigan Technological University
Garand Spikberg, Michigan Technological University

Francophone migrants drawn to the extractive industries established in Michigan’s Keweenaw peninsula remain an understudied population in Franco-American history. The Copper Country Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure (CC-HSDI) developed at Michigan Technological University offers new opportunities to use geospatial methods for analyzing this region’s migrant experience over time and space. For this paper, a population sample of potential francophones was classified from IPUMS restricted U.S. Census data from 1870–1940, and further divided into sub-categories to identify individuals based on language, birthplace, and first or second generation status. Analysis reveals that francophones lived and worked throughout the region but also created several centers of French-Canadian settlement. Employment records reveal that more francophones worked in the mining industry than in lumber and agriculture combined, and that the percentage of skilled positions rose over time. When the mining industry began to fail after World War I, Francophones left the Keweenaw for better jobs. Utilizing the IPUMS Multigenerational Linked Panel from 1910-1940 suggests that Francophones began leaving before some other cultural groups and that they migrated to industrial manufacturing centers around the Great Lakes in greater numbers than to other mining regions. By establishing these new patterns in Francophone migration in the Keweenaw, this paper provides comparative opportunities within North American history and demonstrates research advantages of HSDIs.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 46. Canadian Migration to the US, 1850-1930:New Studies Mixing Scales and Approaches