“The Acquisition of Wealth, or of A Comfortable Subsistence”: The Census of 1800 and the Yankee Migration to Maine, 1760-1825

Abstract

In 1800 census-takers George Haliburton of Penobscot and Samuel Cony of Hallowell exceeded their official instructions and appended to their reports information about residents’ places of origin. This unusual addition to the rather limited census of 1800 offers insight into early migrations to the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin valleys. Using this as a base, Jamie Eves takes a new look at New England's internal migration patterns and reevaluates the motives and meaning of the pioneering process in this formative period in Maine’s history.