Immigration to the United States
The life of Harry Burton (1880-1936)
Heritage
Harry Smith Burton born November 29th, 1880 in London England. London, the capital of England, is located right in the south western part of the country. Queen Victoria was ruling at the time along with Prime Minister William Gladstone.
Growing up
He grew up in Manningham, Yorkshire, England with parents John Burton and Mary Jane Langcraft. It was a generally industrial area and it was also a Jewish area. He lived in that area until 1905 when he married his long time girlfriend Elizabeth Cardiff.
When Harry Met Elizabeth
The two were avid members of their christian church where they met. They began courting and soon after they were engaged to be married. They wed on September 30th, 1905 in West Ham, Essex, England.
Their Growing Family
Harry was a distinguished man and the though of him, or Elizabeth, working in factories was very hard to believe. But this was the time after England's Industrial Revolution and they had to what they could to provide for their growing family. It started with Leslie James, born in 1906, the only Burton child born in England, the other four were born in the United States.
The Big Move
Shortly after Leslie's first birthday, Harry received news from his sister that he must move to the promise land, America. She said that job opportunities were plentiful and the streets were practically paved with gold. England jobs were becoming tough to find and Harry had to provide for his wife and son so he made the big decision to move to the United States in 1907.
Tough Times
So, off they went to the United States in 1907. They sold everything they owned in England and boarded a large ship. In those times it took days to cross the ocean but sooner or later they arrived in New York City and were send straight to Ellis Island. They were checked for disease and sent on their way. They decided to stay with Harry's sister in Yonkers until they became established themselves. But things were harder for them then they thought it would be. They were poor, they had no furniture, no hot water, and very little food. Harry's job didn't pay much so they were surviving rather than thriving in Yonkers.
Hardships
The Burton's were living in Yonkers during the Great Depression. And boy were things depressed. Being new immigrants, they couldn't provide food for the family, the didn't have a meal or a tree on Christmas, Harry had to become a door to door sales man, they were dirty and smelly and had an overcrowded apartment. Luckily they didn't have to experience nativism and lived in a pretty culturally diverse area or a Melting Pot. But according to these hardships, i guess you could say they didn't assimilate so well.
In Conclusion
From this project, i learned an immense amount of information not just about my grandfather but about immigrants in general. They had it really hard, leaving England and starting all over again in a place they were unfamiliar with. I take it for granted and reading up on my grandpa has showed just how much he and his family have been through. I have realized in listening to Donald Trump bash immigrants that i need to keep more of an open mind because we too are all immigrants in one way or another. I appreciate all I've learned from this project.