The Yorkshire Emigration
The Ripleys came to Nova Scotia in a wave of settlement known as the Yorkshire Emigration. More than a thousand immigrants from Yorkshire, mostly tenant farmers and their families, arrived in Nova Scotia between 1772 and 1775.
Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor Michael Francklin and other military men had acquired large land grants following the expulsion of the Acadians. They recruited the Yorkshire immigrants as tenants or buyers for these properties. Like the Acadians, many of the Yorkshire farmers had experience in building dykes to claim marsh land from the sea. Many Yorkshire farmers moved to Nova Scotia to escape high rents, acquire large leases or land of their own, and live the simple devout life endorsed by Wesleyan Methodism. The rapid influx of settlers ended with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. |
For sources and more detailed information see:
Bailyn, Bernard. Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the American Revolution, Toronto, Random House, 1986. Winner of the Pulitzer prize in history 1987. Portions of this outstanding book are available for online viewing. An entire section is devoted to Francklin and Yorkshire.
Campey, Lucille H. Planters, Paupers, and Pioneers, Toronto, Dundurn Press, 2010. Portions of this excellent book describing the settlement of eastern Canada are available for online viewing at Google Books. Chapter 2 is devoted to the Yorkshire Emigration.
Ripley, Gordon. Yorkshire Emigration, 1772-1775 (Website devoted to the Yorkshire Emigration by my knowledgable and helpful 3rd cousin.)
Ripley, Gordon. Ripley One Name Study (Gord's new website contains an index of Ripleys in Yorkshire 1070-1600)
Robinson, John and Rispin, Thomas. A Journey through Nova Scotia available online. Fascinating first-hand account of a voyage and trip to Nova Scotia circa 1774 describing the various townships, houses, clothing, farms, prices, etc.
Bailyn, Bernard. Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the American Revolution, Toronto, Random House, 1986. Winner of the Pulitzer prize in history 1987. Portions of this outstanding book are available for online viewing. An entire section is devoted to Francklin and Yorkshire.
Campey, Lucille H. Planters, Paupers, and Pioneers, Toronto, Dundurn Press, 2010. Portions of this excellent book describing the settlement of eastern Canada are available for online viewing at Google Books. Chapter 2 is devoted to the Yorkshire Emigration.
Ripley, Gordon. Yorkshire Emigration, 1772-1775 (Website devoted to the Yorkshire Emigration by my knowledgable and helpful 3rd cousin.)
Ripley, Gordon. Ripley One Name Study (Gord's new website contains an index of Ripleys in Yorkshire 1070-1600)
Robinson, John and Rispin, Thomas. A Journey through Nova Scotia available online. Fascinating first-hand account of a voyage and trip to Nova Scotia circa 1774 describing the various townships, houses, clothing, farms, prices, etc.