Posts in September 24, 2025

I’m currently working on a family of immigrants to the US in the 1860 where several siblings immigrate over time and settle in the same general area–at least initially. One single man came first and eventually more members of the family streamed over as time went on. The phrase “chain migration” is sometimes used for this situation, but I’ve decided to stop using that phrase because it sounds like “migration in chains” which is a typical referenced to forced migration via slavery. And…I just don’t think that the chain metaphor works. After struggling to find a term for family members who migrate over time, I’ve decided to refer to it as a migration stream. The stream metaphor I think is more fitting and also, given that literal streams […]