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"Work in textile mills and the logging industry—anything besides the backbreaking farm work in Québec—was what drew them. For example, six mills opened in the Lewiston area of the state of Maine alone between 1819 and 1869. When they did settle...

This photograph is one example to explain and situate the emigration of French (and other) Canadians to work in cotton mills in New England circa 1910. ...

This photograph not only illustrates the large size of Franco-American families, which could typically include more than twelve children, but also the tight living conditions endured by many early immigrants. Enterprising landlords or even the compa...