The purpose of this study was to describe the migration of a selected group of church members from their Appalachian counties of origin to Muncie, Indiana, with specific attention being given to religious beliefs, causes for migration, urban residential patterns, the degree of occupational mobility, and the establishment of migrant churches. The sample studied consisted of members of four migrant churches that had been founded between 1936 and 1959. The migrants' Appalachian origins were obtained from the records of transfers of membership from their original church to the one in Muncie. Tabulation of these transfers revealed that 90.1 percent of them came from four counties: McCreary and Wayne in Kentucky, and Fentress and Scott in Tennessee.Data on living conditions in these Appalachian counties were derived from census material, with detailed attention being given to population, birth rates, economy, employment, education, and housing. The impact these factors had on migration was evaluated. Information as to the migrants' residential patterns and occupational mobility was drawn from the censuses and Muncie city directories. The rates of residential and occupational mobility were determined by examining data at five-year intervals beginning with 1940.The role played by religion in the area of the migrants' origin also was explored. Extensive treatment was given to the establishment of migrant churches and their role in the migration process. Church records and interviews were used to describe the founding of churches as well as how they compared with their counterparts in Appalachia.One of the findings of this study is that a decline in coal mining and subsistence farming was not the chief factor accounting for migration from this four-county region. In the 1940s the decline in these two categories of employment only accounted for 18 percent of the out-migration. But in the following decade, they did account for 58 percent of the exodus. Census data before 1950 indicated that more jobs in other categories had lessened the impact of mining and agriculture on migration. However, after 1950 employment in other categories also declined, making migration even more pronounced.The chief factor responsible for migration from this area was the high rate of natural increase. Birth rates were twice as high as the national average and half of these counties' inhabitants were under twenty years old. Population pressure existed because the economy could not absorb the annual increase. Approximately 60 percent of the out-migration resulted from this high rate of natural increase.An investigation of residential patterns did not reveal the clustering of migrants within city blocks. Instead, concentrations of migrants were found within larger housing districts. They tended to move into the central part of the city as well as four other districts with substandard housing. When those areas filled up, they moved over into the southeast side. Significant concentrations were also found in the Black areas.Study of the migrants' occupational patterns revealed only marginal mobility. All of them started as unskilled or semi-skilled laborers, with only 8.4 percent improving their position over the thirty-five year period studied. The latter were upgraded as industrial supervisors or skilled laborers. However, none of the migrants became white-collar employees or managed to move into new or elaborate housing. Overall, these people have preferred the step-by-step marginal advancements that are consistent with their culture.The most significant fact about these migrant churches is that they were established and are maintained by extended family groups which originated and still have deep roots in Appalachia. Urbanization was found to have had some impact in the sense that they eventually had adopted more church programs, more worship services, and full-time ministers like other urban churches. However, in their basic religious practices and beliefs, and in the way they depend upon bonds of kinship these churches still reflect many of the basic characteristics of those back in Appalachia.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/177127 |
| Date | January 1978 |
| Creators | Jones, Carmel L. |
| Contributors | Schmidt, Lester F. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 4, vii, 286 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-usa-- n-us-in |
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