The first Isger migrant

Joseph Isger arrived in New York on the 19th July 1851 on board the SS Northumberland. Along with many other migrants he made his way to Pennsylvania which, with the discovery of anthracite coal and the rapid development of railroads, had a growing demand for labour.

His wife and two children joined him two years later. Little is known of his early years in Pennsylvania but records show he enlisted in the Union Army on 12th September 1862 when a militia was formed to help repel the invasion of Maryland by the Confederate Army led by General Lee. In the event, the militia was not required in action and Joseph was mustered out at Harrisburg on 26th September 1862.

An 1865 tax assessment showed that he had earned $111 in the year and paid $5.55 in tax. In today's terms, his taxable earnings would have been about $12500 - not a fortune.

In the 1870 census, Joseph and family were living in Carbondale, PA and he had risen to become a stable boss. Sarah had died and he had married Jeanette Stafford, adding a further three children to the four borne by Sarah. In the next census, he was employed as an engineer on the railroad. His sons were also employed on various railroad jobs. The census lists the value of his estate at $2500 which was no mean figure then and probably worth in excess of $40000.

Jeanette died in 1885 with typhoid and he married for a 3rd time in 1886 to Elvira, a single lady, some 17 years his junior.

Joseph became a trustee of he Maplewood Cemetery in Carbondale where he was laid to rest in 1900.

So, from his humble beginnings in Frome, Somerset, England where he started work as a servant to the local rector, he became a draper in London before seeking fortune across the Atlantic Ocean. Once in Pennsylvania, he seems to have worked hard, improving his skills and becoming a responsible citizen. His American descendants should be proud of him.