During the Reconstruction period most of the southern states set up
immigration boards to try to attract immigrants into their states. Purposes
ranged from getting skilled and unskilled labor to replace the newly freed
slaves, to unloading some worn out tobacco lands, to simply increasing the
white population. Jack Maddox in his book on the Virginia Conservatives talks
briefly about the board. As far as I know, it had little success in drawing
immigration into VA (except for the little colony of three hundred families
that moved from Ohio to Mecklenburg County in 1872--that included some of my
ancestors).

Jim Hershman

T Greg Evans wrote:

>  According to a Historical marker, Gaspar Tochman after fighting for the
> Confederacy in the Civil War settled in Spotsylvania County and served
> as European agent for the Virginia Board of Immigration.
>      My questions are, what was the Virginia Board of Immigration, what
> was it for, and what was its history?
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html