Calvinists Incorporated

Anne Kelly Knowles traces a community of Welsh immigrants to Jackson and Gallia counties in southern Ohio. After reconstructing the gradual process of community-building, the author focuses on the pivotal moment when the immigrants became involved with the industrialization of their new region as workers and investors in Welsh-owned charcoal iron companies. The text sets the southern Ohio Welsh in the context of Welsh immigration as a whole from 1795 to 1850 and explores how these strict Calvinists responded to the moral dilemmas posed by leaving their native land and experiencing economic success in the United States. A wide variety of sources, including obituaries and community histories are drawn upon to reconstruct the personal histories of over 1700 immigrants.