Howard Co IN USGenWeb Project : Source Materials : Howard County Migration
Immigrants from other countries have been a part of the Howard County population since its inception. The 1850 census (the first in which Howard County is listed) enumerated 42 individuals who were born outside of the United States. That number increased nearly eightfold in 1860, with 314 foreign-born individuals listed.
As noted in the table below, the largest number of immigrants listed in a given census was in 1920, with 2,139 individuals listing a birthplace other than the United States. With a few exceptions, immigration declined between 1920 and 1930, reflecting both national and international politics.
| Country | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England, Scotland & Wales - Chart | 9 | 30 | 29 | 42 | 211 | 322 | 377 | 302 |
| Ireland (includes North Ireland) - Chart | 2 | 81 | 116 | 133 | 122 | 105 | 84 | 65 |
| Sweden, Denmark & Norway - Chart | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 35 | 38 | 61 |
| Netherlands & Belgium - Chart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 28 |
| Switzerland - Chart | 1 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| France - Chart | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 33 | 50 | 33 |
| Germany - Chart | 20 | 65 | 112 | 122 | 215 | 210 | 176 | 131 |
| Austria/Hungary - Chart | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 50 | 14 |
| Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Rumania - Chart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 258 | 187 | 137 |
| Russia & Lithuania - Chart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 36 | 25 |
| Greece & Turkey - Chart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 68 | 32 |
| Italy - Chart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 32 | 135 | 131 |
| Canada (includes French Canada)Chart | 5 | 3 | 19 | 14 | 49 | 48 | 74 | 50 |
| India, China, Japan - Chart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Other | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 50 |
| Totals - Chart | 42 | 314 | 453 | 522 | 1086 | 1896 | 2139 | 1721 |