On that day, she aroused her family, departed before sunrise, and “bid an eternal farewell to our humble dwelling.”7 Markerly had arranged transportation for the family to go to Lynn, nearly 20 miles distant. One rented wagon carried the family and their belongings destined for the New World. They waited at Lynn until the next morning, Friday March 29, when they boarded the steamer, Lord Nelson, for Hull, 26 miles away. Passenger lists from 1831 reveal over half of those emigrating were farmers, and those who left via the port of Hull came in the largest numbers from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.8 Markerly's family had lived on and operated a modest seven-acre farm passed down through Samuel Markerly's family. This emigration stream reflected the population exchange from Great Britain to the United States in an Atlantic economy.
During the mid-nineteenth-century, Great Britain was becoming the world's first industrial and urban nation. The United States also was following these societal developments in the Northeast while farmers and rural artisans exploited opportunities in the states formed from the former Northwest Territories . With Britain 's move toward free trade, the economies of England and America grew more intertwined. From 1820 until 1860, concerning culture and economic growth, these nations were the two most interconnected countries in the world. While Britain received nearly half of American exports, approximately forty percent of United States imports came from that island nation. This Atlantic trade bound the two nations' economies closely together, and part of this fundamental socioeconomic development was the migration of English citizens to America. From the mid-1840s to the mid-1850s, America received nearly one-half million people from Great Britain. In addition to American officials' tendency to undercount the English and overstate the number of Celtic peoples (Welsh, Scot, Irish), many listed as going to Canada through the port of Quebec soon crossed over into the state of New York. Approximately three quarters of British emigrants chose America for their final destination instead of Australia, Canada, and South Africa.9
Arranging to immigrate to America would not be easy for Lucy Markerly, but she was a determined woman. Once she arrived at Hull , Markerly booked a transatlantic passage for her family aboard the HMS Westmoreland . The party expected to sail on April 1, 1833 , but already this widow was encountering logistical and personal difficulties. There were numerous delays with preparing the vessel for travel and the loading of supplies while moored at the Junction dock. The vessel would not depart until April 9 more than a week behind schedule. In the meantime, she became seriously ill, noting in her journal “I was extremely ill most of that time, more sick than I ever was when we got out to sea.”10 Her journal made only a passing reference to her brother David's role in the planning and execution of their journey to America , noting only that he suffered the least from seasickness among all the family members. Her son-in-law, William Doncaster, garnered no mention in the logistical process at all. The record revealed that the widow assumed responsibility for all the ground and sea transportation to this point.11 While most English emigrants arrived in American ports, the Markerly family chose to pass through Canada and the St. Lawrence River, which then tied them into the canal system of western New York and the waterways of the Great Lakes. This travel by water was the most expedient way for these emigrants to reach their destination of Hudson, Ohio in the Western Reserve. Markerly's planning and leadership proved to be a definite asset to her family. Her faith and religious beliefs gave her strength to continue in her leadership role.
“The sea air seemed to renovate my spirits; and the wonder of the wide ocean around me, called forth the sincerest feelings of devotion to that being who holds the water in the hollow of his hand and governs universal nature by his omnipotent power.”12 The widow recorded these feelings on the morning of their second day at sea. She expressed concern that all members of the party suffered from seasickness as the weather worsened through the afternoon. Yet the increased winds carried the ship along at a brisk rate of eight knots per hour. However, as the storm strengthened the next day, the weather forced the vessel to anchor offshore near Aberdeen, Scotland to await a pilot who would steer them through the Pentland Firth. Of course, the high winds and rough sea exacerbated her family's illness. She noted that the noise of the wind through the rigging deafened their ears and virtually all the passengers were bedridden. Her journal revealed a matronly concern over her family's suffering from motion sickness, a recurring theme through the voyage.13 However, her diary makes no mention of her own suffering over losing her second husband, Samuel Markerly, the year before her departure from England.
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