Driven from the deck by the inclement weather, she retreated to her berth that day but was unable to write. She referred again to the waves as mountainous, and this very well may not have been hyperbole, for that afternoon the Captain called a prayer meeting in steerage for all passengers. Her journal noted that he and most of the travelers were Methodists, and that the assembly was quite impressive. Markerly seemed to have drawn strength especially from one speaker who read a biblical passage. He recited “If I ascent into heaven, thou art there, if I make my bed in hell, thou art there, if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me.”18 This passage in Markerly's journal indicates her reliance on strong spiritual beliefs to protect both herself and her family. Perhaps she was thinking of her son, John, during this prayer meeting.
In this section of her memoir, April 22, she mentioned that a year ago at this time, her only son was on this same voyage and, perhaps his letters had warned of the stormy conditions. She noted that the hard gale and rough seas had rocked the ship so that they barely could stay in their sleeping berths. Under torrents of rain, the ship rolled to such a degree that the waves immersed the vessel's lee bulwarks with the sails taken in to almost bare masts. Barely able to write in her berth, she could at least take solace in the fact that some of her family was near. However, John had made the crossing unaccompanied to lay the groundwork for the following family members. This form of chain or serial migration provided critical information to guide the immigrants in starting a new life. Markerly wrote, “I come my dear Boy ‘oer the wide stormy ocean to seek thy protection, and fly to thy arms. I think of my child with the tenderest emotion. This cheers my sad spirit when danger alarms.”19 This passage indicated that she was confident in John's ability to be financially successful in an expanding American economy.
Although Great Britain had crossed a threshold as an industrialized and urbanized society, the United States remained predominately agricultural and rural. Over three quarters of its labor force worked in agriculture, yet its industrial base was also rapidly growing providing English arrivals with an expanding range of occupational opportunities. Land ownership constituted a major motivator for many in this group, and they embraced the Jeffersonian concept that farm ownership provided independence. Erickson asserts that land ownership was a common goal for emigrants, even those with industrial backgrounds.20 In the immediate antebellum period, the cost of productive tracts of real estate in America was approximate to comparable British land leased for one to two years. Free trade was a vigorously contested issue in Britain, which would benefit industrial workers, but those in the agricultural community feared the loss of tariff protection would result in ruinous foreign competition. Forward thinking individuals took proactive measures in the form of emigration to America where they hoped to participate in this country's free trade market advantage. Nevertheless, it would be an oversimplification to conclude that migrants merely responded to economic push forces from Britain or financial pull forces in the United States.21 Prior to her departure Markerly noted in her poetry dated January 27, 1833:
Then I'll fly from this land of oppression and sorrow
And seek me a country where comforts abound
Where no one need dread the approach of tomorrow
Least meat, drink and clothing should cease to be found...22
Nevertheless, more pressing issues would occupy the widow and her family during the next few days of the voyage, complicated by the ever-inclement weather.
The next two days, April 23 and 24, gale force winds blowing in the wrong direction buffeted the ship as the crew tacked back and forth to make headway. A bedridden Markerly wryly observed that they might be blown clear to Spitzbergen, rather than arriving in Quebec. She noted that only the cries of the children on board, the eldest merely three years old, punctuated the roaring of the wind and waves. The following morning, she observed that they were still in very rough seas and wrote that she was too ill to make further observations. Five days later, Markerly updated her log by writing, “I have not inserted a word in my memorandum, having had other fish to fry in Neptune's great pan and as his element is of a cool nature, they have taken some time to cook them.”23 On the morning she was too ill to write, she left her bed to tend to her daughter, Hannah Doncaster, who was due to give birth. “We had a young Neptune born; amidst the roaring of the wind and waves, for it was stormy in Latitude 56 degrees, 10 minutes North and Longitude 32 degrees, 29 minutes West.”24
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