by RICHARD MULLEN
with
Narrator John Rowe

The Burlends were a middle-aged couple who decided in 1831 to emigrate to America, taking with them their meagre savings and their five youngest children. On a chilly November night they were rowed ashore from a river steamer to a dark and deserted landing stage at Phillip's Ferry on the Illinois River. 'My husband and I,' wrote Rebecca, 'looked at each other till we burst into tears. Is this America? thought I.' Eventually the Burlends prospered and in 1848 Rebecca dictated the story of their adventures. She and John came to be revered as the first Yorkshire settlers of Pike County, Illinois, and they died within a few months of each other in 1871. Producer ALAN HAYDOCK