United States, between 1820 and 1860, populations in cites had increased by 797%, many of the new urbanites lacking social or family networks through which they might meet potential partners. Women in particular found personal ads to be a means for exercising some control over their circumstances. An 1890 study of female respondents to personal ads in the United States found that they sought independence from societal expectations and a degree of equality in the matter of marriage. (The criminologist who performed the study was scandalized by the responses, believing "they bordered on moral depravity".) The years following the Civil War in the United States brought a huge mismatch in the number of available men in the east (more than 600,000 killed in the war) and in the number of available women on the western frontier, where mostly men had migrated to pursue mining, fur trading, farming, logging, and exploring. Rural areas of Illinois in the 1850s, for example, averaged one woman for every twenty-five men. In England, the 1861 census revealed a significant numerical surplus of women, due to emigration and earlier deaths. States in the western United States which suffered from the imbalance between men and women passed numerous laws intended to encourage women to immigrate, such as property protection for women (as opposed to coverture laws common in eastern states) and female suffrage. The welcoming political climate was an incentive for women to respond to marriage ads and marriage recruiting efforts. In the early 20th century, answering matrimonial ads was a route to entering the United States after immigration limits became more restrictive. It was also a means of escaping war-torn regions. In 1922, two ships docked in New York with 900 mail-order brides from Turkey, Romania, Armenia, and Greece, fleeing the Greco-Turkish War. Observations Most ads in the 1700s were placed by men; of those placed by women, the majority were by widows. The earliest ads placed an emphasis on economic factors, but by the end of the 18th century, ads revealed an interest in romantic love. Despite the shifting interest toward compatibility and personality, money continued to be mentioned in ads through the 19th century. From about 1820 to 1870, ads from women rarely appeared. By 1884, working-class men and women joined the middle class in the personal ad pages. Ads in the 19th century were mostly placed by men in their twenties, frequently claiming