Dear Friends, Thank all of you who sent me notes on SWACKHAMMERs and the possible nature of migration between New Jersey and New York state in the late 18th century. I think I have touched base with all of you personally, but if I have inadvertently missed anyone, please accept my thanks here. The SWACKHAMMERS are certainly a closer knit family than I ever imagined; my grandmother would have been delighted! One of my respondents suggested that I post the migration comments, or a summary on the list. Here goes. Land was certainly the most frequently noted factor behind the migration from New Jersey to New York in the late 1700's, early 1800's. Both more land and cheaper land. While we usually think of folks moving west for more land, at the beginning of the nineteenth century movement to the large neighboring states of New York and Pennsylvania was probably even more common. It was also noted that New Jersey was particularly hard hit by the Revolutionary War, and this disruption might also have encouraged migration. Additional comments were more individual in nature. A couple of people noted that second or younger sons, who hadn't inherited land, might have found it advantageous to move a distance to start out on their own. Since my migrant, Balthus SWACKHAMMER, was a younger son of a third marriage I found these comments of particular interest. Since I find the "whys" of genealogy as fascinating as the "whos", I will be inquiring further into these migration patterns and the history of New Jersey and New York. Any suggestions for my further reading and research are welcome. Thank you all again for your thoughtful comments. Beverly Fearn Porter, Columbia, MD