> My grandfather was Philo Birdsey Martin b. 1821 in Ohio. It is such an odd > name , it must be a family name. I've noticed a migration pattern from > Connecticut to Ohio and I've also noticed there are Birdseys listed there along > with a Philo Birdsey. Could there be a connection? I've reached a wall and > cannot find more about him. Does anyone have any ideas? I would appreciate > any help you can give. > > Thanks, > Mary Martin Cannon > Hi, Mary, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a connection. Many people from Connecticut moved to Ohio (to the Connecticut "Western Reserve" or Firelands. There is more information about this on the website for the Connecticut State Library at http://www.cslib.org/firelands.htm - My ancestors Jeremiah Mead, Jr. and Esther Peck Mead and their entire family moved from Greenwich, Connecticut to southern Ohio in 1817. According to the Connecticut State Library: "At the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve [in what is now Ohio] was a strip 25 miles wide known as the Firelands. This area was linked with Connecticut by bonds of suffering and destruction. As a result of severe British raids upon Danbury, New Haven, Fairfield, Norwalk, and New London in the Revolution, many families incurred great losses. After years of petitions for relief, the state finally took decisive action in 1792 to reimburse the victims and their heirs by turning over to them 500,000 acres in Ohio for equitable division according to losses." The Firelands are made up by the present-day Erie and Huron Counties, as well as a small portion of Ashland County, Ohio. Another informative Firelands website is the following: http://www.rootsandroutes.net/body.htm?http&&&www.rootsandroutes.net/firelands.htm Good luck with your search for your Birdsey ancestors. Sandy Johnson Witt --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out!

To cl-arify, the land North of the Western Reserve Line (from memory the 42nd parallel) was the Western Reserve Territory. This land was origionally claimed by several states, NY, VA, CT, PA, and perhaps others. It was awarded at various times by the King of England to those states. By treaty, those states gave up their claim, but CT reserved the Western Reserve also known as New Connecticut. The Western part of it (125 mi. again from my memory) were reserved for CT families who where burned out during the Revolutionary war. The Eastern part was administered by the Connecticut Land Company, headed by the Treasurer of CT. CT promoted the area and many settlers from CT moved to that area, including my GG Grandfather who moved to Atwater, OH in 1806, very soon after the first road was cut through. Hope this explains why so many settlers in the area arrived from CT. Ralph Strong > > My grandfather was Philo Birdsey Martin b. 1821 in Ohio. It is such an odd > > name , it must be a family name. I've noticed a migration pattern from > > Connecticut to Ohio and I've also noticed there are Birdseys listed there along > > with a Philo Birdsey. Could there be a connection? I've reached a wall and > > cannot find more about him. Does anyone have any ideas? I would appreciate > > any help you can give. > > > > Thanks, > > Mary Martin Cannon > > > Hi, Mary, > > I wouldn't be surprised if there were a connection. > > Many people from Connecticut moved to Ohio (to the Connecticut "Western Reserve" or Firelands. There is more information about this on the website for the Connecticut State Library at http://www.cslib.org/firelands.htm - My ancestors Jeremiah Mead, Jr. and Esther Peck Mead and their entire family moved from Greenwich, Connecticut to southern Ohio in 1817. > > According to the Connecticut State Library: "At the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve [in what is now Ohio] was a strip 25 miles wide known as the Firelands. This area was linked with Connecticut by bonds of suffering and destruction. As a result of severe British raids upon Danbury, New Haven, Fairfield, Norwalk, and New London in the Revolution, many families incurred great losses. After years of petitions for relief, the state finally took decisive action in 1792 to reimburse the victims and their heirs by turning over to them 500,000 acres in Ohio for equitable division according to losses." > > The Firelands are made up by the present-day Erie and Huron Counties, as well as a small portion of Ashland County, Ohio. > > Another informative Firelands website is the following: > http://www.rootsandroutes.net/body.htm?http&&&www.rootsandroutes.net/firelands.htm > > Good luck with your search for your Birdsey ancestors. > > Sandy Johnson Witt > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out! >