I have heard two researchers in the last few weeks say that as people migrated westward they stayed in their "hardiness zones". The idea being that people wanted to be able to farm the way they were used to. I have been looking for a good map that would show the zones. The USDA puts these maps together which you see in seed catalogs. I found this one of the Eastern half of the US. Thought some people might like to check it out. Your ancestor should never go more than two zones from his zone of origin. This doesn't count for people with city jobs. It is supposed to give you an idea which areas you might look at as you search for their origin. http://www.boldweb.com/greenweb/g_zoneus.gif Regards, Christina