>Hi, everyone. I was wondering if anyone knew why so many people left KY to go >to >Southern Illinois (Pope Co.) back in the 1800's. Was it for farming/land? I >have been >researching my ancestors and they mostly started out in NC, SC, then TN or KY, >then ended in Pope Co., Illinois. >I was just wondering from you history buffs what the attraction was? >Please respond. >Thanks, >Laura First, there was the frontiersmen and their families. They are the ones who thought the country was getting too settled when they could here the sound of a neighbor hunting. To them, they had to be on the frontier, or somewhere beyond. Another problem settlers had in Kentucky particularly would have been the various land claims. It's even one of the reasons that drove Daniel Boone out. Getting and keeping clear title to land was an expensive chore in Kentucky whereas, land across the Ohio River was easy to secure since surveyors followed a sensible grid rather than the metes and bounds used in older settlements. Another benefit of the land surveys came with public education and roads. In Kentucky, most early roads developed as private toll roads, rather than public rights-of-way. Since Congress stopped making large land grants in Illinois, the local counties were able to establish public roads as needed, compensating land owners with the benefit of being on a road. Congress also allowed the proceeds from Section 16 of each Congressional township (one square mile out of every 36) to be set aside for education. Kentucky's history of an inferior public education system derives from this tidbit of history. Also, Illinois and Congress worked together to set aside various other lands for saltworks, lead mines, canals and railroads. The proceeds from these land sales also benefited the state in many ways. When the state first sold off land in the Gallatin Salines (the saltworks around Equality) the General Assembly used the land to build the first penitentiary at Alton and for various road and bridge projects throughout the state. Kentucky never had this chance for public financing of large improvements which made Illinois and Indiana more desirable. Also, Kentucky was a blatant slave state, unlike the Illinois which simply turned a blind eye and called it indentured servitude. Many families who were opposed to slavery, or at least opposed to the cheap labor that unfairly competed with them, decided to move to a free state like Illinois. Hope this helps. Jon Musgrave jonm@midamer.net Check out Jon's Southern Illinois History Page at http://users.midamer.net/jonm Gallatin County ILGenWeb Page at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilgalla2/index.html