--part1_ce.24ad839.25f14dbc_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --part1_ce.24ad839.25f14dbc_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: <[email protected]> Received: from rly-zc02.mx.aol.com (rly-zc02.mail.aol.com [172.31.33.2]) by air-zc01.mail.aol.com (v69.17) with ESMTP; Thu, 02 Mar 2000 18:47:01 -0500 Received: from bl-14.rootsweb.com (bl-14.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.30]) by rly-zc02.mx.aol.com (v69.17) with ESMTP; Thu, 02 Mar 2000 18:46:28 -0500 Received: (from [email protected]) by bl-14.rootsweb.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA23526; Thu, 2 Mar 2000 15:37:01 -0800 (PST) Resent-Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 15:37:01 -0800 (PST) From: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 18:35:30 EST Old-To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 67 Subject: [GOODWIN] Migration Reasons, very interesting Resent-Message-ID: <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Resent-From: [email protected] X-Mailing-List: <[email protected]> archive/latest/1126 X-Loop: [email protected] Precedence: list Resent-Sender: [email protected] Posted to the BEAN List, thought I'd forward it to all of you. Might help. Ley 1. Motivations of original colonial ancestors > THE ENGLISH > > 1. Social and economic dislocation, caused in part by pressure on feudal > system by inflation resulting from vast amount of new gold and silver > introduced through Spain. > 2. Political rivalry between a recently strengthen England and Spain. > 3. Richard Hakluyt's "Discourse of Western Planting" provides an > intellectual rationale for colonizing both in Ireland and the New World. > 4. Religious upheaval in England encourages various groups to leave. > 5. The success of Francis Drake leads englishmen to perceive of the New > World as a land of instant riches, thus serving as a catalyst for > colonization. > 6. Development of joint stock companies provides economic base for > colonization (think the Jamestown-Virginia Stock Co, pocahontas timeframe). > 7. Failure of the Spanish Armada gives English greater confidence. > > B. THE NON ENGLISH > > 1. Blacks introduced, first as indentured servants, then as slaves, after > 1619. > 2. Dutch and Swedes are incorporated as New York and New Jersey become > english colonies. > 3. Huguenots (French Protestants) permitted by English to settle after > forced to leave France. > 4. Lowland Scots settle in northern Ireland, then shortly after 1700 come in > large numbers to the English colonies, settling on the frontier and becoming > known as the "Scotch-Irish." > 5. Germans, largely from the Panatinate, settle on the frontier at same time > as the "Scotch-Irish" and become known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch." > 6. After 1750, signficant numbers of Highland Scots are permitted to leave > Scotland to settle in the English colonies, with the promise they will never > fight against the (english) Crown. > > II. MOVEMENT OF ANCESTORS AFTER MAJOR MIGRATION ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN > > A. Rather static habits of most settlers in the English colonies throughout > the Colonial Era. > > 1. Most colonists rarely moved more than 20 miles in their lifetime, except > for Scotch-Irish who moved often. > 2. New England religious and social attitudes discouraged much movement, > often required considerable preparation before moves were sanctioned. > 3. Southern settlers who came from England found themselves oriented toward > England economically, socially and politically, and by 1776 more than 85% > were still within thirty miles of the Atlantic coast. > 4. "Pennsylvania Dutch" though settling most of the frontier from NY South, > rarely moved after selecting a permanent home. > > B. Surge of interest in the West leads to settlement in Tennessee, Kentucky, > and the Ohio Valley after 1750. > > 1. Exploration shows great desirability of these areas. > 2. Establishment of military roads such as Forbes Road and Braddocks Road > opens the Ohio Valley during the French and Indian War, after 1754. > 3. Development of Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road open Kentucky. > 4. Utilization of the Indian trails of the Great Valley of the Appalachians > brings settlers from Virginia and Maryland to Tennessee, while North > Carolinians use the river valleys of the Holston, Nolichucky and French > Broad to the same part of eastern Tennessee. > > C. Revolutionary War encourages western settlement. > > 1. Removal of indians from desired land often justified as part of war > effort. > 2. British policy which often discouraged settlement west of Appalachians no > longer operative. > 3. Individual states, especially Virginia and North Carolina, encourage > settlement to solidify their claims before 1778. > 4. Land speculation rampant. > 5. Western land utilized for land bounties given to Revolutionary War > soldiers. > 6. Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the Revolutionary War almost doubles the > area claimed by the U.S. when Britain agrees to a Mississippi River > boundary. > > D. Western Movement escalates during the early national period. > > 1. Legislation such as the Northwest Ordinances of 1784 (deciding that the > West will be admitted as states equal to the original 13 colonies), 1785 > (providing for the surveying and orderly sale of western land) and 1787 > (providing specific steps for establishment of territories, then states) > encourages settlement. > 2. Challenges to U.S. claims to land north and west of Ohio river by > Britain, and in the far south by Spain leads to heightened American interest > in Ohio and the "Yazoo Strip." > 3. The clearing of Indian and British claims to the Ohio Country by the > Treaty of Ft. Greenville and Jay's Treaty in 1795 and Pinckney's Treaty, in > which Spain not only recognizes the American interpretation of the Yazoo > controversy, but guarantees Americans the right to navigate the entire > Mississippi River erased many of the impediments to settlement in these > areas. > 4. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin 1793, making the growing of > upland cotton commercially feasible at a time when European technological > development has led to a major demand for a new source of fibers, greatly > affects the nature and level of western settlement. > A) Southerners with land find a ready sale for it, at unheard of prices, > which gives them the funds to go elsewhere. > B) Even though land suitable for growing of cotton will usually cost between > $15 and $50 per acre, many settlers from the Old South cling to the > traditional pattern of going almost due west, because of the great profits > that can be made from raising cotton. > C) Many southerners break the traditional pattern of settling almost > straight west of where they had lived before and go instead clear up the > Ohio River Valley, settling in southern Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. This is > largely because: > 1) Slavery which almost everyone thought was dead, was revitalized because > of the need for dependable cotton cultivators, many left the south because > of an aversion to slavery; > 2) Some left because they didn't like blacks, and because the Northwest > Ordinances forbade slavery, they chose to go there; > 3) Most who left the south and went to the Ohio Valley probably did so > because they were guaranteed that they could obtain what they considered to > be exceptional fertile land at no more than $1.25 per acre. > > 5. Abrupt departure of many people from New England between 1800 and 1810. > a) Appeal of rich land in upstate NY, now free of most Indian claims. > b) Appeal of land in Ohio Valley, especially northern Ohio, Indiana and > Illinois. > c) People moving from New England to Ohio Valley begin raising sheep and > agri products, making it difficult for New Englanders with their generally > poor soil, to compete. > d) Embargo Act of 1807 destroys the New England shipping industry and the > New England economy sags considerably. > e) Much of the traditional New England resistance to individual distant > settlement is fading. > f) The introduction of steamboats, whch make upriver navigation of the > Mississippi and Ohio rivers practical, further enhances the economy of the > area west of New England. > 6. The LOUISIANA PURCHASE of 1803 almost doubles the land of the United > States, establishes new opportunities for Americans in the far west, and > entices many young men to settle, grow cotton, trade, trap and explore. > > E. ADDITIONAL FACTORS LEADING TO THE TREMENDOUS SETTLEMENT OF THE FIRST 50 > YEARS OF THE 19th CENTURY. > > 1. Canal boom of the 1820s, especially the extremely successful Erie Canal > which drastically lowers the cost of east-west shipping. > 2. Changing Indian policy which by 1816 encourages each Indian head of > family to select 640 acreas on which to live or move west of Mississippi > River and by 1826 tells all Indians east of Mississippi they must remove, > thus making much land available, especially for cotton production in the > south. > 3. The Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819 gives the U.S. Spain's claim to Florida, > but also to the land north of the 42nd parallel (the northern border of > California). > 4. American settlement of Texas, beginning in 1823, which leads to Texas > independence in 1836, admission to the Union in 1845. > 5. Development of the railroad as a means of transportation and of > encouraging westward movement. > 6. American interest in Oregon soars after 1841, with rapid settlement of > the Willamette River Valley. > 7. Mormons, dispossessed from their homes in Missouri and Illinois, go first > to Iowa, then make a major migration to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, > quickly expanding throughout the Great Basin. > 8. The War with Mexico ends with the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo giving the > Southwest to the U.S. > 9. The discovery of large amounts of placer gold in California leads to a > major rush there in 1849 and statehood in 1850. > 10. The Pacific Railway Act and Homestead Act in 1862 lead to a further, > effective settlement of the west. > 11. The CENSUS of 1890 OFFICIALLY declares that there is no longer a > frontier in the U.S. > > III. IMPORTANT FACTS THAT MAY HELP YOU FIND WHERE YOUR FAMILY CAME FROM OR > WENT. > > A. RULE OF THE HARVEST. Before the 1850s (and McCormick's reaper) families > rarely planted more than they could harvest, which was between 15-25 acres > per able bodied person who could help with the harvest. Finding out how many > acres lyour family cultivated will help you know how many many people were > in the household. > B. IMPORTANCE OF HARDWOOD TREES. In both the North and the South, > conventional wisdom (and you thought it was a '90s soundbite!) indicated > that land covered with hardwood trees was the best, while grassland was to > be avoided. Despite the great difficulty of clearing land covered with oaks > and maples, that was the land most likely selected by your ancestors prior > to the 1820s. > C. FAMILIES WHO MADE THEIR LIVING PIONEER FARMING rarely moved unless they > had enough means to live on for at least 2 years, or had someone who would > provide for them this long. This is due to the fact that it took 2 years to > go through the process of converting a hardwood forest into an economically > viable farm. If your family moved, it usually meant they had enough money to > survive for 2 years without much add'l income, or enough $ to buy an already > improved farm. Few poverty stricken people (PSP)moved west, but a fair > number of PSPs moved east. > D. MOST SETTLERS BEFORE 1800 at least in the North, moved west during the > winter, usually in January and early February. Expect your families to have > moved then, not in the summer. > E. With a new notable exceptions, your ancestors MOVED ALMOST DUE WEST, > rarely deviating more than a few degrees up or down. > F. IF YOUR ANCESTORS WERE IN NEW ENGLAND PRIOR TO 1700, expect them to stay > very close to the same site until 1800. By 1810, they will most likely be in > upstate New York, by 1820 in northern Ohio, Indiana or Illinois, and by 1850 > perhaps in Iowa, Oregon, California or Utah. > G. TOWNS SETTLED BY NEW ENGLANDERS usually had streets running north-south > and east-west, while towns settled by Southernors often placed less emphasis > on grid patterns. > > TRAVEL ROUTES. > > COLONIAL ROADS TO 1750. As one of the earliest east-west wagon roads, the > Lancaster road linked Philadelphia to Harrisburg before 1730. A connection > from Lancaster to Winchester, Virginia, in the early 1740s, created what was > either called the Philadelphia Wagon Road or the Great Valley Road. The Fall > Line Road crossed Virginia and the Carolinas, and eventually into Georgia. > By 1746, the Pioneer's Road had connected Alexandria to Winchester, > Virginia, joining with the Great Valley Road. By 1748, the Upper Road became > an important wagon route for migrations into the Carolinas. > > THE WAY WEST, 1775-1795. Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road was the route for > thousands of settlers into Kentucky. Meanwhile the western Pennsylvania > routes provided an overland access to the Ohio River. After the > Revolutionary War, western migrations on these routes continued to increase. --part1_ce.24ad839.25f14dbc_boundary--