Colonial Routes to Kentucky and Tennessee by Johni Cerny, B.S., F.U.G.A. While American colonists knew of the mountains looming less than 200 miles inland from the Atlantic coast, they did not attempt to cross them or penetrate the interior wilderness for over 150 years after Jamestown was founded. Those early colonists found it easier to establish new settlements along the seacoast and follow navigable streams up into the interior. A few adventuresome frontiersmen, explorers, and surveyors ventured west, including Samuel Stalnaker, who told Dr. Thomas Walker how to find his way through the Cumberland Gap. Daniel Boone started the migration route west over the Wilderness Road in 1773 when he moved his and five other families to Kentucky. George Rogers Clark, who traveled the same road, called Boone's Trace, explored the interior in 1775. Very quickly, they were followed by settlers who began to take the Ohio River west to Warrior's Path, which led them south into the interior. That trickle of early settlers became a steady stream of pioneers whose descendants would continue to migrate west until settlements spanned from coast to coast. In 1785, as the fledgling country was taking form, the three million citizens of that new nation began hearing more about the rich land available at little cost in what would become Kentucky and Tennessee. Tales of Daniel Boone's excursions and settlements beyond the mountains spread rapidly, kindling the urge in many to take advantage of the easy terms for acquiring land. Other conditions, such as high taxes, crowded conditions in the seaboard states, and the economic difficulties being experienced by nearly everyone following the war, added to the motivation to move west into Kentucky and Tennessee. Some of them west directly to their intended destination, but others spent some time in places along the way or decided not to continue the journey. Knowing the early routes leading from the coastal states to the interior can lead to finding pioneer ancestors who disappear from one location without leaving a public record that mentions their destination. For the rest of this interesting article, check: www.lineages.com/InfoCenter/FirstSteps/colonialroutes.cfm Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com "We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds." List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"