Hello Delores, Salem, Columbiana Co., Ohio was founded and settled by QUAKERS who came from NJ, VA, PA, MD areas, starting in 1803, and by 1810 the area was occupied by many families. All the history books state that it was QUAKER families who settled the area, however many researchers have found that many non-Quakers did come along as well, and later a Baptist Church was founded, and in 1821 my own ancestor James W. Leach was one of 9 persons who founded the First Methodist Episcopal Church, and that church still exists there, now is known as United Methodist Church. James W. Leach was raised by a Quaker family, but apparently did not want to live the Quaker life, so he formed another church group. To answer your question, I suppose the reason for the mass exodus to Salem, OH was based on need for land, the eastern areas were crowded, or getting expensive, folks heard tales of new lands opening up out West, and Quakers tried to establish settlement groups, so as to promote fellowship and shared culture and shared religion among their fellow Quakers. The settlers of Salem, Oh came from all over, not just one place, they came from PA, Bedford Co VA, Hereford Co MD, Burlington Co NJ, and probably more areas that I am not familiar with. The one common denominator seems to be the Quaker faith, but then as I have said, others did follow along. The time frame was 1803 to 1810, but of course more late-comers would follow. By the way, Salem, Oh is not a big place, today there is roughly 12,000 people who live there. Best regards, Lilly Martin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dolores Cook" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 9:06 PM Subject: Re: [NJBURLIN] Isaiah Bowker, Mary Branin, Joseph Wright,Mahlon Wright, James W. Leach > Charles, I just read your reply to Lily about the book > you have about Salem and Columbiana Co. My husband's fourth > Greatgrandfather Job Cook came to > that area from NJ with his wife Mary Warrick in the early 1800's. We've > always wondered if they were Quakers. > I would appreciate it if you would look for anything > about Job in your book. Also, why did so many people > from New Jersey go to that area? And did Job fight in > the Revolution? Thanks for your time. Dolores Cook >