I'm trying to figure out why my ancestors came to Fulton Co. (then Montgomery Co.) in 1821 when the first couple, Benjamin and Dorothy Toplis Ripton, came from Derbyshire, England, through New York harbor, and directly to upstate NY (their oldest son was born in late 1821 and baptised at the Johnstown Methodist Episcopal Church in 1822). Benjamin Ripton was listed on the ship's manifest as a farmer. Was there land easily available? Were people in NYC recruiting farmers? Did New Yorkers recruit new farmers over in England? (the couple left England almost immediately after thier marriage) I'm just curious as to how they'd get all the way up to the Mohawk Valley so quickly. Two other sisters of Dorothy Toplis came later (William and Elizabeth Toplis Burton in 1823 and the widowed Lydia Toplis Hunter and her children in 1842), and other Derbyshire based families also came later, but Benjamin and Dorothy had, as far as I know, no connections to the area. I've been reading through a copy of the "Illustrated History of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, New York" that I recently acquired, and I see that there was good farming in the area, but that was no doubt true of much of New York at the time. Anyone have any ideas on the special attraction of this area? Thanks. Joanne Gaudio

Hi Joanne Gaudio, There were ships that sailed up the Hudson River from New York to Albany. From there you could take a boat on the Mohawk River or go overland from Albany to Fulton County. Richard