Marty, I'm curious now. When was that settlement in Jackson? My Cherringtons came here in 1805....plus I think everyone else related to them from Greenbrier and/or Monroe County. There were many of them. The father had grown sons already and he was around 60, so yes, why? As everyone knows the French settled here in 1790. But it wasn't long before the Welsh, Germans, New Englanders, Virginias and Carolinians followed suit. As Gallia was owned by the Scioto Company or so it was thought, not too many soldiers ever received bounty land here. In fact, in over 30 years of searching I found only one deed that was bounty land and I don't think it was even for the Revolutionary War. I wish I knew where I put that!! The Ohio Company was organized in Boston to attract Revolutionary soldiers to the area. Many of them went to Marietta. Then the scheme with the Scioto Co. developed and all the while the Ohio Co. still owned the land. Henny

I think a lot of what opened up the entire Ohio territory was the end of the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the Treaty of Greenville. With the evacuation of the Indians from all but the extreme sections of NW Ohio, the northern, eastern and southern sections of the state were opened up to white settlement. In the earliest days there weren't many roads, mostly just old Indian trails and such, and many of those ran through Virginia and into southern Ohio. I wonder if many of our ancestors just settled in the first place they came to once they crossed into the Ohio territory. And not only that, but they were probably aware of the fact that the Ohio was to be the center of their commerce world for decades to come. The railroad did not actually enter Gallipolis until post Civil War, and the canal came down to Portsmouth. In some instances we may never know what really brought our ancestors here, but even if they didn't come with other family, perhaps they came with friends, or not so near relatives that we just haven't found the connection to, yet. The other thing is that once people arrived in a specific location they tended to write home, many wrote home telling about the wonderful soil, and about large tracts of farmland for sale, or the fact that it wasn't as frontier as many thought because river traffic supplied all the wants and necessities of the civilized world. New York, Pittsburg, New Orleans, etc. These letters were generally shared with family and friends of the recipient and thus again people chose to move to better their position in whatever area they were interested in (better farmland, social connections, commerce, etc). Personally, I don't think age really made that much of a difference, especially if the newcomer was moving into the town rather than the country. Being a river town, Gallipolis winters far better than the mountains of western Virginia (think Snowshoe ski resort in Pocahontas County), as well as the mountainous terrain of Greenbriar and Monroe County. Unless one likes to ski, Gallia County is much nicer in the winter. :-) If one looks at the Virginia Formation maps for various years one'll see that Monroe, Greenbriar, Bath, and Botetourt, and Augusta Counties were all formed (though still changing boundaries), and those are all the counties that most of us can connect back to through our Gallia ancestors. Allegheny County didn't come into existance until 1822. http://www.familyhistory101.com/maps/va_cf.html Most of those counties connected up with the various trails that lead into the once forbidden lands, prior to the great American war for Independence. There are so many reasons why our ancestors might have moved, and I pretty much gave up speculating on that once we set sail for America. Linda

> river traffic supplied all the wants and necessities of the civilized > world. New York, Pittsburg, New Orleans, etc. Leave it to my husband to always have another answer. :-) Yep, not only did the Ohio bring things to Gallia County, but it also took things from Gallia County. All those farmers with crops and livestock had a means of getting their things to market, and the river was much easier than overland through the mountains. The National Road (US Rte. 40) was one of the first improved roads in the US, and it wasn't started until 1811, and didn't reach Wheeling until 1818. So we're talking pretty primative to anything we're used to by today's standard. Linda.

My Switzers came from Hampshire Va to Gallia by 1806 as that is the first child of John Switzer born in Gallia (John jr. 1806). John Switzer Sr. Had 12 children, 10 of them girls. 5 of them married Hawks, 2 of them married Henny's Cherringtons. So I assume they must have lived near each other. Here is from a history I found online - ****** The family relations of Valentine Switzer are established through the probated wills of Stephen Hotzenbella of Frederick County, Virginia, and his own recorded in Hampshire County, Virginia, now West Virginia. The first named Valentine as son-in-law and the second declares him as ancestor. The will of Valentine Switzer was made November 7, 1809, and was probated May 19, 1817. The Executors were Philip Hoover, Frederick Secrist and “My brother John Switzer.” Phillip was probably the oldest of the Valentine Switzer family. It is mentioned that he was born in Hampshire County, Va., and served in the Revo­lutionary War. He moved to Ohio in about 1802 and in 1807 he sold land to John Switzer, who in that year had arrived from Virginia. Evidently, these men were brothers. (The foregoing obtained from William F. Switzer, Gary, Indiana.) Phillip Switzer and his brothers, John Switzer and Nicholas Switzer, are buried in Bethel Church Cemetery on ‘Chickamauga Creek, in Addison Town­ship Gallia County, Ohio. ******** David Stewart (direct Switzer ancestor) -------Original Message------- From: Henny Evans Date: 6/23/2008 8:25:18 PM To: OHGALLIA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [OHGALLIA] migration Marty, I'm curious now. When was that settlement in Jackson? My Cherringtons came here in 1805....plus I think everyone else related to them from Greenbrier and/or Monroe County. There were many of them. The father had grown sons already and he was around 60, so yes, why? As everyone knows the French settled here in 1790. But it wasn't long before the Welsh, Germans, New Englanders, Virginias and Carolinians followed suit. As Gallia was owned by the Scioto Company or so it was thought, not too many soldiers ever received bounty land here. In fact, in over 30 years of searching I found only one deed that was bounty land and I don't think it was even for the Revolutionary War. I wish I knew where I put that!! The Ohio Company was organized in Boston to attract Revolutionary soldiers to the area. Many of them went to Marietta. Then the scheme with the Scioto Co. developed and all the while the Ohio Co. still owned the land Henny ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OHGALLIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

David, Bethel in Addison is also where Wm. Cherrington and his second wife are buried. The first died in VA. So, they lived near one another here and also likely attended church together as they are buried where there was once a Bethel Church. William and his wife donated the land for it and lived along with several of his children, Pennel, Jefferson, Rachel and Elizabeth..."in the neighborhood". The two that married Switzers lived in Raccoon Township. They are buried in New Zion Church Cemetery which was once in Gallia County, but not over the line in Jackson County. Boundaries changed. Henny