There are a number of articles on this subject in the Winter 1998 edition of Cumberland County History published by The Cumberland County Historical Society. You might be able to get a copy; if there are any back issues left, they are $5.00. CCHS, 21 N. Pitt St., Carlisle PA 17013. 717-249-7610 The migration began in earnest after the Civil War, in the early 1870's and there was another burst in 1878-79. The biggest attraction was abundant land, and the newspapers of the day contained glowing articles about Kansas. The railroads made it easy to get there, and had lots of land for sale. Pitch men came to PA from Kansas to raise parties to make the trip. Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marvin Huggins" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 12:58 AM Subject: RE: [PA-Perry] George B. Sheaffer > I'm responding to the list on this, not because of the name involved but > because of the circumstance described. > > My ggrandfather, Joseph Wesley Huggins, also moved from Perry County, > PA, to Kansas with his family in 1879! He settled in Ellsworth County. > His brother-in-law named Hetrick also moved there. My other paternal > ggrandfather, Irvin Black, moved from Jefferson Co., PA, to the same > area in Kansas the same year. > > Does anyone have information about how these coincidental moves took > place? What attracted them to Kansas? Why the moves at that particular > time? Was there coordination? How many others did the same thing?....

A large percentage of those who went west in these migrations outlined by Bill Hawk were seeking land. However there were other motivations as well. Many followed the railroads west seeking commercial, industrial, and financial opportunities. As to the question of coordination, as Bill points out, there were pitch men spreading the word, and there were ads in the media, and there were letters sent back to Pennsylvania from earlier migrants, all encouraging more people to join the move westward. Let me pick out just one example from the many families who joined the westward migrations in the last quarter of the 19th C. My great-grandfather Sulouff was a builder in Juniata Co., Pa. He had developed a specialty as a "framer" of large buildings, mostly barns. Attracted by what was presented to him as a golden opportunity, in 1882, at the age of 32, he decided to move his family of wife and four children to Elkhart, Indiana. He was to be employed as a builder for the railroads, putting up large maintenance and repair sheds for their engines and cars. On the long train ride to Indiana they were among a host of families moving west. A piquant story has been preserved from that trip. My great grandparents, Edmund and Hannah Sulouff, kindly helped a younger couple take care of their restless children enroute. In gratitude, that couple gave Ed and Hannah a pen and pencil set to keep as a memento of the warm friendship that had sprung up between them on the train. Both couples knew that upon parting at their destination, they probably would never see one another again. That gold-tipped pen and pencil set is still in its original case with an inscription on the lid thanking my great grandparents for their kindness. It has been handed down, along with the touching story, via Edmund's oldest son and a grandson to this present writer. I especially treasure the memory of a kindness performed by my great-grandparents and the comfort and joy they imparted as is symbolized by this honored gift from another couple on the train. I thought if I shared the story with you other subscribers it would bring alive something of what it was like for our ancestors to move west during the last quarter of the 19th C. I feel the story imparts some of the excitement of moving west, and it also provides some insight into the task of pulling up roots in Pennsylvania, enduring separation from parents, grandparents, and friends, and the trauma and stress people endures as they strove to open up the vast expanse of our whole country. We live in a very mobile society today, and we don't think too much about making cross-country moves, but for those who lived over a century ago, it was truly a major undertaking to make the moves they did. While most families stayed where they settled after migrating west, my great-grandfather returned with his family to Juniata Co., Pa. Family tradition says the return was at the urging of Ed's wife, Hannah. They had four children before they moved to Indiana, had only one child born in Indiana, and they lost their sixth child during the tumultuous days of preparing for return and travelling back to Pa. They had five more children born after their return to Pa., all of whom lived long lives. They ended up with 57 grandchildren in Pennsylvania, one of whom was my father. As a result I was born a Pineknotter, but I feel I came close to being a Hoosier!(:D) Nelson R. Sulouff ////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Hawk" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 7:13 AM Subject: [PA-Perry] Pa to Kansas migration > There are a number of articles on this subject in the Winter 1998 edition of Cumberland County History published by The Cumberland County Historical Society. You might be able to get a copy; if there are any back issues left, they are $5.00. CCHS, 21 N. Pitt St., Carlisle PA 17013. 717-249-7610 > > The migration began in earnest after the Civil War, in the early 1870's and there was another burst in 1878-79. > The biggest attraction was abundant land, and the newspapers of the day contained glowing articles about Kansas. The railroads made it easy to get there, and had lots of land for sale. Pitch men came to PA from Kansas to raise parties to make the trip. > > Bill > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Marvin Huggins" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 12:58 AM > Subject: RE: [PA-Perry] George B. Sheaffer > > > > I'm responding to the list on this, not because of the name involved but > > because of the circumstance described. > > > > My ggrandfather, Joseph Wesley Huggins, also moved from Perry County, > > PA, to Kansas with his family in 1879! He settled in Ellsworth County. > > His brother-in-law named Hetrick also moved there. My other paternal > > ggrandfather, Irvin Black, moved from Jefferson Co., PA, to the same > > area in Kansas the same year. > > > > Does anyone have information about how these coincidental moves took > > place? What attracted them to Kansas? Why the moves at that particular > > time? Was there coordination? How many others did the same thing?.... >

Bill, does this article mention earlier migrations? My ancestor was from Perry Co.; got married in early 1840's. Had a son born in Cumberland Co.in 1842. Family moved to Pulaski Co., IN in about 1846. My ancestor, David Light, got original land grants signed by the then president of US. I understand that Indian territory in that vicinity opened up shortly before he went out there. There were also other family members who went along. I found them begining in the 1850 census. Alexander Moore, who was a brother-in-law to David Light, was among those who went. By 1920 some were still in Monterey, Pulaski Co., Indiana. Peggy Lyte Tyrrell Bill Hawk wrote: > There are a number of articles on this subject in the Winter 1998 edition of Cumberland County History published by The Cumberland County Historical Society. You might be able to get a copy; if there are any back issues left, they are $5.00. CCHS, 21 N. Pitt St., Carlisle PA 17013. 717-249-7610 > > The migration began in earnest after the Civil War, in the early 1870's and there was another burst in 1878-79. > The biggest attraction was abundant land, and the newspapers of the day contained glowing articles about Kansas. The railroads made it easy to get there, and had lots of land for sale. Pitch men came to PA from Kansas to raise parties to make the trip. > > Bill > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Marvin Huggins" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 12:58 AM > Subject: RE: [PA-Perry] George B. Sheaffer > > > I'm responding to the list on this, not because of the name involved but > > because of the circumstance described. > > > > My ggrandfather, Joseph Wesley Huggins, also moved from Perry County, > > PA, to Kansas with his family in 1879! He settled in Ellsworth County. > > His brother-in-law named Hetrick also moved there. My other paternal > > ggrandfather, Irvin Black, moved from Jefferson Co., PA, to the same > > area in Kansas the same year. > > > > Does anyone have information about how these coincidental moves took > > place? What attracted them to Kansas? Why the moves at that particular > > time? Was there coordination? How many others did the same thing?.... > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Thanks very much for the reference. I will definitely follow up. This is the kind of documentation I am looking for. When it gets published in a county historical society publication, it's easy for those of us in other areas to miss it. I have read the articles in local Kansas newspapers touting the abundance of land, reveling in the numbers of immigrants flowing in and the prospects for the paradise in the making! Marvin -----Original Message----- From: Bill Hawk [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 9:13 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [PA-Perry] Pa to Kansas migration There are a number of articles on this subject in the Winter 1998 edition of Cumberland County History published by The Cumberland County Historical Society. You might be able to get a copy; if there are any back issues left, they are $5.00. CCHS, 21 N. Pitt St., Carlisle PA 17013. 717-249-7610 The migration began in earnest after the Civil War, in the early 1870's and there was another burst in 1878-79. The biggest attraction was abundant land, and the newspapers of the day contained glowing articles about Kansas. The railroads made it easy to get there, and had lots of land for sale. Pitch men came to PA from Kansas to raise parties to make the trip. Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marvin Huggins" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 12:58 AM Subject: RE: [PA-Perry] George B. Sheaffer > I'm responding to the list on this, not because of the name involved but > because of the circumstance described. > > My ggrandfather, Joseph Wesley Huggins, also moved from Perry County, > PA, to Kansas with his family in 1879! He settled in Ellsworth County. > His brother-in-law named Hetrick also moved there. My other paternal > ggrandfather, Irvin Black, moved from Jefferson Co., PA, to the same > area in Kansas the same year. > > Does anyone have information about how these coincidental moves took > place? What attracted them to Kansas? Why the moves at that particular > time? Was there coordination? How many others did the same thing?.... ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237