These familes often times moved to FREE land. The sons of larger families had to start out on thier own and get thier own land. If you had four or five sons, dividing your own land to them after you died or were infirm, would not give them each enough to raise enough crops to support thier own large family to be. As for feeling threatened, I think it must have been something else. Westmoreland County at the 1767 era would have been just 10 years or so removed from the French and Indian War. This was an outpost type area and the Penn family was looking for a "buffer" between the Indians and the established areas from Lancaster and on Eastern. Free land was offered to those people brave enough to settle there under direct threat from the Indians. This threat went on all the way until the turn of the next century. The Germans were known as great farmers, the Scots and Irish as great fighters. Together, these are the people that tamed Westmoreland County. Donald Sinclair, Indianapolis ----- Original Message ----- From: <RoverLSmith@aol.com> To: <PAWESTMO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 11:49 PM Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO-L] Re: Moving ever Westward... > The families were large, and needed more land to survive. The next > generation > of many of these families would move on to Ohio and further west. Imagine > how > overcrowed eastern PA would have been had all these large families stayed, > married, and had large families of their own. Even families described as > "farmers" didn't necessarily farm for a living. They "farmed" to survive > rather than > making a living selling grain and they didn't exactly eat as well as we do > today. Remember, these people didn't have tractors. They walked around > with a bag > and threw out seed. They also raised animals, which could graze on poor > soil > if the farm were large enough, and they hunted for the meat as well as the > pelts. The Truxals (etc.) may have had other occupations such as > shoemakers, > saddle makers, merchants, lawyers, doctors, weavers, gunsmiths, etc. > Greensburg > was fairly prosperous. There were also coal fields around Greensburg. None > of my > ancestors who resided in the area did poorly, although within a couple of > generations many moved on -- the members of the families who did stay > didn't seem > to starve to death. Families or parts of them did move on as land opened > up > for settlement. Another thing to take into consideration with German > families > is that they tended to isolate themselves a bit as they did not speak the > same > language as many of the people surrounding them. > > Debbie > The sudden move in 1767 from rich farmland toa poorer area is something > that cannot be answered by land suddenly opened for settlement. I can > imagine a waunder lust son or two doing this but not the whole family. > They > must have felt threatened by something > > > ==== PAWESTMO Mailing List ==== > >

What about the Indian Problems? Would this have been a factor? Jackie Mitchell ----- Original Message ----- From: "DONALD SINCLAIR" <DSINCLAIR@indy.rr.com> To: <PAWESTMO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 11:05 AM Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO-L] Re: Moving ever Westward... > These familes often times moved to FREE land. The sons of larger families > had to start out on thier own and get thier own land. If you had four or > five sons, dividing your own land to them after you died or were infirm, > would not give them each enough to raise enough crops to support thier own > large family to be. As for feeling threatened, I think it must have been > something else. Westmoreland County at the 1767 era would have been just > 10 years or so removed from the French and Indian War. This was an outpost > type area and the Penn family was looking for a "buffer" between the > Indians and the established areas from Lancaster and on Eastern. Free land > was offered to those people brave enough to settle there under direct > threat from the Indians. This threat went on all the way until the turn of > the next century. The Germans were known as great farmers, the Scots and > Irish as great fighters. Together, these are the people that tamed > Westmoreland County. > > Donald Sinclair, Indianapolis > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <RoverLSmith@aol.com> > To: <PAWESTMO-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 11:49 PM > Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO-L] Re: Moving ever Westward... > > >> The families were large, and needed more land to survive. The next >> generation >> of many of these families would move on to Ohio and further west. Imagine >> how >> overcrowed eastern PA would have been had all these large families >> stayed, >> married, and had large families of their own. Even families described as >> "farmers" didn't necessarily farm for a living. They "farmed" to survive >> rather than >> making a living selling grain and they didn't exactly eat as well as we >> do >> today. Remember, these people didn't have tractors. They walked around >> with a bag >> and threw out seed. They also raised animals, which could graze on poor >> soil >> if the farm were large enough, and they hunted for the meat as well as >> the >> pelts. The Truxals (etc.) may have had other occupations such as >> shoemakers, >> saddle makers, merchants, lawyers, doctors, weavers, gunsmiths, etc. >> Greensburg >> was fairly prosperous. There were also coal fields around Greensburg. >> None of my >> ancestors who resided in the area did poorly, although within a couple of >> generations many moved on -- the members of the families who did stay >> didn't seem >> to starve to death. Families or parts of them did move on as land opened >> up >> for settlement. Another thing to take into consideration with German >> families >> is that they tended to isolate themselves a bit as they did not speak the >> same >> language as many of the people surrounding them. >> >> Debbie >> The sudden move in 1767 from rich farmland toa poorer area is something >> that cannot be answered by land suddenly opened for settlement. I can >> imagine a waunder lust son or two doing this but not the whole family. >> They >> must have felt threatened by something >> >> >> ==== PAWESTMO Mailing List ==== >> >> > > > > ==== PAWESTMO Mailing List ==== > >

The Scots and Irish belonged to the last great English migration pattern to the US. Beginning around 1742 (the end of "Prince Charlie's War"), the Highlanders were on the wrong end of the stick, and these particular Scotsmen were the "Borderlanders" -- known for their skills at bushwhacking the English and occasionally, each other. A hundred years of constant guerilla warfare had honed their skills as farmer/warriors, and they were noticeably less genteel than the prim and peaceable Quakers when they landed at Philadelphia. It is fairly well documented that the Philadelphians tended to "incent" these newly arrived "wild" families to move westward into the Indian lands, rather than to stay in Philadelphia. At the same time, the most newly arrived through Baltimore, found their way into the Virginia militia of Lord Fairfax, where a few hundred found employment under a certain Major Washington. This was not noble service; they only signed on to (for the most part) pay off their indentures, or gain land bounties west of the mountains. As for the Germans, they were mostly Alsatians. The town of Irwin was, for instance, really started around the nexus of "Fort Walthour" -- a typical stockade home of the time, which gave rise to the area known as "PenGlyn", which is the Eastern part of Irwin, along Pennsylvania avenue, about a mile east of the center of town. The Walthour family has been prominent in Irwin and Westmoreland county since those earliest days. -----Original Message----- From: Jackie Mitchell [mailto:mitchj@infionline.net] Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 5:36 PM To: PAWESTMO-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO-L] Re: Moving ever Westward... What about the Indian Problems? Would this have been a factor? Jackie Mitchell ----- Original Message ----- From: "DONALD SINCLAIR" <DSINCLAIR@indy.rr.com> To: <PAWESTMO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 11:05 AM Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO-L] Re: Moving ever Westward... > These familes often times moved to FREE land. The sons of larger families > had to start out on thier own and get thier own land. If you had four or > five sons, dividing your own land to them after you died or were infirm, > would not give them each enough to raise enough crops to support thier own > large family to be. As for feeling threatened, I think it must have been > something else. Westmoreland County at the 1767 era would have been just > 10 years or so removed from the French and Indian War. This was an outpost > type area and the Penn family was looking for a "buffer" between the > Indians and the established areas from Lancaster and on Eastern. Free land > was offered to those people brave enough to settle there under direct > threat from the Indians. This threat went on all the way until the turn of > the next century. The Germans were known as great farmers, the Scots and > Irish as great fighters. Together, these are the people that tamed > Westmoreland County. > > Donald Sinclair, Indianapolis > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <RoverLSmith@aol.com> > To: <PAWESTMO-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 11:49 PM > Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO-L] Re: Moving ever Westward... > > >> The families were large, and needed more land to survive. The next >> generation >> of many of these families would move on to Ohio and further west. Imagine >> how >> overcrowed eastern PA would have been had all these large families >> stayed, >> married, and had large families of their own. Even families described as >> "farmers" didn't necessarily farm for a living. They "farmed" to survive >> rather than >> making a living selling grain and they didn't exactly eat as well as we >> do >> today. Remember, these people didn't have tractors. They walked around >> with a bag >> and threw out seed. They also raised animals, which could graze on poor >> soil >> if the farm were large enough, and they hunted for the meat as well as >> the >> pelts. The Truxals (etc.) may have had other occupations such as >> shoemakers, >> saddle makers, merchants, lawyers, doctors, weavers, gunsmiths, etc. >> Greensburg >> was fairly prosperous. There were also coal fields around Greensburg. >> None of my >> ancestors who resided in the area did poorly, although within a couple of >> generations many moved on -- the members of the families who did stay >> didn't seem >> to starve to death. Families or parts of them did move on as land opened >> up >> for settlement. Another thing to take into consideration with German >> families >> is that they tended to isolate themselves a bit as they did not speak the >> same >> language as many of the people surrounding them. >> >> Debbie >> The sudden move in 1767 from rich farmland toa poorer area is something >> that cannot be answered by land suddenly opened for settlement. I can >> imagine a waunder lust son or two doing this but not the whole family. >> They >> must have felt threatened by something >> >> >> ==== PAWESTMO Mailing List ==== >> >> > > > > ==== PAWESTMO Mailing List ==== > > ==== PAWESTMO Mailing List ====