Walton wrote: > > Can any researcher give me details about why my Oppau ancestors settled in > Lawrence Co., OH in 1847? I'm guessing that they arrived in NY, traveled > by rivers and canals to Lake Erie and then more rivers and canals to > Portsmouth on the Ohio River, but WHY? > If you are asking why did they leave Oppau, then get a good book on the History of Germany which will tell of the conditions in the Pfalz, Bavaria and other states. As others have said there may have been people from Oppau who had settled there before. Also land owners advertised land for sale in German newspapers and through sales agents. As to the route, I would think more likely through Philadelphia, the canal and/or train to Pittsburgh and river boat down the Ohio to Portsmouth. bob gillis