I don't know for sure Jan, and since all of our Smothers are gone, we probably never will, but one possibility that I have read about is the slavery issue. Tennessee was a Confederate State, and Illinois was Union, and some in Tennessee were abolitionists. Plus, Illinois was kind of the frontier at that time, with lots of land, water, etc. It seems like many of the sons left Tennessee to stake their own land claims in Illinois. Maybe the family farms were getting too crowded. The riverboats and ferries also made travel into another state easier. These are just speculation. The interesting part is that they all ended up within a 2 county area in Southern Illinois, Franklin and Williamson. My Townsend/Stoker grandmother moved with her children after her husband William W. Stoker died. She then married a Tennessee Smothers, William Harrison Smothers and he followed her to Illinois. However, after their divorce, he moved back to Benton County, TN to be with his family. There must have been a first Smothers to move, and then all the rest came too. I truly believe that all of the Illinois Smothers are connected one way or another. glenda meyers -----Original Message----- From: Jan & Joe Smothers [mailto:joejan@viclink.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 9:04 PM To: SMOTHERS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SMOTHERS] Tn Smothers marriages Hello list, Question. What was the reason that so many of our SMOTERS move to Illinois. I do not have the knowledge or the historical back ground of this move,c an any one give me some insight, Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: Glenda Meyers <gsmeyers1@mchsi.com> To: <SMOTHERS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 6:43 PM Subject: RE: [SMOTHERS] Tn Smothers marriages > Thomas Smothers who married Courtney Powell is the son of James Smothers and > Margaret Summers. James is the son of Thomas Smothers and Susanna "Suky" > Gilliam. Thomas and Courtney were married in Sumner County, and like tons > of Smothers moved on to Illinois. Thomas died in 1831 in Gallatin County, > Illinois. > > Glenda Meyers > > -----Original Message----- > From: Nena Smothers [mailto:smothersnena@hotmail.com] > Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 7:45 PM > To: SMOTHERS-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [SMOTHERS] Tn Smothers marriages > > > http://obitlinkspage.com/obit/tn-marriages.htm > > GIBSON COUNTY, TN - VITALS - FLOWERS Marriages 1824-1950 > > Flowers, Lillian Smothers, D. D. 1932 > Source: Mormon Church Book TN State Library and Archives > Nashville TN Submitted by: Jackie Isbell Johnston JJohn1873@aol.com > > > CROCKETT COUNTY, TN - MARRIAGES - July 1872 - Dec 1899 > > Cates, Bell Smothers, J. O. 5 Aug 1893 > > Wood, F. J. Smothers, Emma 24 Dec 1899 > > Tennessee Marriages to 1825-These marriage records, compiled by Liahona > Research at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT, > unfortunately do not contain citations for the origin of each entry. The > purpose of this database is to provide a time and place for as many > marriages as possible. It is up to the researcher to examine original > records (see the Family History Library Catalog--available at any LDS family > history center-- under the heading "Vital Records" for the appropriate > locality) and gather whatever additional genealogical information is > desired. > > > Tennessee Davidson County > > Galbraith Smothers, John Mary > Spouse: Galbraith, John > Smothers, Mary Marriage Date: 21 Dec 1802 > > Tennessee Davidson County > > Mcrice Smothers, John Nelly > Spouse: Mcrice, John > Smothers, Nelly Marriage Date: 06 Oct 1803 > > Tennessee Rutherford County > > Brown Smothers, Thomas Rebecca > Spouse: Brown, Thomas > Smothers, Rebecca Marriage Date: 27 Nov 1823 > > Tennessee Sumner County > > Lindsey Smothers, John Nancy > Spouse: Lindsey, John > Smothers, Nancy Marriage Date: 20 Dec 1806 > > Tennessee Sumner County > > Smothers Smothers, Sarah William > Spouse: Smothers, Sarah > Smothers, William Marriage Date: 13 Sep 1809 > > Tennessee Sumner County > > Kumley Smothers, Stanley Betsey > Spouse: Kumley, Stanley > Smothers, Betsey Marriage Date: 17 Jul 1817 > > Tennessee Sumner County > > Rumby Smothers, Stanley Betsey > Spouse: Rumby, Stanley > Smothers, Betsey Marriage Date: 17 Jul 1817 > [looks like same above this one-sp with K and not an R] > > Tennessee Sumner County > > Smothers Stinson, Rhody Alsey > Spouse: Smothers, Rhody > Stinson, Alsey Marriage Date: 24 Jul 1817 > > Tennessee Sumner County > > Powell Smothers, Courtney Thomas > Spouse: Powell, Courtney > Smothers, Thomas Marriage Date: 07 Nov 1818 > > Tennessee Sumner County > > Piles Smothers, Margret Eli > Spouse: Piles, Margret > Smothers, Eli Marriage Date: 13 Jan 1825 > [also sp Pyles-Sandi Gorin's line in Tn] > > Tennessee Greene County > > Gutshall Smathers, John Peggy > Spouse: Gutshall, John > Smathers, Peggy Marriage Date: 12 Apr 1816 > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > > > ============================== > 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 > > > ============================== > 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 > > ============================== 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