Don - I can't say this was the case at all times but .. When the Ellenois and Messouri (sic) territories were opened up, the word went out rapidly. Land was offered at a cheap rate and was advertised in the newspapers all the time. Incentives were offered much like land in KY as prior to and after it's commonwealth status. Many times, some of the family did lead the way and move up to the new territory They would write back to their families in KY and tell them how good the land was, how rich and fertile, how cheap the land was, etc. Then the rest of the family would pack up and go. I imagine Kentuckians did take some seeds with them and most certainly their livestock. They could ill afford to start from scratch most times and buy new cattle, sheep or horses. I'm not familiar with all of MO tho I lived there many years, but I am a native Illinoisian and am more familiar with the lands there. In central IL where I was reared, the soil is extremely rich; the soil a coal black. The land is flat in a lot of the areas in IL, farming was plentiful, coal mines were in the southern part of the state and the commercial aspects of the state up around Chicago. Many of our family members - both on the Gorin side and my own paternal and maternal sides headed off to IL this way. Vandalia IL was the capitol of IL for some time and then moved up to Springfield where farming reigns. George Rogers Clark's and his men likely also spread the word of the richness of the land. MO has also very rich soil with some areas of red clay and rocky land in the Ozark areas. Like any young man of the era, the grass might be greener in a new location and adventure was in their soul. Hope this helps a tad and maybe some of the MO and IL residents on our list can fill in other information as to how and why their families left KY. Sandi Sandi's Puzzlers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/gorin/puz.html SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html GGP: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/