The migration from Tennessee to Arkansas started earlier than the 1870s. My DeShields (Dashiell) family left Beechgrove, Bedford County, Tennessee between 1834 to 1839. On a recent trip to Beech Grove, I interviewed a Mr. Bob Jacobs who has done research on the area for many years and his mother also did research on the area. He told me it was normal for families to share their land with their children. When lands were divided so many times, they began to be too small to support the family and at that time their slaves. I have noticed most I have looked at began to move when the land mass was around 250 acres. I have a heavy concentration of Bedford County names who came to Marion County/Boone County Arkansas in the 1840s and before. They said they were going to Oregon but that seemed a little early for that migration. I found where Dr. James McBride who was a missionary to Oregon said when he arrived in the 1846, he was greeted by many of his old friends from the states who had arrived before him. I believe he is the son of John McBride but have no proof. I believe he was going with my family to Oregon but my family (who would have been his sister) stopped in Arkansas to allow one of the wives to have a child and ended up staying for several years. I believe one Deshields brother may have went on to Missouri and stayed there. However, I have no proof as of yet Dr. James McBride, the missionary, was the James McBride born March 28, 1804 to John and Elizabeth McBride. Still searching on this one. Any help would be appreciated. The link on the story is <A HREF="http://webferret.search.com/click?wf,+%2BDr.+%2BPleasant+%2BMcBride,,ncbible.org%2Fnwh%2Forhistca.html,,aol">Pioneer History of Oregon - Wild Growth</A> or http://ncbible.org/nwh/orhistca.html