Here is a general question for anyone who might like to comment: My ancestor William Doolen b. 1820 IL arrived in Navarro Co TX as of 1853 from Illinois. He left a very large and well established family group up in Marion Co. IL to come to TX, as an Early Pioneer of Navarro Co TX. Question: WHY did he come to Navarro Co., TX? Was it free land, cheap land, or what drew him to the area? The Doolen researchers up in Marion Co IL asked me this question recently, and I did know what to say. Any ideas, thoughts, comments, I would love to hear them. Best regards, Lillian Kathleen Martin Researching DOOLEN and MARTIN in Navarro Co TX as of 1880 census there, 8 families all related to me.

Lily, At that time most land was free. You need to get the land records and see if he had a land grant or other such type of grant. Those records are available. Have you seen the book, "OLD NORTHWEST TEXAS"? There are records on these families. Sally Smith ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lilly" <malik@scs-net.org> To: <TXNAVARR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 7:41 PM Subject: [TXNAVARR] 1853 Navarro County History > Here is a general question for anyone who might like to comment: > > My ancestor William Doolen b. 1820 IL arrived in Navarro Co TX as of 1853 from Illinois. > > He left a very large and well established family group up in Marion Co. IL to come to TX, as an Early Pioneer of Navarro Co TX. > > Question: WHY did he come to Navarro Co., TX? Was it free land, cheap land, or what drew him to the area? > > The Doolen researchers up in Marion Co IL asked me this question recently, and I did know what to say. Any ideas, thoughts, comments, I would love to hear them. > > Best regards, > Lillian Kathleen Martin > Researching DOOLEN and MARTIN in Navarro Co TX as of 1880 census there, 8 families all related to me. > > > ==== TXNAVARR Mailing List ==== > To see what Navarro County resources are available on RootsWeb, go to: > http://resources.rootsweb.com/USA/TX/Navarro/ > > >

They came to Texas for the same reason people go to the moon or live in antarctica today..because it is there and humans are curious and have an itchy foot...I have an ancestor who left a very rich and famous family in Virginia in 1780 to go to the wilds of Tennessee...I can understand why he went but I have never figured out how he got his wife to go along...LOL..She was also from a rich and famous family, and I have often wondered if she knew she would have to walk the entire distance through indian ridden forests...I have read the inventory of his estate after he died,and he owned almost nothing and left three orphaned children...and from the records, he was a horse trader and a hustler...I can just imagine the life his wife led, raising children in a tiny cabin with a wandering husband... But then, I took four little children and moved far away from family and friends when I was a young lady...LOL.. --- Lilly <malik@scs-net.org> wrote: > Here is a general question for anyone who might like > to comment: > > My ancestor William Doolen b. 1820 IL arrived in > Navarro Co TX as of 1853 from Illinois. > > He left a very large and well established family > group up in Marion Co. IL to come to TX, as an Early > Pioneer of Navarro Co TX. > > Question: WHY did he come to Navarro Co., TX? Was > it free land, cheap land, or what drew him to the > area? > > The Doolen researchers up in Marion Co IL asked me > this question recently, and I did know what to say. > Any ideas, thoughts, comments, I would love to hear > them. > > Best regards, > Lillian Kathleen Martin > Researching DOOLEN and MARTIN in Navarro Co TX as of > 1880 census there, 8 families all related to me. > > > ==== TXNAVARR Mailing List ==== > To see what Navarro County resources are available > on RootsWeb, go to: > http://resources.rootsweb.com/USA/TX/Navarro/ > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html