To All: While Migration Trails are under discussion, I would like to clear up something. I have seen it stated on some lists that the Applachian Foot Trail was once an old Indian trail. This is not true! The AT was conceived after 1900 as a scenic trail following the crest of the Appalachian Mountains from Maine to Georgia. It traverses some of the most difficult terrain and would never have served as an Indian trading trail. G. Lee Hearl Authentic Appalachian Storyteller Abingdon, Va.

My ancestor James Haskins operated a ferry on the Roanoke River SW of Boydton near where the dam is now. I still haven't found James' father's name. A good thought for Father's day! Martin

CyndisList has a directory for migration trails. A specific link is: http://www.cyndislist.com/migration.htm One updated link is to early American trails and roads. One of the earliest roads was the King's Highway. A description to this 1300 mile road is given. It linked all 13 colonies. CyndisList is a directory to ALL kinds of genealogical helps. One can subscribe to her newsletter and learn about all these links. A search engine frequently is faster, but if you are stumped, try CyndisList. E.W.Wallace

Does anyone on this list have a copy of the Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, that you will sell? Thanks. Mary

Hi, everybody, Because of my overabundance of daily activities, I'm an infrequent poster to this list in spite of most of my paternal ancestry having come from southern Virginia. I'm writing at the moment, though, to let you know the following details in case anyone would like to submit anything for publication [the posting of this message has already been approved by Mr. Hearl]: ======================================================================== COUNTY HERITAGE BOOKS BEING CREATED FOR PITTSYLVANIA & HALIFAX COUNTIES For those people who might be interested in submitting a story about ancestors of theirs who lived in either Halifax or Pittsylvania County, Heritage Books are being created for both counties and the committees in charge are looking for stories to publish. Anyone interested in submitting stories for publication should keep in mind that these stories must be typed, double-spaced, and be limited to 500 words. Also, each person/family may submit one story and photo free of charge, with each word over the 500-word minimum costing 10¢ apiece. At the end of each article, the submitter must include his/her name, address, phone number and/or e-mail address in case there is reason for the committee to contact them. Also, submitters must include at least brief references [at the end of each article] about where their information came from [i.e. court records, marriage records, etc., of Halifax County [or Pittsylvania County], family knowledge, personal knowledge]. If a photo is to be submitted with the article, then the intended caption for the photo should be typed at the end of the article. The Committee also needs to know how many words are in each article [NOT INCLUDING the title, submitters information, sources, or photo caption(s)], and that information should be typed at the end of each article. If you have no means of typing your article(s), dont let that stop you. Find a friend or relative who would type it for you [an article of 500 words double-spaced is between 1½-2 pages long], or look in your phone book to find a paid typist. Other types of articles will also be accepted for this Heritage Book, including stories on local churches, civic groups, historical sites, etc., but there will be other limitations on space, depending on the topic(s). Most of the above, that have no direct association with a particular family, will be limited to 250 words free and 1 photo, although the churches section will include longer articles for those churches that are over 100 years old [500 words for those churches over 200 years old and 750 words for those churches over 250 years old]. For more details about this project, please contact Publishers Representative Malinda K. Fry at 1-888-292-5516. Each county heritage book committee will be holding a meeting this coming week [June 15th-21st]. The Halifax County committee will meet at First Presbyterian Church on North Main Street in South Boston, Virginia, at 6pm, Wednesday, June 18th. The Pittsylvania County committee will meet the following evening [June 19th] at 6:30pm at the Crossroads Restaurant on Business Route 29 in Gretna, Virginia. Anyone wishing to submit a story according to the above guidelines is welcome to attend each meeting. =========================================================== I was asked to help publicize at least the Pittsylvania County book's creation by a member of that committee and volunteered to promote the Halifax book since they are having so much trouble getting that one started [50 people came to the Pittsylvania County meeting in May while only 6 attended the Halifax County meeting the same day]. Since I hope to attend both meetings [on the 18th in South Boston and on the 19th in Gretna], perhaps I'll get to meet some of you if you have a chance to come. Best wishes, Richard Blair Anderson, Jr., Danville, Virginia With multiple research lines in Pittsylvania and Halifax Counties dating back to the very earliest years -- too many names to list, at that. 8-)

Lee: I guess I knew that about the James. My ancestor and his neighbors floated their tobacco and other goods to the Coast then walked back every year. My head just isn't working today. In North Alabama (my native land!)there was a thriving trade about 1800 on the Tennessee River in goods that were picked up by ne'er-do-wells after folks rafts broke up at Muscle Shoals. Mickey -----Original Message----- From: glh [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2003 5:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [VA-SOUTHSIDE-L] Ferries on the James River Mickey wrote: >>>> While we are discussing migration routes and ferries, we should not forget the waterways themselves. Some folks just made a raft and floated down the river! Mickey<<< Remember, early settlement occurred from the East coast westward and James River flows East, therefore, it was not practical to float down this river and move west. Much westward migration did occurr on rafts and flat boats floating down the rivers west of the Blue Ridge Mountain. James Harrod came to Ky. by boat down the Ohio River. The Austin family moved from Wythe co., Va. to Missouri by boats after hauling their goods by wagon across the mountains into West Virginia. G. Lee Hearl Authentic Appalachian Storyteller Abingdon, Va. ==== VA-SOUTHSIDE Mailing List ==== USGenWeb Archives Digital Maps Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/maps/ ============================== 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

In a message dated 6/14/2003 3:25:39 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > This time I typed in Virginia, Halifax and then court records....The > following was my answer: > > No matching places found > Hi, Try this: (a) Go to this link for the Library Search Choices: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp (b) Once there click on the very first blue box on the right, labeled "Place Search", which will take you here: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=localitysearch&columns=*,180,0 (c) put Halifax in the first box, and Virginia in the second box, and hit search. (d) you will get two results: <A HREF="http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/parent.parent.LoadPage2('supermainframeset.asp?display=localitydetails&subject=190479&subject_disp=Virginia,_Halifax');return">Virginia, Halifax</A> and <A HREF="http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/parent.parent.LoadPage2('supermainframeset.asp?display=localitydetails&subject=190482&subject_disp=Virginia,_Halifax,_Halifax');return">Virginia, Halifax, Halifax</A> (e) Choose the first, Virginia, Halifax and click the link (the second I believe is for the county seat). (f) Then you should get a long list of links for Halifax County, including the following, of which you will click on Court Records as one of the more likely places to find court records for ferries and such (and/or the index): Place Virginia, Halifax Notes Formed in 1752 from Lunenburg County. Topics Virginia, Halifax - Bible records Virginia, Halifax - Business records and commerce Virginia, Halifax - Cemeteries Virginia, Halifax - Census Virginia, Halifax - Census - 1850 Virginia, Halifax - Census - 1860 Virginia, Halifax - Church records Virginia, Halifax - Church records - Indexes Virginia, Halifax - Court records Virginia, Halifax - Court records - Indexes Virginia, Halifax - Genealogy Virginia, Halifax - Genealogy - Indexes Virginia, Halifax - History Virginia, Halifax - History - Indexes Virginia, Halifax - Land and property Virginia, Halifax - Land and property - Indexes Virginia, Halifax - Maps Virginia, Halifax - Military history - Civil War, 1861-1865 Virginia, Halifax - Military records - Civil War, 1861-1865 Virginia, Halifax - Military records - World War, 1914-1918 Virginia, Halifax - Military records - World War, 1939-1945 Virginia, Halifax - Poorhouses, poor law, etc. Virginia, Halifax - Probate records Virginia, Halifax - Probate records - Indexes Virginia, Halifax - Schools Virginia, Halifax - Societies Virginia, Halifax - Taxation Virginia, Halifax - Vital records Virginia, Halifax - Vital records - Indexes Virginia, Halifax - Voting registers © 2000 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Good Luck! Janet Hunter

This time I typed in Virginia, Halifax and then court records....The following was my answer: No matching places found

I tried the LDS catalogue search site...I typed in Halifax and then Virginia. The answer was there were "no matches" for my search criteria. I'm not doubting that they're there.

In a message dated 6/14/2003 3:11:43 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > There are no matching catalogue records for Halifax. > Hi, I think from the Lds Library catalog (place search = Halifax part of Virginia, court records link) hese are the books (toward the end for early years) that would be most likely to show ferry licenses, fees, etc.: Each of these has a separate link with information on the film/fiche numbers, etc. Topic Virginia, Halifax - Court records Titles Chancery order book, 1858-1866 / Virginia. County Court (Halifax County) Chancery order books, 1831-1908 / Virginia. Circuit Court (Halifax County) Common law order books, 1975-1976 / Virginia. Circuit Court (Halifax County) Entry book, v. 1, 1920 / Halifax County (Virginia). Clerk of the Circuit Court Fiduciary book, ca. 1855-1871 / Halifax County (Virginia). Clerk of the Circuit Court Halifax County, Virginia court orders / T. L. C. Genealogy (Miami Beach, Florida) A history of Halifax County (Virginia) / Carrington, Wirt Johnson, b. 1845 A history of Halifax County (Virginia) / Carrington, Wirt Johnson, b. 1845 Land registration docket, v. 1, 1920 / Halifax County (Virginia). Clerk of the Circuit Court Order books, 1789-1831 / Virginia. District Court (Prince Edward County District) Order books, 1809-1831 ; general indexes, 1752-1900 / Virginia. Superior Court of Law (Halifax County) Plea Book 1, Halifax County, Virginia 1752-1755 / Chiarito, Marian Dodson Plea, minute and order books, 1752-1902 ; general indexes, 1752-1900 / Virginia. County Court (Halifax County) Records at large, 1789-1798 / Virginia. District Court (Prince Edward County District) Virginia's district courts, 1789-1809 : records of the Prince Edward District : Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, and Prince Edward counties : (wills to 1829, deeds to 1816) / Warren, Mary Bondurant (Mary Claire Bondurant) , 1930- © 2000 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

There are no matching catalogue records for Halifax.

As I have researched my colonial ancestors in Virginia (all of whom, it seems, either died there or moved on South or West), I have read many court records. This is where I have come across information about ferries--who operated them, under whose authority (generally the court's), and the prices set for ferrying humans, animals, etc. The best way, I find, to find out whether court records exist for the particular county in which you are interested is to search the Family History Library Catalog on <A HREF="www.familysearch.org">www.familysearch.org</A> The link to the catalog (the link I prefer) is on the lower right of the screen. Do a place search--say, Halifax Co., VA [leave out the word county and lower case is OK] and go down the list of topics for that county. Under court records, you could find out whether any still exist and whether they have been filmed. So many records of Virginia have been destroyed that we are very lucky when they do exist. You can borrow the films, for a limited time, through your nearby LDS family history center. Some of these court records have been transcribed and published. That is handy, because then the book is indexed, where it is seldom one finds the filmed handwritten court records are indexed. But you cannot always borrow the book, but most of the time you can borrow the film from Salt Lake City, for a small fee. I find court records are fascinating, and sometimes they tell us things we would rather not know--especially if we are harboring delusions of grandeur. There are indentures of servants, fines, jury trials, bastardy bonds, etc. Oh, yes, and ordinaries (taverns) were also licensed and controlled by the courts. Those are interesting accounts. And everybody sued everybody, especially for debt, but occasionally for battery, and so on. I find people, especially newbies, are consumed with wanting to find gravestones, when those are generally a new-fangled artifact. I prefer to spend my time reading filmed court records and deeds--but to each his own!!! E.W.Wallace

Mickey wrote: >>>> While we are discussing migration routes and ferries, we should not forget the waterways themselves. Some folks just made a raft and floated down the river! Mickey<<< Remember, early settlement occurred from the East coast westward and James River flows East, therefore, it was not practical to float down this river and move west. Much westward migration did occurr on rafts and flat boats floating down the rivers west of the Blue Ridge Mountain. James Harrod came to Ky. by boat down the Ohio River. The Austin family moved from Wythe co., Va. to Missouri by boats after hauling their goods by wagon across the mountains into West Virginia. G. Lee Hearl Authentic Appalachian Storyteller Abingdon, Va.

In one of my references ( I can't remember which one), There is a stage road. I determined that it ffollowed the same route south of Charlottesville as today's route 29. ( or I should say that Route 29 follows the old stage road) Rob Ayres ----- Original Message ----- From: "paul drake" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, June 13, 2003 5:55 PM Subject: [VA-SOUTHSIDE-L] early VA to GA roads > Folks traveled at about 10 miles per day, both walking or by horse. I do not believe there were yet stagecoaches from Brunswick south, however one of the Brunswick historians on here should know. If there were ANY stage roads, those were few and far between, and on those, one could make 20-25 miles a day. > > I do recall an ancient north/south Indian trail from Petersburg, Fredericksburg and then s into and through Brunswick to NC, however I do not remember where from there it continued on. > > Were I to guess, I would say they traveled by horse to Salisbury, NC and thence toward Franklin, NC and then further south to GA. > > You might try Google for "early GA roads" or "early NC roads". Good luck and why not share what you learn with us all. Paul > ----- Original Message ----- > From: William Mallory > To: paul drake ; VA- > Speaking of research, perhaps someone can direct me to some information > about 19th century travel. Some members of one of my Brunswick County > families migrated down to western Georgia in the 1830s. I have good > documentation that many visits were made to Georgia over the next forty > years by the family members who had remained in Virginia. I am particularly > interested in knowing what travel was like for them in the 1832-1853 period. > > ______________________________

I know that people had to apply to the Court for permission to build mills. Would that also have applied to ferries? Paul?? Mickey -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2003 4:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [VA-SOUTHSIDE-L] Ferries on the James River In a message dated 6/14/2003 11:06:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > Does anyone have any information about the ferries on the James River > during the early later 1600's and early 1700's. > > I have seen on a website where Richard Murphy had a ferry that crossed > the James, near Westover. > > Any truth to this? > > Thanks, Georgia > Hi Georgia, I can't provide any "proof", but will just point out a couple of relevant facts I know, which you probably already do also. (a) William Byrd I, built Westover. He and his wife Mariah/Mary Horsemanden had a daughter Mary Elizabeth, b. 1681/2 who married first James Duke and second Richard Murphy. (I am a Bird/Byrd earliest ancestor in TN early 1800s..all Bird/Byrds in TN, KY, etc. think first about a link to the "Big Birds" of VA as I like to call them (sorry that was awful). As a result, we collect lots of material on them. (b)There was a ferry at Westover in 1702. ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/misc/fery1702.txt "Virginia Ferry Operators, 1702" <snip> On James River.In Henrico county at Varina, the price for a man six pence, for a manand horse a shilling. In Charles City county at Wesopher, the price fora man a shilling, for a man and horse eighteen pence. In Appomatockriver at the usuall place near coll. Byrd's store, the price for a manhalfe a royall, for a man and horse one royall." (c) The awarding of ferry concessions was very important, after all it was not only a potentialy financially rewarding venture, but you didn't want to have to depend on irresponsible or uncooperative ferry operators to get you across, especially if you were William Byrd and his family. (d) Therefore, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Richard Murphy, son-in-law or future son-in-law of Wm Byrd I, did indeed have the ferry concession, though whether he actually sat on the river bank, loaded the men, horses and goods, and polled/rowed/sailed them across is debatable -- unless it was a brief rite of passage for a young whippersnapper before he did the more gentlemanly type of things of the Byrd family, like speculate on real estate, drink boiled milk and spirits, tumble his wife on the billiard table, race his horses and play cards, in between excursions to London and back. (e) There might be deeds in Charles County records (which if memory serves are rather spotty) that mention Richard Murphy's ferry or something along those lines. And here I echo E.W. Wallace' frequent advice, which is to check the Virginia Historical Index if available at a library and see where Richard Murphy turns up. FYI, at UsGenweb Archives for Virginia, which I can't get in at the moment via html, there are several other ferry lists under "misc", including the one cited in this directory here: ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/misc/ Georgia, I am very curious about the website you said you found with the information, as I have ancestors involved with ferries just a bit west on the Appomattox, near where the Bollings lived at Cobbs -- and there are Murphys mixed in there too if I recall correctly. Are you a descendant of Richard Murphy & Mary Elizabeth Byrd. Good Luck! Janet Hunter ==== VA-SOUTHSIDE Mailing List ==== VAGenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~vagenweb ============================== 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

A Hampton cousin of mine would like to contact you about the migration routes. He is not on the list. Would you be willing to email me privately with your address, which I can then send on to him. I sent him your message from the other day as he is quite interested in this subject. Robin Taylor

In a message dated 6/14/2003 11:06:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > Does anyone have any information about the ferries on the James River > during the early later 1600's and early 1700's. > > I have seen on a website where Richard Murphy had a ferry that crossed > the James, near Westover. > > Any truth to this? > > Thanks, Georgia > Hi Georgia, I can't provide any "proof", but will just point out a couple of relevant facts I know, which you probably already do also. (a) William Byrd I, built Westover. He and his wife Mariah/Mary Horsemanden had a daughter Mary Elizabeth, b. 1681/2 who married first James Duke and second Richard Murphy. (I am a Bird/Byrd earliest ancestor in TN early 1800s..all Bird/Byrds in TN, KY, etc. think first about a link to the "Big Birds" of VA as I like to call them (sorry that was awful). As a result, we collect lots of material on them. (b)There was a ferry at Westover in 1702. ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/misc/fery1702.txt "Virginia Ferry Operators, 1702" <snip> On James River.In Henrico county at Varina, the price for a man six pence, for a manand horse a shilling. In Charles City county at Wesopher, the price fora man a shilling, for a man and horse eighteen pence. In Appomatockriver at the usuall place near coll. Byrd's store, the price for a manhalfe a royall, for a man and horse one royall." (c) The awarding of ferry concessions was very important, after all it was not only a potentialy financially rewarding venture, but you didn't want to have to depend on irresponsible or uncooperative ferry operators to get you across, especially if you were William Byrd and his family. (d) Therefore, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Richard Murphy, son-in-law or future son-in-law of Wm Byrd I, did indeed have the ferry concession, though whether he actually sat on the river bank, loaded the men, horses and goods, and polled/rowed/sailed them across is debatable -- unless it was a brief rite of passage for a young whippersnapper before he did the more gentlemanly type of things of the Byrd family, like speculate on real estate, drink boiled milk and spirits, tumble his wife on the billiard table, race his horses and play cards, in between excursions to London and back. (e) There might be deeds in Charles County records (which if memory serves are rather spotty) that mention Richard Murphy's ferry or something along those lines. And here I echo E.W. Wallace' frequent advice, which is to check the Virginia Historical Index if available at a library and see where Richard Murphy turns up. FYI, at UsGenweb Archives for Virginia, which I can't get in at the moment via html, there are several other ferry lists under "misc", including the one cited in this directory here: ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/misc/ Georgia, I am very curious about the website you said you found with the information, as I have ancestors involved with ferries just a bit west on the Appomattox, near where the Bollings lived at Cobbs -- and there are Murphys mixed in there too if I recall correctly. Are you a descendant of Richard Murphy & Mary Elizabeth Byrd. Good Luck! Janet Hunter

While we are discussing migration routes and ferries, we should not forget the waterways themselves. Some folks just made a raft and floated down the river! Mickey -----Original Message----- From: Margaret Driskill [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2003 2:47 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [VA-SOUTHSIDE-L] Ferries on the James River Hello dear friends, I was curious about Georgia's question about ferry boats and I opened a delightful book my sister once gave me titled: THE JAMES, WHERE A NATION BEGAN, by Parke Rouse, Jr. Chapter nine is "The Green path" to Carolina. You might find this helpful. "Most former Indian trails in eastern America are unmarked, but many are becoming better known. Virginia was criss-crossed in prehistoric times by forest paths used by aborigines in their migrations, trading and wars. many major highways today follow those primeval redmen's trails. Many important early trails developed around the James. One of the most used Virginia-North Carolina trails on early maps was called "Green's Path". It was named for the Reverend roger Green of Nansemond County, who successfully petitioned the Virginia Assembly in 1653 for nearly 11,000 acres of land below the Roanoke river for the first 100 settlers who would claim them. The route Green's settlers followed south became "Green's Path." >From 1653 onward, more Virginians dared to go to Carolina and brave the Indians of the region. The route they used is much the same as U.S. Route 95. It goes south from Petersburg to Emporia, Roanoke Rapids, Rocky Mount, Wilson, Smithfield in North Carolina, and Fayetteville. Early English maps identify Green's Path as a trading path once used by Indians roaming from Virginia to the Cherokee forests of western North Carolina. Apparently Roger Green's settlers followed an old Indian trail. In North Carolina's Indian Wars of 1711, one Colonel Barnwell of South Carolina is described as leading south Carolina men up Green's Path to help North Carolina settlers fight the Tuscarora tribe." "...one result of the use of Green's Path by Virginians is the survival in the Carolina country many early Virginia family names. Because colonial North Carolina had no deep water port to dock English ships, most early NC settlement was by families who had come to Jamestown, Yorktown, Hampton, Norfolk, and other Virginia ports and gone south on foot or by boat." anyone from Virginia who travels today through this Carolina region will note many Southside names: Bunkley, Brinkley, Crumpler, Pittman, Chapman, Battle, Darden, Morrisette, Norfleet, Underwood, Pretlow, Gwaltney, Cofer, Crocker, Durham, Duke, Bridger, Holland, and others. Many Carolinians in this area trace their families to Virginia." Margaret ==== VA-SOUTHSIDE Mailing List ==== USGenWeb Archives http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb Do Not Flame other Members on List. If you have problems or concerns with list posts, contact the List Administrator. [email protected] ============================== 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

Another good site for a general history of travel and commerce by our ancestry. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/VAGuide/transp.html

I have driven all over those mountain roads in western NC and eastern TE. I have an aunt who lives on the west side of Grandfather mountain, so I have had many opportunities to try different roads. There is no present road that would have been suitable for wagons across the mountains from eastern TE to Asheville. Interstate 40 is the best, but you can see from the blasting that there was not a prior route. Routes 19 and 23 both have many switchbacks. 23 was supposed to be rebuilt, but it hasn't been finished. There is, however a reasonable route from VA: Route 221. When it gets to near the back side of the Blue Ridge, there are two other smaller roads that are near level which take you to 19 and into Asheville with only a few low ridges to cross. From Asheville south, Interstate 77 crosses the Blue Ridge near where the "Great Wagon Road" passed. The last piece of the Blue Ridge parkway to be finished is on the east side of Grandfather. It is a spectacular road that hugs the mountain . There is a walking trail through there where you can see how the parkway was built out from the mountain where there were cliffs. There is certainly no way for wagons to get over the Blue Ridge from near Grandfather to Asheville. Regards, Martin