Hi All -- Sorry I was off line for a few days and now I'm plowing through all my List mail. I've saved the comments about Franklin Co. folks migrating from Franklin to MO with quite a few to Callaway, Montgomery, Warren, and St. Charles Counties. My apologies for expressing my opinion so late in the discussion. I had to laugh at Dan's reply to Donna that the Hodges went everywhere. I think we Hodges have itchy feet! Uncle Solomon's feet were the itchiest. His family now is found from Missouri to Texas. I've pondered this question for some time and discussed it with Callaway folks also. Callaway Co., MO was organized in 1820 and named after James Callaway who was killed in 1812 during an Indian raid. That name should ring a bell with Franklin Co. folks. All these counties listed above are on the Missouri River starting with St. Charles and working back to Callaway and on west. This area was sometimes referred to as the Boone's Lick Trail or Trace as it followed the Missouri River from Howard Co., MO back to St. Louis. Daniel's sons developed a salt company near Booneville, MO to supply salt to St. Louis. Daniel himself lived his last years and was buried along side his wife in Warren Co. Following the Missouri River across the state to the jumping off point for the West, one saw the fertile river valley and I'm sure many decided they had traveled far enough. If it was good enough for these famous Virginians, maybe it was good enough for them. As we have said, families and neighbors also traveled together or followed each other. This was the case for my Hodges who came to Callaway Co. Robert Solomon Hodges migrated in 1855 directly to Callaway Co. He worked there, as he did in FC, as a blacksmith. He wrote back to his family and my great-grandfather Richard Samuel Hodges, also a blacksmith in FC, joined him in 1878. Family lore says they traveled by train all the way. Both families settled in Cedar City across the river from the state capital in Jefferson City. That was good growing land for corn but one had to be prepared for being flooded out every few years. The corn fields are still there but the farmers now wisely live on higher land. Someone asked me (sorry I lost the email) why I asked about the Dickinson family. My great aunt was a newspaper clipper and saver. She had a number of clippings about the Samuel Dickinson family. One I read, probably from the Cedar City Chronicle said that "Mrs. Samuel Dickinson, of Wainwright, visited [at the home of] R. S. Hodges last week, returning to her home Sunday." They were probably close friends as I haven't found any Dickinsons in the extended family. But since Wainwright and Cedar City were far enough away in those days for a visit to be a week in length could mean that these may have been friends from the days in FC. I think the speculations in the posts following mine are all correct. There was free federal land in MO and after St. Louis points west were the frontier. One traveled to St. Louis and followed the Missouri River west along the Boone's Lick Trace. Before the Civil War, one was following the Callaways and Boones. After the war, came those seeking a new start. Happened with my family. I'm sure they were a reflection of many other families. Kay Morris <<Dan, Do you know why so many Franklin County folks went to Missouri? I know they heard of more fertile land, more opportunities for success than in a depressed area such as Franklin County was in at that time. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Donna>> >Dan Sez: >Hodges went everywhere it seems