The following is an excerpt from the History of Fairfield County, Ohio on the immigration of early families. I thought some folks may find it beneficial and/or interesting, especially the reference to Shenandoah. I guess I now understand why I found so many of my families from Shenandoah there. It appears that whole churches would move. The book also also includes a map that shows the old roads so one can see how the folks immigrated and why some dropped off in Ross Co., others in Pickaway, and many on to Muskingum. Great learning tool for those of us that can't picture localities/maps in our minds and need visuals. The only old road available went straight through each county. Enjoy. In April 1798, Captain Joseph Hunter, a native of Virginia, with his family, emigrated from Kentucky and settled on Zane's Trace near the crossing of the Hocking River. This was the first white settlement in Fairfield County and Captain Hunter's closest neighbors were at Zanesville and Chillicothe Ohio. In May of the same year, Nathaniel Wilson Sr., John and Allen Green, Joseph McMullen, Robert Cooper, Isaac Shaeffer and a few others also arrived to take up settlement. In 1799 the tide of immigration set in with real force. The settlement of Fairfield County had begun ! Pennsylvania and Virginia supplied the largest numbers of early immigrants. Many of the first immigrants were German speaking people from the Lancaster County area of Pennsylvania. Others came in large numbers from the Pennsylvania counties of : Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Fayette, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mifflin, Northumberland, Washington, Westmoreland and York. A large number came from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, especially Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties. One entire church congregation came from Rockingham County and established the Pleasant Run Baptist Church in Pleasant Township. Other Virginia emigrants came from Berkeley and Hampshire Counties (now West Virginia) and also from Frederick County.