I'd like to thank the following for their replies to my Franklin County migration query & for their contributions to the growing list: Jean Abshire Sue Huffman Brenda Chatterton W. Darrell Miller Anita ([email protected]) Gracie Stover Nancy Frederick Joann Giddinge Colleen Simmons Richard Wilstead Marsha Moses June ([email protected]) Libbie Griffin Anita Rouse Schmidt Audrey Johnson Jackie ([email protected]) Marie Martin Sandy Spradling Carlisle Browning Kathy ([email protected]) Regina Gray Sherry Drew Sharon Phillips Belenski The surname list of families that migrated from Franklin County, VA now include: Stover Peters (2 lines) Gadd Adkins Phillips Brogan Young Brown Sink Via Richards Perdue Bailey Blankenship Smith Wingo Angles Belcher Rausch/Rouse Lilly Meador/Meadows James Ferguson Scott Bowles Cooper Feazell Goode Darby Robinson/Robertson Hurt Abshire Beckelhimer Can anyone give a reason for the exodus of people from Franklin County, VA to the area that would become Southern WV? Was it for work in the coal mines? Was it related to the impending "War of Northern Aggression?" Did it have to do with land grants? Was work sparse in Franklin County? Was it just natural westward expansion? Any & all help is welcome. Why did your relatives come from Franklin County & set up house in what would become Southern West Virginia? As always, thank you in advance for any information. I look forward to reading your E-mails. Keep the surnames coming! Sincerely, Mike Peters [email protected]