AMXROADS-L Archives

From: "Carolyn McDaniel" <>
Subject: [AMXROADS] Riding the Rivers
Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 05:05:40 -0800

Dear Cousins,
One of the things that remained constant within the migrating
peoples, regardless of their locality and centuries was their
reliance upon water and waterways.The earliest forays were not made by
settlers, but by frontiersmen -- in the middle colonies -- in the form
of Christopher Gist, Abraham Pennington and Daniel Boone, who
initially were Indian/fur traders. Christopher Gist and Daniel Boone
were also surveyors. As land grants were made available to the Land
Companies and a few Individuals, the surveyors went in and laid out
the tracts. Only then could masses of people begin migrating and
settling. There were very few roads, and most of these were deer and
Indian paths, barely suitable for men ahorseback. Therefore, the
initial settlements had halted along the coastal waterways, and moving
inland, along the major rivers. The settlers had to travel by river,
or along "wagon roads," which could bear the heavier loads for
commerce and migration. These massive wagons were manufactured at
Conestoga in Lancaster, PA and became the means of earliest
migrations. Later migrations to the Pacific could not use Conestoga
wagons, despite popular cinematic productions to the contrary! They
were too heavy.
In Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna was the first great inland
aorta for migration. Then, later, at the extreme westward frontier in
Pennsylvania, it was the massive watershed and waterway formed the
Ohio, the Allegheny and the Monongahela River, conjoining at what is
now Pittsburgh (fans will understand the significance of Three Rivers
Stadium!) This was Christopher Gist's playground, after he left
Baltimore County, Maryland. Here he guided the young George
Washington on a spying venture deep into enemy territory just prior to
the French and Indian War. (The Seven Years War.) Here Washington
outlined the plans for the frontier forts that would be built as a
result of this adventure, and actually oversaw the building of Ft.
Necessity.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html
Here Gist scouted for the British/American interests during the war;
here Washington marched with General Braddock to fatal destiny, and
here the young Daniel Boone was a wagonner, perhaps listening to Gist
spin tales around a campfire about the grandeur of the Ohio River
country, and dark and bloody grounds. The first National Road (begun
after the War of 1812) ran from Baltimore to Ohio, and followed these
earliest, most historic venturers.
http://www.nps.gov/fone/natlroad.htm
The Potomac and the Mongahela were the next principal
waterways to facilitate migration and settlement. Maryland people
were joined by Pennsylvanians and others (NY, NJ, DE) from the
Delaware River Valley along Virginia River tributeries. The
Shenandoah River became the focus of these migrations. Settlement
took place along the Opequan near Winchester, (first called
Fredericktown) which became a Great Crossroads locale along the Great
Wagon Road, which ran from Philadelphia into the Carolinas. Two large
settlements were made near Winchester: Sherrando (Shenandoah) and
Hopewell. Hopewell was geared to Quakers and Sherrando was more about
All Others! Another Pennsylvanian, Jacob Stover led a group of
Germans (Deutsch) into the area.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amxroads/Migrations/virginia.ht
ml
America was an agrarian society even into the 20th century.
As people moved into frontier areas, waterways were used not just for
transportation and commerce, but as the means for a family's
successful settlement and survival. We are fortunate that both the
Virginia and Kentucky patents are available online. That most
wonderful of all sites, the Library of Virginia
http://image.vtls.com/collections/LO.html
has put copies of the patents online, and I access Kentucky patents
through Ancestry.com. You can then put these into watercourse
databases and examine who was upstream and downstream from your
ancestor, and thereby determine their kith and kin communities.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amxroads/Migrations/virginia.ht
ml
The Watts were first in Orange county (from which Frederick
county was formed). Then were also in Culpepper and Bedford Counties,
and are found in the tax records in Jeffrey Weaver's New River Valley
Notes. (along with Finwinkles, i.e., Van Winkles. The migrating
Markhams (Marcam, Marcum) were in Stafford county, while very early
ones (although probably related at some point) were in Henrico,
Chesterfield, and Prince Edward. My Markhams seem to have removed
from Prince Edward to that portion of Montgomery County which became
Giles county. They are on the 1806 Tax list (NRVN
http://www.ls.net/~newriver/nrv.htm
sold land, also in 1806, (John and Sarah Markham to Farley) and by
1808 are found in Wayne County, KY. By 1810 the marriage of Thomas
Watts and Eady Markham, daughter of John, took place. In 1820 John
Watts Sr., and Jr. was in Overton County, TN from which Fentress was
carved. Other Watts kinship included the Yorks and Eatons. Also in
the area, Mark Twains' family, and the Abraham Lincoln's family.
They lived along the Obed, Obey River, which ran out of Kentucky and
into Tennessee. There are lots of nice waterways and watershed
sites. Because of the family names and locales, one I thought was
interesting is:
http://www.dalehollow-lake.net/html/body_cumberriv.html

This is quite a bit for one gulp. I'm still trying to get the
additions to the website up. One will be the Potomac Perimeter, one
will be added to the NW SW Perimeter pages. My landlord trial is
Wednesday!

Love, Your Cousin, Carolyn
Carolyn McDaniel
=========================================
--- Visit American Crossroads ---
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amxroads

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• [AMXROADS] Riding the Rivers by "Carolyn McDaniel" <>