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From: <>
Subject: [HALE-L] Motivations of Original Colonial Ancestors
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2000 12:02:01 EST

This was on one of the lists and no source is known, but is good general
information about migration routes and may give you suggestions on where to
search for your ancestors.

Cindy
**********************

I. Motivations of Original Colonial Ancestors

A. THE ENGLISH

1. Social and economic dislocation, caused in part by pressure on feudal
system by inflation resulting from vast amount of new gold and silver
introduced through Spain.
2. Political rivalry between a recently strengthen England and Spain.
3. Richard Hakluyt's "Discourse of Western Planting" provides an
intellectual rationale for colonizing both in Ireland and the New World.
4. Religious upheaval in England encourages various groups to leave.
5. The success of Francis Drake leads Englishmen to perceive of the New
World as a land of instant riches, thus serving as a catalyst for
colonization.
6. Development of joint stock companies provides economic base for
colonization (think the Jamestown-Virginia Stock Co., Pocahontas timeframe).
7. Failure of the Spanish Armada gives English greater confidence.

B. THE NON ENGLISH

1. Blacks introduced, first as indentured servants, then as slaves, after
1619.
2. Dutch and Swedes are incorporated as New York and New Jersey become
English colonies.
3. Huguenots (French Protestants) permitted by English to settle after
forced to leave France.
4. Lowland Scots settle in northern Ireland, then shortly after 1700 come in
large numbers to the English colonies, settling on the frontier and becoming
known as the "Scotch-Irish."
5. Germans, largely from the Palatinate, settle on the frontier at same time
as the "Scotch-Irish" and become known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch."
6. After 1750, significant numbers of Highland Scots are permitted to leave
Scotland to settle in the English colonies, with the promise they will never
fight against the (English) Crown.

II. MOVEMENT OF ANCESTORS AFTER MAJOR MIGRATION ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

A. Rather static habits of most settlers in the English colonies
throughout the Colonial Era.

1. Most colonists rarely moved more than 20 miles in their lifetime, except
for Scotch-Irish who moved often.
2. New England religious and social attitudes discouraged much movement,
often required considerable preparation before moves were sanctioned.
3. Southern settlers who came from England found themselves oriented toward
England economically, socially and politically, and by 1776 more than 85%
were still within thirty miles of the Atlantic coast.
4. "Pennsylvania Dutch" though settling most of the frontier from NY South,
rarely moved after selecting a permanent home.

B. Surge of interest in the West leads to settlement in Tennessee, Kentucky,
and the Ohio Valley after 1750.

1. Exploration shows great desirability of these areas.
2. Establishment of military roads such as Forbes Road and Braddocks Road
opens the Ohio Valley during the French and Indian War, after 1754.
3. Development of Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road open Kentucky.
4. Utilization of the Indian trails of the Great Valley of the Appalachians
brings settlers from Virginia and Maryland to Tennessee, while North
Carolinians use the river valleys of the Holston, Nolichucky and French Broad
to the same part of eastern Tennessee.

C. Revolutionary War encourages western settlement.

1. Removal of Indians from desired land often justified as part of war
effort.
2. British policy which often discouraged settlement west of Appalachians no
longer operative.
3. Individual states, especially Virginia and North Carolina, encourage
settlement to solidify their claims before 1778.
4. Land speculation rampant.
5. Western land utilized for land bounties given to Revolutionary War
soldiers.
6. Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the Revolutionary War almost doubles the
area claimed by the US when Britain agrees to a Mississippi River boundary.

D. Western Movement escalates during the early national period.

1. Legislation such as the Northwest Ordinances of 1784 (deciding that
the West will be admitted as states equal to the original 13 colonies), 1785
(providing for the surveying and orderly sale of western land) and 1787
(providing specific steps for establishment of territories, then states)
encourages settlement.
2. Challenges to US claims to land north and west of Ohio River by Britain,
and in the far south by Spain leads to heightened American interest in Ohio
and the "Yazoo Strip."
3. The clearing of Indian and British claims to the Ohio Country by the
Treaty of Ft. Greenville and Jay's Treaty in 1795 and Pinckney's Treaty, in
which Spain not only recognizes the American interpretation of the Yazoo
controversy, but guarantees Americans the right to navigate the entire
Mississippi River erased many of the impediments to settlement in these areas.
4. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin 1793, making the growing of
upland cotton commercially feasible at a time when European technological
development has led to a major demand for a new source of fibers, greatly
affects the nature and level of western settlement.
A) Southerners with land find a ready sale for it, at unheard of prices,
which gives them the funds to go elsewhere.
B) Even though land suitable for growing of cotton will usually cost between
$15 and $50 per acre, many settlers from the Old South cling to the
traditional pattern of going almost due west, because of the great profits
that can be made from raising cotton.
C) Many southerners break the traditional pattern of settling almost
straight west of where they had lived before and go instead clear up the Ohio
River Valley, settling in southern Ohio, Indiana or Illinois.
This is largely because:
1) Slavery which almost everyone thought was dead, was revitalized because
of the need for dependable cotton cultivators, many left the south because of
an aversion to slavery;
2) Some left because they didn't like blacks, and because the Northwest
Ordinances forbade slavery, they chose to go there;
3) Most who left the South and went to the Ohio Valley probably did so
because they were guaranteed that they could obtain what they considered to
be exceptional fertile land at no more than $1.25 per acre.

5. Abrupt departure of many people from New England between 1800 and 1810.
a) Appeal of rich land in upstate NY, now free of most Indian claims.
b) Appeal of land in Ohio Valley, especially northern Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois.
c) People moving from New England to Ohio Valley begin raising sheep and
agriculture products, making it difficult for New Englanders with their
generally poor soil, to compete.
d) Embargo Act of 1807 destroys the New England shipping industry and the
New England economy sags considerably.
e) Much of the traditional New England resistance to individual distant
settlement is fading.
f) The introduction of steamboats, which make upriver navigation of the
Mississippi and Ohio rivers practical, further enhances the economy of the
area west of New England.
6. The LOUISIANA PURCHASE of 1803 almost doubles the land of the United
States, establishes new opportunities for Americans in the far west, and
entices many young men to settle, grow cotton, trade, trap and explore.

E. ADDITIONAL FACTORS LEADING TO THE TREMENDOUS SETTLEMENT
OF THE FIRST 50 YEARS OF THE 19th CENTURY.

1. Canal boom of the 1820s, especially the extremely successful Erie Canal
which drastically lowers the cost of east-west shipping.
2. Changing Indian policy which by 1816 encourages each Indian head of
family to select 640 acres on which to live or move west of Mississippi River
and by 1826 tells all Indians east of Mississippi they must remove, thus
making much land available, especially for cotton production in the South.
3. The Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819 gives the US Spain's claim to Florida, but
also to the land north of the 42nd parallel (the northern border of
California).
4. American settlement of Texas, beginning in 1823, which leads to Texas
independence in 1836, admission to the Union in 1845.
5. Development of the railroad as a means of transportation and of
encouraging westward movement.
6. American interest in Oregon soars after 1841, with rapid settlement of
the Willamette River Valley.
7. Mormons, dispossessed from their homes in Missouri and Illinois, go first
to Iowa, then make a major migration to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, quickly
expanding throughout the Great Basin.
8. The War with Mexico ends with the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo giving the
Southwest to the US.
9. The discovery of large amounts of placer gold in California leads to a
major rush there in 1849 and statehood in 1850.
10. The Pacific Railway Act and Homestead Act in 1862 lead to a further,
effective settlement of the West.
11. The CENSUS of 1890 OFFICIALLY declares that there is no longer a
frontier in the US.

III. IMPORTANT FACTS THAT MAY HELP YOU FIND WHERE YOUR FAMILY CAME FROM OR
WENT.

A. RULE OF THE HARVEST. Before the 1850s (and McCormick's reaper) families
rarely planted more than they could harvest, which was between 15-25 acres
per able bodied person who could help with the harvest. Finding out how many
acres your family cultivated will help you know how many people were in the
household.
B. IMPORTANCE OF HARDWOOD TREES. In both the North and the South,
conventional wisdom indicated that land covered with hardwood trees was the
best, while grassland was to be avoided. Despite the great difficulty of
clearing land covered with oaks and maples, that was the land most likely
selected by your ancestors prior to the 1820s.
C. FAMILIES WHO MADE THEIR LIVING PIONEER FARMING rarely moved unless they
had enough means to live on for at least 2 years, or had someone who would
provide for them this long. This is due to the fact that it took years to go
through the process of converting a hardwood forest into an economically
viable farm. If your family moved, it usually meant they had enough money to
survive for 2 years without much additional income, or enough dollars to buy
an already improved farm. Few poverty stricken
people (PSP) moved west, but a fair number of PSPs moved east.
D. MOST SETTLERS BEFORE 1800 at least in the North, moved west during the
winter, usually in January and early February. Expect your families to have
moved then, not in the summer.
E. With a new notable exceptions, your ancestors moved almost due West,
rarely deviating more than a few degrees up or down.
F. IF YOUR ANCESTORS WERE IN NEW ENGLAND PRIOR TO 1700, expect them to
stay very close to the same site until 1800. By 1810, they will most likely
be in upstate New York, by 1820 in northern Ohio, Indiana or Illinois, and by
1850 perhaps in Iowa, Oregon, California or Utah. G. TOWNS SETTLED BY NEW
ENGLANDERS usually had streets running north-south and east-west, while towns
settled by Southerners often placed less emphasis on grid patterns.

TRAVEL ROUTES.

COLONIAL ROADS TO 1750. As one of the earliest east-west wagon roads,
the Lancaster Road linked Philadelphia to Harrisburg before 1730. A
connection from Lancaster to Winchester, Virginia, in the early 1740s, create
what was called either the Philadelphia Wagon Road or the Great Valley Road.
The Fall Line Road crossed Virginia and the Carolinas, and eventually into
Georgia. By 1746, the Pioneer's Road had connected Alexandria to Winchester,
Virginia, joining with the Great Valley Road. By 1748, the Upper Road became
an important wagon route for migrations into the Carolinas.

THE WAY WEST, 1775-1795. Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road was the route for
thousands of settlers into Kentucky. Meanwhile the western Pennsylvania
routes provided an overland access to the Ohio River. After the Revolutionary
War, western migrations on these routes continued to increase.

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