ILMCLEAN-L Archives

Archiver > ILMCLEAN > 2001-03 > 0985986819


From: Cara Showers <>
Subject: Re: Migration from VA to IL in Late 1800s
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:13:39 -0900
In-Reply-To: <1.5.4.32.20010330215509.00665b48@pop.qtm.net>


Mary said:
You know of course that that area was Virginia until the War. They wanted to
stay with the Union and so a new state was formed. I would think your
ancestor was probably a Union man, and Illinois seems a logical place for
him to go where he could begin again, but be safe.

See, that's the odd part, my ancestor, Dr. William A. Jones, was in the 27th
Va Infantry, which was Confederate. He enlisted in, oddly enough, Union, WV
as a confederate. I've found several others in his family who all served as
confederates. I guess it's possible that he would have left for the same
reasons as other Union soldiers, the destruction and dangers, but the odd
thing about it is that his two sisters (only sibligs he had), mother (father
was dead), and a few dozen or so aunts, uncles, and cousins, all moved to
Charleston, (W)VA either just before or just after the War. That's why I'm
so stumped. It could be that he saw the worst of the war and moving west was
just his way to start a new life. And that I could buy. But it just seems so
odd that not one person from his family went anywhere else but Charleston,
(W)VA and he, by himself, went to Bloomington, IL.

I know there could be a million reasons why he went to Bloomington. It could
have been that he, being a new doctor, thought it would be good to set up
practice in a newly formed town where there probably weren't many doctors.
Maybe there was word put out for the need for doctors out west and he just
went until he saw the need and landed in Bloomington. It could have been
that he met and fell in love with a lady while in the war whose family was
migrating west and he went there to follow her after the war was over.
Though I still can't find his marriage record or who he married, just says
that he was married on his death certificate. It could be just about
anything. I guess what I was hoping to find, were the most common reasons
for migration and see if he characteristically fits into any of them.

True, I may never find out, but I hope to some day be able to put the
mystery to bed.

Thanks for the advice.
--
Cara Showers
Anchorage, Alaska


This thread: