 |
||
 |
Ancestors on the Move | |
 |
The Latest AncestorNews from Nancy Hendrickson | |
|
More Computer-Related Genealogy Advice | |
| . |  |
|
 |
||||
| Ethnic Toolkits Web Exclusive Forms Bookstore Soundex Code Generator Resources Writing Workshops Newsletter |
||||
Receive weekly research tips and leads on new resources via email.
AncestorNews: Ancestors on the Move
Early American settlers traveled on coastal roads or
rivers. There were a few routes west, but not many
settlers took them. The first real highway connected
the southern and northern colonies, and hop-scotched
the coastal cities of Charleston, Wilmington, Norfolk and
north to Boston.
Later, roads spread out like fingers from the coast,
such as the Great Valley Road into the Carolinas and the
Pioneer's Road into Virginia's interior. When Louis-
Philippe (later king of France) traveled America in
1796, he rode the trails from Philadelphia, then
followed the Ohio River to Louisville, and finally
made his way down the Mississippi to New Orleans.
The routes of his American journey were much the
same as those the settlers followed as they migrated west.
Major migration routes included the Wilderness Road,
Braddock's Road, Zane's Trace and the National Road.
The latter was the first federally funded highway,
running from Baltimore to St. Louis. It soon became
the most heavily traveled American migration route.
If your ancestors traveled west from the Eastern
seaboard, they would have followed one of these
established routes. Here are a few of our favorite
migration sites to help you map out their journey:
• Migration Charts
• Ohio Migration Trails
• Migration Routes from Pennsylvania to Virginia
• Historic American Highways
• Old Prairie Trails and Their Travellers Nancy Hendrickson is a Family Tree Magazine contributing editor and the author of
Finding Your Roots Online.
You can read her AncestorNews column in every edition of the Family Tree Magazine E-mail Update (sign up at
www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter.asp).
by Nancy Hendrickson
www.intl-research.com/migration.htm
homepages.rootsweb.com/~maggieoh/Gwen/migration.htm
www.indwes.edu/Faculty/bcupp/genes/migrate.htm
homepages.rootsweb.com/~maggieoh/highway.html
www.iltrails.org/prairietrails.html
Search | Articles | Toolkit | Bookstore | About Us | Contact |