Why American Migration Patterns are Important…

My most requested seminar and workshop topic is American Migration Patterns.   I have pondered on this in my mind over and over again.  And I have changed the content of my presentations over time to be more specific on actual travel routes and who followed them.  As I did so, the topic became more popular.

So I want to introduce a new, continued topic for my blogs–beginning with this Genealogy Evidence Blog, being included for specific localities and problems in all of my other Blogs.

Historically Close ties Between Pennsylvania and South Carolina
__Same passenger ships and freighters docked in Charleston Harbor and Philadelphia/Wilmington Delaware.  Ships took on and discharged passengers.  Families transshipped–arriving first in one place or the other, then after a layover, traveled on to the other ports.
__Major migration trail from Pennsylvania, across Maryland, down The Great Valley through Virginia and North Carolina, into the western and back country of South Carolina.  Settlers from Pennsylvania (and the other cross-through states) re-settled later in upland South Carolina.
__Pennsylvanians with land holdings acquired on the North Carolina/South Carolina borders before they re-settled.
__Confusion over Scots who came directly from Scotland and the Scots-Irish who spent time in Ireland before coming to America. Especially when both were Presbyterian Conventanters.  Scottish tradition is very strong in both.

Sharing Place Names

Your ancestors may share place names–taking the name of their place of residence to their new setting–consider Hopewell, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.  When your ancestors left for Kentucky, the named their new place Hopewell.  Then in Fayette County, now Bourbon County KY.  Hopewell was an early name for the city of Paris.

As I have traveled around the United States doing research for clients and presenting at seminars and conferences, I have noticed the similarities between the physical characteristics of places that share the same names.  Use this evidence to determine the next place to search, when the records don’t identify specific places of origin.

Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle   http://arleneeakle.com

PS  When you log onto Family History Expos.com today, be aware that the website has been moved to a new server because the old one became inadequate to handle increased traffic.  It takes time for the server to re-route and re-issue the website.  So wait till late this afternoon or tomorrow to re-log on.  Be sure to re-fresh so that a saved site from a previous search will not say “404 Cannot be Found.”  A new newsletter was posted this morning and it will not show until later.  If you want to register for an event or order a research chart–both of which I recommend–call 1-801-829-3295.

 

 

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