There were several migration trails across the United States beginning with the earliest days of settlement. Those trails are important and researchers need to be aware of them. However some people don’t exactly follow the trails. And some people are part of group of migrants connected by ethnicity, religion, or other shared social bonds who move together over decades. These longer, smaller, and more personal migrations are often referred to as migration chains.
There are a variety of records that can provide clues as to such migration chains, including:
- county histories,
- academic studies of migration,
- pension affidavits,
- church histories,
- and others
Such records have given me evidence of migration chains, including:
- Dunkards who moved from Maryland to Kentucky to Indiana to Illinois and Iowa starting in the late 1790s and ending in the 1860s
- Several families from Hunterdon County, New Jersey; to Pennsylvania; to Delaware County, Ohio.
Genealogy Tip of the Day book is here. Learn more about it.
2 Responses
I have a migration chain in Sweden, in my father’s family, from central southern Sweden to a more northern coastal region. They were ‘smiths’, master sword-smiths and later gunsmiths. My guess is that there may be something related to military… needs researching!!!
I have to sets of family coming through New Jersey. One, for sure was in Hunterdon Co, NJ and I live in Delaware County OHio. The Phillips Family and the ABrahams (ABrams) came from Monmouth Co, NJ. Interesting!