by Juliana Szucs
Migrations have always fascinated me. Perhaps it’s because I have lived my entire life within about 30 miles of my birthplace. Yes, I am a comfort creature who craves familiar surroundings.
How the heck did our ancestors pack up their lives and move their entire families long distances with no modern conveniences—and to destinations sometimes largely untested? That takes a special kind of courage.
These folks leave us with many questions. How and why did the guy I wrote about, get from a home in Connecticut where he was born in 1805, to the Indiana wilderness, where he was married in 1827 at age 22?
This week let’s look at some ways in which we can learn more about our ancestors’ journeys to new homes and why they made the decision to leave one place for another.
Assessing the Community
As we research back in time, often our first indication of a migration is a birthplace on a census record, as was the case with my Connecticut-born friend Warren, who was living in Indiana. Typically migrations of this type, weren’t done in isolation. Extended family and others from a common community may have traveled together or followed one another in succession to a new location. Observing your ancestor’s “neighborhood” and the shared backgrounds of the people in it can sometimes clue you in to a more specific location.
Looking around him in the 1850 census, I found thirty families had at least one member who had been born in the Nutmeg State (Connecticut). Armed with these surnames, I can see whether any of the people in the area who hailed from Connecticut appear to be associates of Warren’s family. Court and probate documents might provide answers. And as always, stories and insights found in the records of the contemporaries of my research subject could also shed insights on his family.
The Wikipedia entry for Fulton County, Indiana, where the family was living in 1850, gives me some information about how New Englanders began moving into the area in the 1820s and 1830s, and how the Erie Canal helped make the region more accessible, right about the same time as my subject made his way here. Deeper dives into the history of the area should provide even more information (and provide necessary verification of the details on Wikipedia).
Educational materials and learning opportunities at conferences and institutes can also help fill in blanks. The NGS Annual Conference will also include several lectures on migration, and even one on river pirates in the Ohio River. (You can view the entire NGS conference schedule here.)
Population growth in New England and a shortage of land in the region around that time had made moving to the Midwest more appealing. The basic summary information provided in Wikipedia mentions that these “’Yankee’ settlers were descended from the English Puritans.” While that’s possible, there were people of many other faiths and ethnic backgrounds present in New England and many schisms occurred in the predominant religions as well.
Indeed, I am finding his wife’s family and close associates of Warren’s family in Quaker records in Indiana. Since Quakers (and another sect called the Rogerenes who practiced a similar faith) lived in the area from whence the family reportedly came, I’ll keep this in mind as I seek out records in Connecticut. Moreover, religion could have played a factor in their migration, as was the case with many denominations in this country.
A look at the FamilySearch Wiki for Fulton County provides me with a good list of available records for that county. It also includes links to access online collections. I’ll be keeping in mind my roster of names of those who lived near Warren’s new home and who shared Connecticut (and nearby Rhode Island) origins.
In my ongoing research, I discovered that in 1840 one Revolutionary War pensioner was named in the county, which proved to be another fascinating lead. Bounty land, and in later years, homestead records are also excellent resources that may help you learn about your ancestor’s migration. The more information I absorb about the people who surround Warren’s family and the societal considerations of the times, the easier my trek will be back to Connecticut. The knowledge I gain will also give me a better understanding who these people were and how they found that special kind of bravery.
