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Quakers from PA to VA DearREADERS,
DearMYRTLE replied: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/%7Egentutor/penn.html There are at least two major migration routes into Virginia/Kentucky or Virginia/North Carolina that didn't use the Atlantic Ocean. Remember that these "back woods" places were far from the seat of government in either Williamsburg, VA or Philadelphia, PA. PENNSYLVANIA MIGRATION TRAILS MAP http://www.mcn.org/2/noel/Westmoreland/MigrationTrails.htm EASTERN US MIGRATION TRAILS MAP http://www.randywillis.org/migration.html Here we read "Prior to the Revolution, the most popular route from Pennsylvania to Kentucky was along the "Philadelphia Wagon Road" sometimes known as the "Virginia Turnpike" and the "Great Wagon Road..." QUAKERS IN VIRGINIA WERE NUMEROUS Our Pennsylvania Quaker ancestors were also aware of a number of Meetings in Virginia. There was movement back and forth with visitors, visiting speakers and migrating families. PENNSYLVANIA to FREDERICK, MD & VIRGINIA Yes, there is a well-documented non-denominational migration pattern From SE Pennsylvania, through Frederick. Think of the Pennsylvania Germans such as Hans Yost Hite and his group that settled the Shenandoah Valley. He lived in what later was expanded and became Governor Pennybacker's home in Perkiomen Township, Pennsylvania. Quaker meetings sprang up in the Valley area as well. THINK GEOGRAPHY MORE THAN POLITICS Remember that the corner of Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia is the confluence of several rivers, including the Potomac, which provided a water route for shipping back east. Migration tended to follow Indian trails and water routes. PENNSYLVANIA & VIRGINIA TO NORTH CAROLINA (via the Great Wagon Road) From: http://www.waywelivednc.com/before-1770/wagon-road.htm "After 1735, as the supply of land grew short in colonies farther north, numerous farmers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia began packing their possessions and making the long journey to the North Carolina Piedmont. At first the migrants were predominantly Scotch-Irish. Then, in the mid-1700s, Pennsylvania Germans joined their neighbors on the tedious trek. As newcomers flocked southward, the population of the North Carolina backcountry grew at an unprecedented rate. The path to Carolina came to be called the Great Wagon Road. "The country," wrote colonist Nathaniel Rice in 1752 "is in a flourishing condition, the western parts settling very fast." The diverse backgrounds of the immigrants shaped the North Carolina backcountry into a patchwork of religious and cultural enclaves. Many newcomers from Pennsylvania were Quakers. Newly arrived German families were predominantly Lutheran, with the notable exception of the Moravians. Immigrants of Scotch heritage were almost invariably Presbyterian. In addition, the Great Awakening, a tremendous religious revival that swept the English colonies in the mid-eighteenth century, resulted in the founding of several Baptist churches in the Carolina backcountry." QUAKER MIGRATION MAP (though certainly not exclusively Quaker) http://www.rootsweb.com/~quakers/migration.htm QUAKER CORNER - Including the Quaker Mailing List: http://www.rootsweb.com/~quakers/ WHY DID THEY MOVE? Perhaps for the same reason other folks decided to move west. It was getting "crowded" and they wanted more space. During the colonial period, there was a problem (I can't recall the source of the info) where Quaker men went to Virginia to avoid some governmental restriction in Pennsylvania. Does this ring a bell with anyone else on the list that can perhaps provide more details? It may have been something such as "swearing" an oath of allegiance, which of course our Quaker ancestor's couldn't accomplish. It wasn't a matter of allegiance; it was a matter of swearing. Also, I recall reading numerous transcribed Meeting notes where families requested membership Virginia Meetings, presenting papers from Pennsylvania meetings. YES, the Colonial government in Virginia was much different from Pennsylvania. But land was the motivator. Happy family tree climbing! |
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