We tend to think of our ancestors and their contemporaries as very strait-laced. Sometimes nothing can be farther from the truth. That’s what is so fascinating about using original documents as historical sources. Those letters, diaries, and newspapers they left behind sometime fairly sizzle with crime, intrigue, and scandal.

For example, take a look at the following advertisements from the April 1777 Pennsylvania Gazette.

Posted in 1770s Chester Co., PA Pennsylvania Germans Universal York Virginia clothing genealogy migration military uniforms soldiers

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You know my theory that all roads lead back to York? Here is another example. The small city of Galion, with about 11,500 people, sits in the northern part of Ohio, about half way across the state.

They are on U.S. Route 30, like York. They have an industrial past, like York. In fact, they are known for manufacturing road building machinery, just like we used to be.

Galion, however, has an even closer association with York County.

Posted in 1830s Ohio Universal York York County genealogy migration

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York County is part of what is known as a “cultural hearth,” an area from which ideas and culture spread throughout much of the country as settlers moved on.

In a recent post, I showed how the Great Wagon road, shown on the 1751 Fry-Jefferson map, carried pioneers to the south and west. Click here for that post.

That was only the beginning.

Posted in 1800s Lower Chanceford Twp. Presbyterians Scots-Irish Universal York York County genealogy migration

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Click here for the Library of Congress zoomable 1751 Fry-Jefferson map.

I recently wrote about York County residents being recruited to move to Virginia in the 1870s. Click here to read that post.

There were several paths, following very early roads, from South Central Pennsylvania to less populated lands.

Posted in 1700s 1800s Adams County Cumberland Valley Frederick Co., MD Marsh Creek Monaghan Twp. Pennsylvania Germans Scots-Irish Universal York Virginia York County genealogy maps migration roads

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Did you know people from this area were actively recruited to move to Virginia?

I knew that as the families of Pennsylvania German and Scots-Irish of South Central Pennsylvania grew, parts of those families migrated down through Western Maryland and Western Virginia. As those areas filled up, the progression continued to the south or to the west. That is why so many people from all over the country come back to York County to find their roots.

I didn’t know, however, that Virginians were coming here to extol the virtues of living in their state as late as 1877.

Posted in 1870s Universal York Virginia York County migration

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