Grant Thorburn, the New York seedsman, tells of the first journey he ever made by land. It was in the winter of 1831; he was then fifty-eight years old.

“We left Hoboken with about fifteen passengers closely packed in a stage with wheels, and a very neat coach, and so foolish was I and ignorant (never having traveled on land) I thought this same fine close carriage would go through thick and thin with me all the way to Albany: in two short hours my eyes were opened. We stopped in Hackensack at a tavern grocery grogshop and post office all under one roof, for we carried Uncle Sam’s letter bags, which was another grievance, as we had to stop every few miles to change the mails. The keeper of the office began to bluster and swear he had neither carriages covered, or uncovered to forward so many passengers. He said the Jockey Club in New York took all the money and gave him all the trouble. In short, says he, unless you remain here till four o’clock P.M. you must go on with such conveyance as I can furnish. We applied to our Hoboken driver. He said his orders were to drop us at Hackensack and bring back the coaches__and sure enough he turned about and back he went. I stepped into the barroom—a large place. In the center stood a large old-fashioned tin-plate stove, surrounded by fifteen or twenty large lazy fellows. After waiting an hour we were sent forward, viz. two in an open chair, four in an open wagon, and the remainder, eight I think, in a common Jersey farming wagon, all the machines being without covers. It now commenced raining, and by the time we got to the next stage, we looked like moving pillars of salt, our hats and coats being covered to the thickness of an eighth of an inch with ice transparency. At the town of Goshen, we changed the mail, thawed our garments, and ate our dinner. As we got north the sleighing got better, so we were accommodated with a covered box and runners, but alas! it was like the man’s lantern without a candle. The cover was of white wood boards placed a quarter of an inch apart without paint, leather, or canvas to protect them from the weather.

“We traveled all night. The rain and snow falling through the roof, our hats were frozen to our capes, and our cloaks to one another. In the morning we looked like some mountain of ice moving down the Gulf Stream. I thought the machine used at the Dry Dock would have been an excellent appendage to have lifted us bodily into the breakfast room: and this is what the horse-flesh fraternity in New York advertise as their safe, cheap, comfortable, and expeditious winter establishment for Albany.”

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Research Tips:

To help locate your families, examine the county records on the following links Charleston County

Spartanburg County

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In the early days, Alexandria was a thriving village, having a church, school, store and blacksmith shop. The people hereabout are engaged in dairying, trucking, and general farming.

Langley, three miles from the "Chain Bridge" over the Potomac River, was a village surrounded by fertile lands, having a church, school, and blacksmith shop.

In the same area was Salone, built in 1801, with brick imported from England. It was this village of dairying, turcking and farming (and later the Old Dominion Electric Railway_ that sheltered Dolly Madison in her flight from the National Capital in 1814.

Lewinsville, a few miles west from Langley, situated in a fine farming and fruit-growing section, ha a church, school, store, and blacksmith shop.

Forestville, a thrifty village near the Great i'alls of the Potomac River, with grazing and fruit-growing areas, and not far from the terminus of the Great Falls and Old Dominion Electric Railway, had a church, store, and school.

Hinesville, situated on the Middle Pike, served a purpose by enabling General Braddock's Army to March through the region in April of 1755.

A Civil War battle was fought near Floris and the Chantilly farm, situated three miles from Herndon, near Old Frying Pan Church.

Fairfax County Records

Fauquier County Records

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Genealogy Tips

Search the following counties for names of your ancestors:

Craven County

Charleston County

Source: History of South Carolin

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a, Heritage Series No. 3, by David Ramsay, M. D.

A German settlement was between the Catoctin and Short Hill Mountains in northwestern Loudoun County. Between 1730 and 1735, some sixty Germans left Pennsylvania and came to Loudoun County, bringing their sheep.

These German settlers were patient, God-fearing, naturally rugged, and tenacious in preserving their language, religion, customs, and habits. Every stage in their development was marked by a peaceable and orderly demeanor—a perfect submission to the restraints of civil authority.

Many of the males were artisans who tilled their newly acquired acres, and a friendly, stable, and self-sustaining colony founded on considerations of economic expediency was established amongst the hills of frontier Virginia.

Other emigrants from Pennsylvania came about the same time and settled in colonies southwest of Waterford and west of Leesburg.

Among them were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers who had come directly from England and Ireland.

The pioneer lived roughly, the German from the Palatinate kept house like the true peasant that he was, and the planter lived somewhat more sumptuously and luxuriously. Still, in nearly every case, the table was liberally set with hominy, milk, cornbread, and smoked or jerked meats.

Source: History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County by James W. Head.

Virginia County Records Helpful to Genealogists:

<a href="https://virginiapioneers.net/countries/loudoun/

<a href="https://virginiapioneers.net/counties/orange/

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The land in Pulaski County is an area of about 400 square miles whose lands are almost entirely that of a limestone foundation. The limestone is situated upon the same vein that flows from Niagara Falls and runs through Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

It is said that the region has rich farmland and the finest bluegrass and is the World's best land for fattening beef cattle. The county was named for the Polish County Pulaski of Revolutionary War fame.

The law was known to be kept in Pulaski County when gentlemen met on the court green to settle their differences. The first session of the court heard seven criminal cases, all declared "not guilty."

The aphorism, "Happy is that people whose annals are brief," applies with peculiar force to this part of the country where its first residents were said to have lived quiet, frugal, industrious, and God-fearing lives.

Pulaski County

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1. South Carolina Gazette, 1732-1775. 1. The South Carolina Gazette 1732-1775

The first newspaper published in Charlestown, after its permanent settlement on this side of the Ashley River, was "The South Carolina Gazette." Thomas Whitmarsh, who arrived in Charlestown early in 1731, and was the publisher of the Gazette.

Lewis Timothy, the successor of Whitmarsh, was a French refugee; he went to Holland, and from thence to " Charlestown," early in 1733. In February of the same year, he became the proprietor and editor of the Gazette, and published it in Union Street, now known as State Street. Up to April 6th, 1734, he signed his name as Louis Timothee; from that period he anglicized it to Lewis Timothy. His demise, the result of an "unhappy accident," took place in December of 1738.

The Gazette was eleven and a half inches in length, seven in width, containing eight columns, two to a page. It was put in circulation on "Saturday, January 8, 1731-1742," and issued weekly from the "sign of the table-clock, on the Bay, where advertisements are taken in." The Gazette was supplied at £'3 a year.

George Webb and Eleazer Phillips, Jr., two other printers, arrived in Charlestown as Thomas Whitmarsh who had been encouraged by the Governor in Council.

The issue of March 17, 1733 was published "one day last week, one Richard Birmingham, belonging to his Majesty's ship Shoreham, was drowned in Wappoo Creek, "over against Colonel Lucas' plantation, by endeavoring " to get the grappling up."

Should the genealogist discover some of these old newspapers up to 1782 and afterward, some interesting discoveries of the times of the families will help to open doors.

2. South Carolina Weekly Gazette, 1758-1764

3. South Carolina and American General Gazette, 1764-1781

4. South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal \, 1765-1775 was published in Bedon's Alley, by Charles Crouch, a sound whig. He published it until 1772; then it was continued by his widow, Mary Crouch, until 1775. Charles Crouch died in 1772, leaving two sons, W. H. and Abraham Crouch.

5. Gazette of the State of South Carolina or Charleston Gazette, 1777-1780. The title of the paper was changed to South Carolina and American General Gazette, and published by Robert Wells, at the " Old Printing House." Robert Wells was a staunch royalist.

6. Royal Gazette, 1781-1782 published by Robert Wells & Son from March 3, 1781 to 1782.

Genealogy Tips: Charleston was a busy port city, receiving traffic and trade from Europe and the West Indies. Thus, it behooves the genealogist to search the county records to discover names and events. The ancestors landed in Charles Town (Charleston), but eventually settled elsewhere.

2. Old newspapers printed a variety of information on each page. Usually, the first page was dedicated to National news, and those stories that followed were related to local issues and people.

3. The ink bled through, and it is rather difficult to read unless available on a good microfilm reader where the user can make proper adjustments.

Source: The Newspaper Press of Charleston, S. C. by William L. King (1872)

Charleston County Records

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Chatham County records survived and are a rich resource for finding early emigrants to Colonial Georgia. The old wills and estates contain valuable information about family members. It is worth the time to read some of these old wills, and one learns the details of colonial life, as well as the names of kinfolks in surrounding areas and Europe. If you do not know who your ancestors married, here is an opportunity to learn the name in the estate receipts and annual reports.

See what is available online at georgiapioneers.com in the Chatham County records.

Chatham County

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Click on the links to learn where your Scotch-Irish families settled in South Carolina. The information consists of the names of those who left wills, estates, etc.

See Abbeville County Records

See Anderson County Records

See Greenville County Records

See Laurens County Records

See Newberry County Records

See Pickens County Records

See Spartanburg County Records

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Charleston, South Carolina, was one of the earliest port cities active in trade with Europe and the West Indies. Charleston records survived, and for this reason, it should get the attention of historians and genealogists.

The following South Carolina newspapers offer vast data for the genealogist.

South Carolina Gazette, 1732-1775

Gazette of the State of South Carolina, 1777-1780

South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, 1765-1775

Charlestown Gazette, 1778-1780

South Carolina Weekly Gazette, 1758-1764

South Carolina and American General Gazette, 1764-1781

Royal South Carolina Gazette, 1780-1782

Royal Gazette, 1781-1782

Genealogy Tips

1. The South Carolina Gazette was first microfilmed and sent to various libraries and research facilities throughout the United States.

2. View a 1749 list of names found in the Gazette. Members of Georgia Pioneers.com -- click below:

https://georgiapioneers.com/restricted/GB/scbooks/The%20early%20South%20Carolina%20newspapers%20ESCN%20database%20reports%20(1732).pdf

3. Where to search for names in Charleston newspapers. Members of Georgia Pioneers.com -- Click on the link below:

https://georgiapioneers.com/restricted/GB/scbooks/The%20newspaper%20press%20of%20Charleston,%20S.C.%20(1872).pdf

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But it is time-consuming. One must research the Parish Registers to find the appropriate names. The first English settlement in Virginia was in Jamestown in 1607. After that, the colony was replenished by Englishmen throughout the 17th century.

The recent collection of the English Parish Register and Old Wills will greatly assist in locating one’s ancestors back to about 1400 or 1500. Although the Great Fire in London in September 1666 destroyed records, a few records dating to 1300 survived!

The task is to search the indexes of voluminous Parish Registers. Since these are in book format, it is easy to type “find” (a name) and proceed from there. If you are already a member of georgiapioneers.com, you will find a link to the books in England.

The same link may be used to discover the newly added collection of “German books.”

Note: Parish Registers list all family members, baptisms, births, marriages, and deaths. Researching in the 16th and 17th centuries connects one to many families, public monarchs, and nobility! You have doubtless heard it said that many Americans descend from King Edward I. This is true.

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In 1654, Colonel Abraham Wood, who lived near the present city of Petersburg, first discovered and named New River, which flowed through the Blue Ridge Mountains, probably near the Virginia line between Virginia and North Carolina.

Between 1666 and 1670, Captain Henry Batte, with fourteen white men and fourteen Indians, started from Appomattox and, crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains, followed the New River some distance, likely going by the same route as Colonel Wood.

Yet, it may be said Wood and Batte were not proper explorers of the Shenandoah Valley, except for a few stubborn facts insisted upon by a Dutchman or two.

Source: The German Element of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia by JOHN WALTER WAYLAND, B. A., Ph. D.

In 1669, German physician John Lederer, accompanied by three Indians, entered and mapped the Shenandoah Valley. It is thought that Lederer was once a Franciscan monk and a man of some learning, probably commissioned by Governor Sir Berkeley to explore the region. Lederer spent one year crossing the valley, southwest to the present boundaries of North Carolina and Tennessee. Lederer went on three expeditions to the Blue Ridge Mountains between 1669 and 1670, receiving a commission from Governor William Berkeley, who was interested in expanding the fur trade in Virginia and offered Lederer a potential for substantial profit.

Soon after his return from the third expedition, he was forced to leave Virginia and go to Maryland. There, under the friendship and patronage of Sir William Talbot, the colony's governor, he prepared a map of the districts he had explored and wrote out, in Latin, the account of his adventurers and observations. Talbot translated the journal into English and had it published in London in 1692.

Sources: J. G. Rosengarten, in Lippincott's Magazine, April 1902; Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. VIII, p. 324; Vol. X, p. 112; The German Element of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia by JOHN WALTER WAYLAND, B. A., Ph. D.; Source: The Discoveries of John Lederer in the Library of Congress;

Library of Congress

Shenandoah County Records

If you are searching for your ancestors in South Carolina, and they were of Irish origin, the following counties are where to look. Most Irish were from Northern Ireland and landed in Philadelphia and Charleston. Thus, you know where to begin your research. The families did not remain in Philadelphia for long, and they traveled by wagon, pack-horse, or foot through the Kiltatinny Valley, west of the Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers, and southward through the Shenandoah Valley.

It is presumed that those families who landed in Charleston, South Carolina, settled in the counties of Charleston, Chester, Lancaster, Laurens, and York.

https://southcarolinapioneers.net/country/charleston/

https://southcarolinapioneers.net/country/chester/

https://southcarolinapioneers.net/country/laurens-2/

https://southcarolinapioneers.net/country/lancaster/

https://southcarolinapioneers.net/country/york/

Tagged charlestonchestercountyirishinSClancastercoutylaurenscountyyorkcounty

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The correct term is “Scotch-Irish,” not “Scots-Irish.” The people in Scotland and Northern Ireland have used this term since the 12th century, and it is used in all the history books! Wikipedia inserted an incorrect term.

The immigration from Ulster, Scotland, to Pennsylvania began about 1680 and lasted throughout the 17th century. Soon afterward, the Scotch-Irish commenced settling the Colony of North Carolina. But their first route was through Virginia. The following are several comments about the trial.

William Montgomery left Pennsylvania before the Revolutionary War and settled on Buffalo Creek in Guilford County. His wife rode horseback from Reading, Pennsylvania—source: History of Alamance by Miss S. W. Stockard (1900).

David White left Ulster because of religious persecution to settle in New Sweden in the valley of the Delaware River. During the Revolutionary War, his sons fought the Tories on Bushy Creek in Chatham County—source: History of Alamance by Miss S. W. Stockard (1900).

William Forster, born in 1748 in Ireland, emigrated to Virginia when he was young. After the Revolutionary War, he settled in Western North Carolina on the Swannea River.—source: Asheville & Buncombe County by F. A. Sondley, L. L. D.

In 1736, Henry McCulloh settled a colony of Scotch-Irish from Ireland in Duplin County. From 1740, a stream of Scotch-Irish and German immigrants from Pennsylvania and the valley of Virginia poured along the whole Piedmont section.

After the Battle of Culloden in Scotland in 1746, colonies of Highlanders landed in Wilmington, North Carolina. Then they went up the Cape Fear River, settling in Bladen, Sampson, Cumberland, Monroe, Robeson, Richmond, and Scotland Counties.

Before 1750, Presbyterian colonists settled in Orange, Rowan, Haywood, Granville, Haywood, and Edgecombe Counties—the settlers from three directions: Western Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Use the links below to search for the names of your Scotch-Irish ancestors:

Alamance County Records

Bladen County Records

Buncombe County Records

Chatham County Records

Cumberland County Records

Duplin County Records

Granville County Records

Guilford County Records

Haywood County Records

Orange County Records

Robeson County Records

Rowan County Records

Sampson County Records

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In our research to find data concerning our ancestors, the origin of American Indians and their origin plays an important role.

The hieroglyphics written on the Mayan Manuscripts may shed some light on the picture. Yet, the manuscripts' poor condition and distortions create problems in translation. Everyone knows that the Mayans had their alphabet, calendar, and prophecies. Accordingly, the Mayan Long Count calendar ended on December 21, 2012. This was the end of the 13-baktun cycle, which comprised 13 periods of 144,000 days each.

The Maya believed that the start of the Long Count was on 4 Ahau 8 Cumku, which is most likely August 11, 3114 BCE. This marked the beginning of the first Great Cycle, which lasted 5,125 years.

In many regards, the Mayans were uniquely different in their understanding of mathematics. They invented the concept of zero. They observed the sun passing directly overhead twice a year and, from this, made accurate calculations of a solar year. They could also predict solar and lunar eclipses!

Yet, it was in the 1980s that interpreters learned how mathematics was rendered upon the codex! This was a big thing because it enabled the important discovery of “dates” in the codex. Thus, from the monuments of Copan and Quirigua, interpreters believed they referred to a time of about 1,400,000.

“The high numbers of our Manuscript, so far as they are in question here, form first a group, which extends from about 1,200,000 to 1,280,000, and then there is a blank, and next a large group extending {115}from about 1,350,000 to 1,480,000, then another blank and lastly a group extending from about 1,520,000 to 1,580,000. If we assume that our Manuscript belonged to about the same date as these inscriptions, then the three numbers discussed here would extend over a past period lying about 160–170 years back, when a new period of importance had begun, probably dating from the immigration of the Aztecs into Mexico, which they placed in the first half of the 14th century (see “Weltall,” Vol. 5. pp. 374–377).”*

“Now, however, the number 1,366,560 contains the statement that 3744 years ago (each year having 365 days) an event must have occurred, which can hardly be anything other (according to the belief of the Mayas) than the creation of mankind.”*

At some point, the Mayans deserted their cities on the Yucatan peninsula. This is particularly interesting because the Book of Morman accounts for Indians in this region from about 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. This history relates to two tribes (Nephites and Lamanites), one whose religion was based on the Bible and the other upon idols. The end came in one big war, during which 10,000 warriors were killed daily until all were dead, except Moroni, who had preserved the copper plates of their history for posterity.

The above story is quite similar to the Mayans'. The big question was when the Mayans moved northward into Mexico and the United States.

The following recorded history began in the Colony of Georgia in 1733 when a friendly group of Creek Indians greeted James Edward Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe became best friends with Chief Tomichichi, who allowed John Wesley, the Methodist, to visit his camp and preach the gospel. But the chief did more than that. He wrote a paper describing his origin as “Mayan.” This document was sent by Oglethorpe to the Trustees in London for preservation. It was discovered in recent years in the possession of (then) Prince Charles in the “Clarence House.”

So now we know. The Creeks in the Georgia colony had split companionship with the idol-worshiping Mayans and migrated up through Mexico into Georgia, Alabama, and the Mississippi Valley.

Anyone studying Indian history knows that tribes are frequently divided. Presumably, the Mayans were the father tribe on the North American Continent before it split into multiple tribes. Before 1492, when Columbus was said to have discovered America, a long and projected history of warring tribes occupied both continents. Historians have long noted that the Indians did not possess boats or swords and must have crossed the Asian peninsula. Yet, a major discovery of brass objects and swords were found along the Western Great Lakes. “The Old Copper Complex of the Western Great Lakes is the best known and can be dated as far back as 9,500 years ago.”**

Meanwhile, canoes holding up to fifty people have been discovered in America, presumably constructed from full-sized trees!

While the full history of the Indian civilizations on this continent is incomplete, according to the Book of Mormon, about 600 B. C., a descendant of the tribe of Joseph built a ship and came to America. At one point, they later met up with a tribe that had come from Jerusalem about 2000 B.C.

Yet the records of these tribes were lost when Spanish conquistadors landed in South America, and all written accounts were destroyed so they could force their religion on the natives. Only four books written by the Mayans survive today. Without records, we can only voice theories. The earliest surviving account of Europeans dating to about 1100 is the “Domesday Book.” Gaps in history are present just about everywhere that one searches.

Although translators of hieroglyphics have worked in South America for centuries, a full understanding of the language is still lacking.

The world's great inventions and the misnamed “achievements” have not overcome the verbal disagreements that end in physical wars among the people of all Nations.

There has always been a thirst for “power,” resulting in greed, cruelty, hardship, and wars upon the human race. Essentially, a fight between good and evil erupts its ugly head with every passing generation—one man against another. The Indian tribes of the Americas never solved their issues.

Indeed, you can see the power players raising their ugly heads in today’s greedy world.

Sources:

• Commentary on the Maya Manuscript in the Royal Public Library of Dresden by Ernst Wilhelm Förstemann.

• ** https://nipigonmuseumtheblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/copper-spears-on-great-lakes.html

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Shenandoah County Records

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IRELAND

1. Compendium of Irish Immigrants to America, a new book by Jeannette Holland Austin. Alphabetical https://georgiapioneers.com/restricted/GB/irelandbooks/Compendium.html

2. Irish Parish Registers, Wills, Obituaries, Biographical Sketches, etc.

https://georgiapioneers.com/restricted/GB/irelandbooks/irelandbooks.html

ENGLAND

Records begin in the 1300s.

• England Parish Records 1

• England Parish Records 2

• Wills, Testaments, etc.

GERMANY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES

• Germany

Articles

• Where to Find Irish Ancestors

• Where to Find Scottish Ancestors

If you are interested in the two articles listed above, these are for sale in PDF format as follows -

https://genealogy-books.com/booksforsale.html

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Genealogy Hint: The parish registers are essential data for finding foreign ancestors, especially in England, where the family customs of attending the same parish reveal enough data to complete your family group sheets - births, deaths, burials, marriages, etc.

A drawing of a stagecoach by Paul Downing in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The colonial period in America had stricter laws than those of today. Some of them are rather silly, but here goes …

“A watchman in Hartford rang a bell every morning as notice to all adults to rise from their beds. Massachusetts had fourteen offenses, and Virginia had seventeen offenses that were punishable by death. Some of the minor punishments were unique. If a woman became a common scold, she was placed near her door, with a gag fastened in her mouth, so that all might see and beware of her example. A man was ducked in water or put in the stocks for other offenses.”

The difference between a stock and a pillory.

A stock was a strong framework, through which the feet or both feet and hands were thrust and held fast, while the pillory was a framework through which the head and hands of a criminal were imprisoned. Besides the disgrace of attending such punishment, it was very trying. The whipping-post was quite common long after the Revolution, and it is still occasionally used in Delaware!”

The Fashions.

The movies have a good claim on the legitimate appearance of fashion during Colonial times.

Men and boys dressed much alike, and the fashions for women and girls were similar. The breeches of the men suggested the present style of knickerbockers, the rich making quite a display of silver buckles and buttons. The breeches of the poorer people were made of coarse cloth, deerskin, or leather, the object being to obtain all the wear possible. The wealthy used velvet, and the men and women were as fond of the display as their descendants. In case you are wondering, women only had two dresses—one for daily use (with an apron) and another for dress-up. “Pinups” were featured to add to any dress, such as lace, fancy sleeves, sashes, etc. The old dress served as a “pattern” for the new dress!

In the earliest days, all the houses were made of logs. The exportation of glass and nails was expensive, so oiled paper replaced glass for windows. Carpets were an unknown luxury. Often, the floor was smooth, hard ground. The cooking was done in the big fireplace, where an iron arm called a crane was swung over the fire and sustained the pots and kettles. Coal and matches were unknown, and a fire was started using a piece of steel and flint or with the help of a pair of sunglasses.

The early settlers to America drank British tea, and nearly every family made its own beer. Because of water pollution, beer was believed to be a healthy drink in those days.

When James Edward Oglethorpe brought his regiment to Fort Frederica on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, William Horton planted barley, rye, and hops for a distillery on Jekyll Island for military use. At the same time, the residents ran illegal rum into the colony.

Stages connected the important cities and towns, but most of the traveling was done on foot or horseback. In Virginia, people would stop visitors on the road and ask for the latest news. In addition, they furnished a room for travelers.

Since most of the settlements were near the sea or on large rivers, long journeys were made by coasting sloops. In 1766, a line of stages made the trip between New York and Philadelphia in two days, which was considered so outstanding that the vehicles were called "flying machines."

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Image yourself in the woodlands, carpeted with grassy and wild pea-vine growing as high as a horse's back and wildflowers of every hue. The large trees were spaced wide apart, and there was nothing to obstruct the view of a deer or buffalo far away.

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