On this site you will find biographical and census references involving the migration from three eastern states Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia to the midwestern states of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. The project began as an outgrowth of my family research to the midwest in search of siblings and descendants of grandparents. My direct ancestors were born in Europe or east of the Appalachian Mountains, with one or two exceptions, and back six or seven generations all came together in the three eastern states. I can find only one ancestor who died west of the Appalachians, and she was a widow who went to Ohio with her children..
As I researched biographical data from the midwest I constantly came across families that were familiar in the eastern states. This led to a cross reference system for future use, which has now evolved into this project. My wife (from the midwest), whose research has lead her from the eastern state across Ohio to Nebraska, county by county has furthered the opportunity to explore and expand the information.
The site has five main sections:
I. Biographical References-Midwestern States:
II. Biographical References on the Internet (ONLINE BIOGRAPHIES)
III. Census Records
IV. Eastern State Records
V. MORROW-MYERS Genealogy
I. Biographical References-Midwestern States:
Midwestern States Resources: The resources are almost exclusively biographical county and state histories. Facts that identify the person and their eastern origin are presented: surname, given name, birth date, birth state or county, marriages, if the spouse is from an eastern state or the parents if they are from an eastern state, etc. NOTE: DO NOT ACCEPT THIS BIOGRAPHICAL DATA AS PROOF. Use it as guide. Many of these biographical sources have errors in the content. Any information gleaned from these volumes should be backed up with data from marriages records, wills, census, deeds, etc.
Access to References Sources: The researcher should acquire the stated resources for additional information (parents of spouses, children, work history, church affiliations, government service, additional family members, collateral families, etc.) either through inter-library loan, or local libraries in the county. Some of the older resources are on the internet and available through Heritage Quest. You can join Heritage Quest or get free access though your library if it subscribes the the service. State historical societies often have have a collection of county histories for their states and other states. You can also take advantage of 'lookups' found on many of the county websites on USGENWEB.
CONTACT: The compilers are working on these families, and have additional information available to the user; those files are contained in the MORROW-MYERS Genealogy found in the menu, or the CRICHTON-JENSEN Genealogy, an off site genealogy website. Click on the word 'CONTACT' to go the information. Feel free to use this information or link it to your website.
(CT 45): a control number for internal use by the compiler.
II. Biographical Reference on the Internet (ONLINE BIOGRAPHIES):
A. Survey: Biographies for midwestern states that are online at USGENWEB or other sites are surveyed for families from the three eastern states. For information on these biographies go to the designated website.
III. Census Records (Midwestern State Only):
A. Online Records: a list of counties in each state and where the census records can be found on the internet.
B. Survey Counties: a survey of some counties that are not available on the internet identifying the names of families from the three eastern states. These are usually the first census in the county that identified the birth state of the head of household. In most cases the 1850 census. The exceptions are Nebraska and Kansas which were not yet states in the 1850, and a few counties across the other midwestern states that were formed after 1850.
IV. Eastern State Records:
A. The eastern state (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia) records consists of three parts:
1. Resources: A list of books published on the particular county. The researcher should acquire these resources either through inter-library loan, or local libraries in the county. Some of the older resources are on the internet and available through Heritage Quest. You can join Heritage Quest or get free access though your library if it subscribes to the service. State historical societies often have have a collection of county histories for their states and other states. You can also take advantage of 'lookups' found on many of the county websites on USGENWEB. At last resort you may want to hire a researcher to acquire the information. Due to time constraints, TRAKWEST does not provide research services.
2. Biographical Surnames: A list of surnames of biographical information found in some of the resources. Some bible records are included.
3. County Surname Links: A list of surnames of families that have migrated from the county to counties in the midwest.
VI. MORROW-MYERS Genealogy
A. Fifty plus years of research into the MORROW and MYERS families of Jefferson and Berkeley Counties in West Virginia, Washington and Frederick Counties, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, including the WALTON, LICKLIDER, ENTLER, CRIDER, MILLER, and TABLER families.
B. Links to the JENSEN-CRICHTON Families: the JENSENS from Denmark; the CRICHTONS from Scotland and allied families of SHEETS, ADAIR, SEAMAN, MILLER and many others from Virginia and Maryland across the midwest to Nebraska.
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dalemorrow@trakwest.com