Understanding Migration Patterns

posted in: Genealogy | 0

When working on my immigrant ancestors, I noticed {as you probably have} various ethnic groups settled in various areas.

After all, the early Scots-Irish settled in Virginia and trickled down into the Carolina’s.

The Spanish settled in Florida, because it was one of their colonies.

The Germans seemed to also settle in the Southern states, as did many immigrants from Mexico and South America.

However, many of our immigrant migrated from their homeland even before coming to America.

Half of the pilgrims on the Mayflower, known as the Saints, left England for Holland before deciding to try their luck in the new colony.

The German Palatines actually arrived in Germany from the Holy Roman Empire. The settlements were not viable over the long term and spread out to England, France, Switzerland, and other surrounding countries, before England sent ten ships of the immigrants to New York in 1710.

While it’s interesting to gather names and see how far back we can take our ancestors, it’s even more fun to discover where they came from, where they had been before they crossed the ocean and why they came over.

What have you learned by studying migration patterns?

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