Migration

This chart shows the migration of my ancestors after they came to America. Also see the Immigration page.

My Direct Ancestors

The general trend is that some of my maternal lines began in New England, and migrated Broome County, NY and Ontario, Canada, and eventually to Kane County, IL. Others came to Kane County much later, directly from Germany and Poland. The maternal line finally comes to rest in Chicago.

My paternal ancestry had a branch that started in New England, went to Canada, then Michigan, then Logan County, AR. The rest of my paternal ancestry began in the mid-Atlantic colonies, and took a more southerly route, with branches in Indiana and Georgia, converging on Logan County, AR. After a brief detour in Kansas, the paternal line went to Chicago.

My biological parents were probably both born in Chicago. Their families lived 6.4 miles apart in 1940. My mother, only 16, lived in an orphanage or foster home in 1956. She was sent to Des Moines, IA to have the baby - me!

EATON - LEE - SEWARD - SPENCER migration from Broome County, NY to Kane County, IL in 1845-55

My great-grandfather, George William EATON (1870 - 1928) was born in Elgin, Kane County, IL. The extended families of both of his parents migrated to Kane County from Broome County, NY in the period 1845 - 1855.

George's paternal grandparents were James EATON (1797 - 1864) and Sara LEE (1803 - 1888). James EATON was born in NH, and nothing seems to be known about his parents and siblings. He could be related to some of the other EATONs who showed up in Kane, IL. James and Sara were married on 4 Jul 1824 in Binghamton, Broome County. They lived in Chenago, Broome County, where they had 9 children, from 1823 to 1845. They were in Maine Town(ship), Broome County for the US Census on 28 Aug 1850, but they appeared in Plato, Kane, IL for 1855 state census. So they moved between 1850 and 1855. Several of their children were grown by this time, and some seem to have brought their own families, perhaps traveling at the same time. Children of James EATON and Sara LEE:

i. Elvira (1823) had married Philander SPENCER (related?) in 1847, and they remained in Broome County.

ii. Edwin (1827) was still in Chenango, Broome County in 1855, with a wife and 2 small children, and I don't know what happened to them.

iii. Edmund (1828) did make the trip to Kane County, and appeared in the 1855 census, with a wife and 4 children. His son Freeman (1853) was born in NY and his son John (1855) was born in IL. So the migration was between 1853 and 1855, at least for Edmund, who was killed in the Civil War, leaving a wife and 7 children. Edmund's wife, Susan, took her children back to Broome County in 1865.

iv. Festus (1829) was single in 1850, and seems to have come with his parents to IL. He married Huldah SEWARD on 12 Jul 1862, in Kane County.

v. Susan (1833) was also single in 1850, and like her brother Festus, she seems to have come with her parents to IL. She married her 1st cousin, Mortimer LEE, on 6 Dec 1858 in Kane County.

vi. Lucy (1839) undoubtedly went with her parents, being only 11 in 1850. She may be the Lucy EATON who married Wallace YOUNG and lived in Boscobel, Grant, WI.

vii. Jacob (1842) was a child, and traveled with his parents to IL, and was with them in 1860. He moved back to Broome County by 1875.

viii. Sarah (1843) married William A. PEASE on 14 Aug 1864 in Kane County, and they lived in Plato, Kane, IL.

ix. Samuel (1845) also migrated with his parents to IL, and was with them in the 1860 Census, but by 1875 he was back in Broome County.

Other EATON and LEE families lived in Broome County, NY around 1850, and it is unclear exactly how they are related, if at all. Perhaps the best indication that they are related is that many of them also migrated to Kane County, IL at about the same time.

We know that Sara (FRENCH) LEE (1770), mother of Sara (LEE) EATON (1803), lived in Chenango Township, Broome County, NY in 1850, and died in Plato Township, Kane County IL, after 1850. Her husband, Nathaniel LEE (1764) had died about 1845.

Living with or next to Sara (FRENCH) LEE (1770) in 1850 were the families of Lyman LEE (1781), David LEE (1809), Harriet (LEE) SEWARD (1813), James LEE (1816), and Daniel LEE (1823). Since these families were listed consecutively in the 1850 US Census, they are surely related. Sara (FRENCH) LEE is in the household with Harriet (LEE) SEWARD, and we know from a biography that they are mother and daughter. Harriet and her family had immigrated in 1851, and Sara, being over 80, probably traveled with them. See the Nathaniel LEE page. Public member trees have David, James and Daniel as sons of Lyman LEE (1780), who remained in Chenango, Broome, NY until his death in 1871. So the Lyman LEE branch, however it was related to Nathaniel, seems not to have gone to IL.

Parley LEE (1806) and family were in Union, Broome, NY in 1840, and they appeared in Plato, Kane, IL in 1850. Judging by the birthplaces of his children, the family moved between 1846 and 1848. He was probably a son of Nathaniel LEE (1764) and Sara (FRENCH) LEE (1770). See the Nathaniel LEE page.

Levi SEWARD (1793) and Harriet SPENCER (1809), my 3g-grandparents, and family lived in Chenango, Broome, NY in 1840, and they appeared in Plato, Kane, IL in 1850. Based on the birthplaces of their children, the family moved between 1845 and 1848.

I don't know if Levi SEWARD (1793) is related to Chandley SEWARD (1807), who married Harriet LEE (1813). Both brought their families from Broome, NY to Plato, Kane, IL between 1845 and 1851.

Summary: Levi SEWARD and family made the journey in 1845-8. Parley LEE, probably a son or nephew of Nathaniel, in 1846-8. Harriet (LEE) SEWARD and family, along with her mother Sara (FRENCH) LEE, followed in 1851. James EATON and family came in 1851-3.

Updated 10 Sep 2020 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.