1700s

The Atlantic Colonies

• Early arrival at ports in Pennsylvania, Virginia, or the Carolinas; families establish roots in the colonial backcountry.

1750–1820

Appalachia & The Plateau

• Migration into the mountains of Western Virginia, North Carolina, and the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and Kentucky.

1820–1850

The River Transit

• Movement through the Ohio River Valley; families often spent a generation in Tennessee or Kentucky.

1850–1870

Illinois & River Hubs

• Settlement in river towns like Cairo, Illinois, serving as gateways for river trade and westward expansion.

1860–1890

The Missouri Ozarks

• Final migration into Southern Missouri (including Howell County), seeking fertile land that mirrored the Appalachian highlands.