Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site

Family Stories, Photos and Videos-Past and Present

Migration Maps

The maps, below, depict family group migration maps. These maps of the United States shows each family’s migration, listing places and dates they arrived to a new area.

Tracking Our Ancestors Routes West

My first goal in my genealogy was to take my various branches back to when they touched the shores of North America. Once my younger son asked me what we were. He was in high school and his friends were claiming various European heritage. I told him that when your family has been here for over 300 years, you were American. 

I decided to now follow their routes across the country where all four branches ended up in California. I found several patterns and was surprised to see that several family branches criss crossed at similar junctures yet did not meet until years later. A dear friend sent me some copies of various early migration routes. I then compared my family’s routes to the established ones. There might not have been official highways but certain trails were well established. As best as I can figure, our families followed well established trails. Daniel Boone would be the exception but he was a cousin.

I also noticed that the Aldrich family, that was the best off financially, took a direct route and once in California, stayed put. The poorest branch, the Browns, wandered all over with many stops along the way. They did not own land but worked for others.

Now that I have found patterns in my family branches, it is time to do the same for my husband’s side of the family. Surprising patterns pop up in a visual form where they stay somewhat hidden in just facts, figures and dates. I am including how I mapped my family routes and how I labeled them.

To access Google Earth versions of the above maps, try the links below. Warning, you will leave this site, and it may be difficult to quickly return. If you do try this link, it will open Google Earth and take you to the Google Migration Maps. You can click on the “left arrow” button in the upper left corner. It will take you to a list of projects which are the interactive migration routes. Choose one of the routes, and click on “Present.” It will take you to the map locations of each place along the route. Explore and have fun. When you are done, you will want to come back to this site, which is: swagertystories.com.