[APG Public List] Kentucky travel early 1800s

[JFonkert at aol.com]

Thank you, Barbara. The accounts from diaries that you and a few others  
have offered give interesting insights. Regarding water vs. land, I think  
most people would guess that river transport was cheaper than land. I suppose  
that the cost of building a raft or boat was one factor.  As for people  
returning to Virginia via the Wilderness Road, that makes sense to me because  
upstream on the Ohio would be a challenge.
 
For those interested in this subject, a map in C. O. Paulin, Atlas of the  
Historical Geography of the United States, shows travel times from New York 
in  1880.
 
- central Virginia, 7 days
- western Virginia, 3 weeks
- Kentucky via the Ohio, 3 weeks
- KY Bluegrass via Cumberland Gap, 3+ weeks
 
One's travel speed would obviously depend on the size of the party and what 
 belongings people carried.
 
In a message dated 3/27/2011 3:49:54 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
bvlittle at earthlink.net writes:

River travel was more  expensive. Francis Taylor's diaries note the move of 
his kin with livestock  and slaves to Kentucky by traveling north from 
Orange County (central Piedmont  Virginia) and then down the Ohio; however, when 
they made return trips for  business it was via the Wilderness Road.

-----Original  Message----- 
From: "Elissa Scalise Powell, CG"  <elissa at powellgenealogy.com> 
Sent: Mar 27, 2011 10:23 AM 
To:  apgpubliclist at apgen.org 
Subject: Re: [APG Public List] Kentucky travel  early 1800s 


I can volunteer one such data point which may or may not be helpful in this 
case. From Northampton County, Pennsylvania to Wayne County, Ohio, it took 
two families 25 days to travel by horse and wagon in 1832.
I would think that anytime there was a river involved, such as the might 
Ohio River, they would have taken it, especially in the time period of the ea
rly 1800s. It was at least a “clear roadway” and boats could carry a lot 
more weight than horses.
-- Elissa

Elissa Scalise Powell, CG
www.PowellGenealogy.com
CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for 
Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic 
evaluations by the Board. 



From: On Behalf Of LaDonna Garner
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 8:49 AM



The first thing that comes to mind to assist in determining the length of 
travel for that time period would be to locate journals or diaries from 
someone who traveled those early routes and making a time line from their 
notations.

</elissa at powellgenealogy.com>
Barbara Vines Little, CG

PO Box 1273

Orange, VA 22960

540-832-3473

bvlittle at earthlink.net




 
Jay Fonkert,  CG
_http://fourgenerationsgenealogy.blogspot.com/_ 
(http://fourgenerationsgenealogy.blogspot.com/) 
Saint  Paul, MN

Director, Association of Professional  Genealogists
(professional profile at _www.apgen.org)_ (http://www.apgen.org)/) 
Member, Genealogical  Speakers Guild
(professional profile at _http://www.genealogicalspeakersguild.org/)_ 
(http://www.genealogicalspeakersguild.org/)) 

Member, International Society of Family History Writers and  Editors 

CG (Certified Genealogist) is a service mark of  the Board for 
Certification of Genealogists, used under license by  Board-certified associates after 
periodic competency evaluations.
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