Answering the call of opportunity

In 1865 Horace Greeley advised “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.” Long before these words were penned Americans were steadily moving to the west seeking new land. They moved westward in waves as early as 1776.

Here in New England the great waves began around 1820 when our ancestors pushed into the mid-west.

When the California Gold Rush began in 1849 men ventured westward seeking their fortunes. Few found gold but many stayed to farm or lumber and to move into other future states around California. After the Civil War many returning veterans felt constrained in their home towns. Their experiences during the war and contact with men from other states stirred their imagination about starting life “out west”.

The odds are that you have ancestors or relatives who chose to abandon New England’s stony fields for the promise of a better life and the lure of free or low cost land.

Our government encouraged development of the West by offering free land to settlers who agreed to occupy and cultivate the plots for a fixed period of time. At the end of the fixed period the homesteader owned his land free and clear. While some chose to sell and move on, most stayed in their new homes and eventually these territories became states. These new settlers displaced the Native tribes who had lived on the land for generations but the trend was unstoppable.

It is possible to trace a homesteading ancestor across his westward journey and learn more about his or her life and land. Start by exploring the Bureau of Land Management website ( www.glorecords.blm.gov) where you can search several databases by state, county, town, surname, and other fields. When I checked Wisconsin for my Dammon families I found a series of patents issued beginning in 1820. I also was able to find plat maps showing the actual lots they occupied. The information on BML records is enough to give you case numbers which you can then use to order the complete file from the National Archives and Records Administration ( www.archives.gov).

Each of these files will be different but you can find a great deal of genealogical information which may include an ancestor’s date and place of birth, immigration information if he came from abroad, marriage date and spouse information, military service, and much more. If you want to make a trip to D.C. you can search these records in person but for most of us it is simpler to order the files. Be aware there is a fee for each file and the ordering form is on the NARA website.

You can also search online websites of state archives and other sources for the area your ancestor lived in and there are Pioneer Societies for just about every mid-western and western state. Also, don’t neglect county historical societies and libraries and even look for a family surname association. A Google search will help you find these so you can learn more about your family’s role in the legend of homesteading and the westward movement.

Nancy Battick is a Dover-Foxcroft native who has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds a MA in History from UM and lives in DF with her husband, Jack, another avid genealogist. You can contact Nancy at nbattick@roadrunner.com.