In colonial America, our ancestors lived, as most settlers did, near the Atlantic Ocean - from New England to the Carolinas - primarily in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. The wilderness further west was uninviting, and governing authorities discouraged frontier settlement.

Following the Revolutionary War, the west beckoned our ancestors to such an extent that only those in the TenEyck and Williamson branches remained in the east - in the Dutch-settled counties of northern New Jersey. The rest all migrated, by boat and covered wagon, to the midwest - to Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.

During the 1870s-80s, Ogden and Skipworth branch homesteaders proceeded across the Mississippi River by boat and train, as had Sachse and Nelson branch immigrants during the 1860s. It was not until the early 20th century (next map) that grandfathers Acree and Hoover became the first in their branches to cross that great divide.

Migration of the eight primary surname lines of our family tree is shown on the map below. The MIGRATION page displays further information.