Perhaps you're tracing a lineage in some Pennsylvania county when suddenly the line disappears. A couple has married and they have children, but there are no death records or later marriage records of the children. You suspect that the family has 'moved'--but where? An understanding of U.S. migration patterns by specific groups during specific periods might give you some ideas of where to look.
Marilyn Lind's book addresses such patterns of migration and settlement, beginning with the colonies' earliest immigrants and continuing to present day--with the greatest coverage being in the 1700s and 1800s.
Immigration in the 1700s was often affected by religious persecution in Europe. There were the practices of indentured servitude and slavery as well. She describes how immigration dropped off after the Revolutionary War, and then details the momentum westward in the 1800s and the factors that contributed to it.
Early migration is described for each state. However, if you're looking for a lot of detail on a specific state, you might want to look for books specific to that region.
Lind's book provides some coverage of Native American migration and shows the different tribes among the states. You will also find maps showing how boundaries were affected by treaties, cessions, and the forcible removal of the Native Americans to reservations.
There is even mention of the orphan trains where nearly 100,000 children from New York City were relocated in the west between 1853 and 1929.
If you're researching ancestors in the U.S. and you're trying to follow their movements into other states and regions, this book can help.
My only disappointment with the book is that it's not bound very well, and this is the only reason I give it 4 stars. Like many genealogy books, particularly the more regional books that have smaller circulations, it is a simple spiral-bound book with pages that appear to be of a 'photocopy' quality. The maps and drawings are all black-and-white line art. Still, the content is excellent and it's well worth overlooking the binding.
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