Post by: Forager on December 01, 2014, 10:09:16 AM
Here's something I learned recently about my home area and I thought y'all would appreciate it (didn't know what section to drop it in).
Check out this map:
Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. (http://www.raremaps.com/gallery/enlarge/32065)
That's the Virginia colony, circa 1761. It's certainly one of the last maps of the French & Indian War era. I grew up on what are marked as the "Blue Ridge or S. Mountains", with the "Great Ridge or N. Mountains" just a short distance away. The other side of "Great Ridge" is the Shenandoah Valley, with the "Endless Mountains" being the western edge of VA and what is now WV.
Note that the Great Ridge was the boundary of the Six Nations territory, and the S. Mountains or Blue Ridge were Tuscarora and Monacan territories. There is an area on
"The Great Ridge" that is now home to well over 100 archeological digs from the pre-colonial and early colonial era, showing the ridge itself to have been a rich trading, camping, and travel route (as it still is).
Of further interest, where I grew up is VERY close to where the Johanes Faber rifle was discovered. That rifle would have been of this general time period.
Even more interesting, the area between the Endless Mountains and the Great Ridge was known as a travel corridor, yes, but the valley between the Great Ridge and the Blue Ridge was as well, as evidenced by the roads marked and the area of Loonyesferry (modern-day Lynchburg, VA). This area between GR and BR was also settled by a healthy contingent of French-Canadians/Acadians (one of the nearest villages to my home was known as "Little Montreal" throughout most of the 1800s; name changing only after the War of Northern Aggression).
More research into that area could prove a very intriguing and broad range of "personas", should a man be so inclined.
My family, or at least branches thereof, were documented to have been in the Blue Ridge and Great Ridge areas as early as the early 1650s. There are numerous women in the family tree that have single names, no last names given on record, and listed as "black Irish", "dark Scottish", or "French-Canadian". One doesn't have to wonder much or far to figure things out, especially given that white women were likely in rather short supply 100+ miles inland from Richmond.
Anyway, I thought you all would find this interesting and if any have comments, info, etc., PLEASE feel free to chime in.
Moderators, if this isn't the best location for it, please move it.
Post by: RobD on December 13, 2014, 07:00:18 PM
Post by: greyhunter on December 14, 2014, 12:41:22 PM