I have recently been doing a lot of genealogy work on my blood line and other spurious relations (step-parents, etc).
There are a couple of branches that led (i.e., back in time) into West Virginia ...and stay there for generations (into the early 1700's).
Other branches lead to Chicago, Boston, and New York, and I see immigration from Northern Europe within a generation or two.
EDIT: so basically, EVERY branch either lead outside US borders, or gets lost in WV!
I suspect that some of this might be that immigrants tend to go to cities, so cities would tend to have a higher proportion of immigrants that the hills of WV. But I am also wondering if this is some anecdote of US history or unique to WV? Again, this is my blood line and others in my 'extend family' that I have no blood relation to, but whose ancestry happens to trace back to WV.
Can anyone comment on this?
Sorry, but I can't quite think of a single succinct question that conveys my thoughts.
Thanks!
Could you rephrase the question? I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but the gist of it seems to be, "Why would my family stay in the hills of West Virginia so long while other ancestors came and went so quickly in the cities?"
This isn't uncommon. This isn't really a history question but better suited for /r/genealogy. Most people back before the mid to late 1800s were farmers. And so while many immigrated through port cities like New York, Boston, or Charleston, the surrounding farmland had already been spoken for back in the mid-1600s. So after a few years or even after a generation or two, settlers would move further afield for bigger plots of land at a cheaper price.
You often see dozens or more families all move to the same place around the same time. If you can pinpoint the original town/county in (West) Virginia that your ancestors came to, try finding out when it was founded and by whom. That might lead you on the right track as to where your WV ancestors came from before that.