Genealogy at TLSARL 3
by Elizabeth CampbellMany of the settlers, especially from the first two groups, left the RRS early in its history. By the time TLSARL was established 100 years ago, many of the relationships with those people had become so distant that the ties had dissolved. Some of those settlers left with very bad memories, and their descendants may not have wanted, in 1910, to have anything to do with remembering RRS history – who knows? In any case, their descendants often are not known to us at TLSARL.
Similarly, in the 1820s, a number migrated into what is now Minnesota, and another group went to Iowa in the 1830s.
I have been focussing on the earlier ‘deserters’, as they were labeled, their stories and finding their descendants. I began this project because some of my own relatives were involved, and I wanted to learn more about them. Descendants of these people are welcome at TLSARL, and I would be really glad to meet with you!
Scotch Grove has been a part of one of the Archivist’s work over the last year as she has worked on sorting out the various Sutherlands at RRS, and also the Livingston(e)s.
Work like this involves using an entirely different set of tools. To trace the families that left, we need to figure out where they settled, then trace them through land records and census data. Some of them had already died by the time of the 1841 Census, though…. Church records, where they exist, also help. It is challenging work, as some of these men and women moved around surprisingly frequently for any variety of reasons. And their stories are incredibly interesting…
A lot of this research is challenging to do at a remove. This is where volunteer members with experience in the field of genealogy would be most appreciated! If you are one of these ‘lost descendants’ we’d be very interested in hearing from you and learning more about your history together!
Tags: 1815 deserters, Genealogy, Iowa, migrations from the RRS, Minnesota, Red River Genealogy, Scotch Grove, TLSARL Genealogist, Volunteer Opportunity
October 8th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I’ve been meaning to ask you how many members if the Association might be interested in the people who moved to the U.S., especially the ones who moved to Iowa between 1835 and 1840. These were mostly from the 1815 party, but some from 1812 and some from 1813/14.
The history of Delaware County, Iowa, where my ancestors went, or next-door Jones County, where their friends and relatives settled, says the move from the Red River Settlement was about 1,100 miles. That alway seemed like too much to me, so this past summer I set out to figure it out. I discovered a map that shows the three main trade routes from the settlement to Ft. Snelling (and I see that on a modern map of Minnesota, they were followed almost exactly by the major highways – I guess the highway engineers found that those traders found the best ways across the country), and a nice long article in Wikipedia. Also, I have something others might not have access to, a newspaper supplement from the 1930s that has an article on the subject.
The settlers in the 1830s must have followed the southern route. That was the first trail established, and follows rivers most of the way, then later they got adventuresome and set out cross-country to cut off the distance the Minnesota (St. Peter’s) River travels far southeastward before it bends back sharply to the northeast to join the Mississippi at Ft. Snelling. The story is that one party, I think it was in 1840, got lost – or rather, their guide got them lost. This was probably in that cross-country section, where it would be easy to get lost in a fog or storm, or just because water levels in the creeks would change depending on the winter they’d had.
Anyway, my conclusion is that it could very well have been a thousand miles or more, by the time they followed a few meandering rivers for a great distance. This travel was by foot, or maybe on a raft down the Mississippi, a relatively small part of the trip, and possibly then only if they were sick or hurt. Of course, they used the Red River Carts for their belongings.
I’ve done a lot of genealogical work on the migrants, not only my relatives but the others as well. You’re right, beginning in the next generation they scattered all across the West. I think that whether or not their descendants know anything about their history depends completely on how many stories their ancestors passed down. I know in my family, we had no stories about the Livingston side.
October 8th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I know Chloe and I are very interested, Edith – we just haven’t got there yet (well, Chloe has touched on Scotch Grove a bit). Another member has also given me some material on Scotch Grove settlers for our archives. I’d welcome a copy of your work, too, but I might not get working with it for a while yet.
On another note, the Minnesota Historical Society published a book entitled Red River Trails that examined the history of the network between St. Paul and the RRS (If anyone is interested in a copy, please email me through the contact us form. 20% of orders placed is donated to TLSARL).
In many ways, there was a stronger link between the settlements of the north-south corridor than with the Canadas to the east. That was one reason John A. MacDonald was so eager to push the railroad through – to enforce Canada’s claim to what is now the Canadian West.
By the way, the Red River Cart was, perhaps, Canada’s first amphibious vehicle – the wheels were removed and strapped on top and the cart could be floated or poled across deeper rivers. I’m not sure how stable it was, but…