Our Families Migration Pattern

                                      "Go west, young man, go west"

         Growing up, my brother David and I, were always told our ethnic and cultural background was a mixture of French, Scotch, and Irish. Well, surprise, surprise! Delving into our family's background forced me to change my way of thinking. It was a bit of a disappointment to discover that we cannot claim any French blood at all.(See note below) Instead, our family is made up entirely differently than I had expected. The majority of our family, perhaps fifty per-cent, can trace it's roots back to the Scotch-Irish,  or 'Ulster-Scots'. Possibly not any real 'Irish'. Although all of the Scotch-Irish, technically came from Ireland, it was actually what we, in America, call  Northern Ireland. The biggest shock and surprise was to discover that at least thirty percent of our make-up is German, with the remaining twenty per-cent a mixture of English with a bit of Swiss. It could be argued that those of our family that came from Germany were actually displaced persons of France and Switzerland who emigrated to Germany and then to America searching to escape the persecution of the Catholics. The reality is that they did live in Germany before moving to America, and many were German speaking. But almost all of them were searching for a land where they could practice their religious beliefs freely, and almost all of my own ancestors landed somewhere in Pennsylvania, mostly around Lancaster and central Pennsylvania. Therefore, almost fifty percent of my ancestors began their religious life in America identifying themselves as Mennonite or Quakers. The ancestors from Canada who came to America in the late 1800's became 'Christian Scientists', and the remaining, approximately forty per-cent, lay claim to Presbyterian beliefs.

07/23/2006--*This will make David happy--I just found solid evidence that Frederick Isett , the father of Jacob and Frederick, our first ancestors in America, was descended from French Huguenots that had migrated to the Netherlands. The Huguenot's story is a fascinating one of strong religious beliefs, combined with strength of character. If you descend from the Isett line, you may find it interesting to read up on the Huguenot's history.

As yet, I have been unable to determine Jacob and Frederick's mother's line, but it appears that she was also German speaking. It is probable that the Isett migration went from France to Germany to the Netherlands. Many of the European people escaping persecution by the Catholic Church, eventually went through Germany and on to the Netherlands before emigrating to the 'New World', including the original Pilgrims that arrived in Plymouth.

Isett              Germany->Netherlands->United States of America->central section of Pennsylvania->southeast area 

                          of Iowa-southern California->northern California.

Severs/Kincaid Scotland->Northern Ireland->United States of America->Virginia->Kentucky->southeast area of Iowa.

Robb               Scotland->Northern Ireland->Nova Scotia, Canada->United States of America->

                        southern California->northern California

Powell              England->Montreal, Canada->Nova Scotia, Canada

Eby                  Switzerland->Germany->United States of America->central section of Pennsylvania->Virginia->Ohio->

                        Michigan->Arkansas->southern California

Cowley             Ireland->United States of America->center of southern New York->Michigan

McHenry          Scotland->Northern Ireland->United States of America->center of southern New York

So far, I have not found any unexpected ancestry or religious background on Dennis' side of the family. In general, all of the Irish immigrants followed Catholicism, and the Swedish immigrants attended the Swedish Lutheran churches.

Gorman             Ireland->United States of America->New York->northern California

O'Brien            Ireland->United States of America->New York

Langan              Ireland->United States of America->northern California

Maloney            Ireland->United States of America->northern California

Warn                Sweden->United States of America->Nebraska->Iowa->northern California

Gustafson         Sweden->United States of America->Iowa->northern California

                                The map below is showing the Western migration of the families,

                                                 after arriving in the United States.

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