#52 Ancestors Week 28 - Road Trip

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #28 and the suggested theme is ROAD TRIP. This topic of is appropriate for I just got back from a road trip to Indiana. I had the opportunity to take my genealogy on a short road trip as well. I had just a short time to visit the Martin Co. Historical Society in Shoals.  The society is housed in the old court house.  I got to do the happy dance as I found the transcript of the will of my 4th great grandfather, Joseph Sargent. He died in Martin County, Indiana in 1865 at the age of 84.

Joseph had taken his own road trip, since he was born in Caswell County, North Carolina but by 1796 his father had relocated the family to Russell County, Virginia. By 1805 they were once again on the move and were enumerated in 1810 in Somerset, Pulaski Co., Kentucky. It was there that Joseph was married in 1809. In 1817 he purchased property in Lawrence County, Indiana.

Google Map showing the travels of Joseph Sargent 

According to Google Maps, today we could make the journey from Caswell, NC to Martin Co., IN in just a little over 12 hours. For Joseph it happened over a 20 year period.  But I'm sure that his journey included traveling along the Wilderness Road carved out by Daniel Boone though the Cumberland Gap.

Wilderness Road
From Library of Congress