Does anyone know a good source for the migration of peoples from Tennessee and the Carolinas to Missouri?

Question

My great great grandfather participated in the Civil War on the Union Side. He was from Bradley County, Tennessee. This county, as I am sure many others, was deeply divided and there was a rash of killings after the war as retribution for fighting for the other side (Union or Confederate it makes no difference).

My great grandfather moved with his family from Tennessee to Kansas and Missouri before heading out west to Oregon.  Through DNA testing, I have linked myself to the Swafford and Howard families, which I notice also followed the migration to the north in particular Missouri.

It is my hope to find specific stories about the Swafford migration to see if there is mention of my families, but less specific and general tales would also be of interest.

Answer 1

Hi Lance,

Just ran across a couple of good sources the other day (and I love maps)  Try these:

* Temple, Oliver Perry, 1899  East Tennessee and the Civil War. (pp 8-9, 199) Cincinnati: R. Clarke Company, Archive.org.

* Goodpasture, A.V., "Why the First Settlers of Tennessee were from Virginia." originally published in ''Tennessee Historical Magazine'' Tennessee Historical Society (Vol V, Page 229) reproduced on website of Bill Thayer.

*  Map of the Great Appalachian Valley

Answer 2

I also would like info about families migrating from NC to TN, then to MO.  I have a lot of questions about them making those transitions.

Joan (Whitsett) Benton