NINE MYTHS ABOUT OUR AMERICAN ANCESTORS
Myth 1 - When our American ancestors moved they always moved West.
Fact: While most early settlers came to the eastern shore of North
America, it was logical for most expansionist movements to flow
westward. However, there are many documented cases showing
movement northward, southward or back to the East after pioneers
became less than enchanted with raw frontier.
Myth 2 - Because of travel conditions, prior to the railroads,
families rarely moved more than once or twice in a lifetime.
Fact: A study of Revolutionary War pension applications reveal
that many of these veterans moved six or more times and quite often
lived in as many different states.
Myth 3 - Our ancestors usually moved, like Abraham, not knowing
where they were going.
Fact: In-depth study into the migratory habits of our ancestors
shows that in most cases they had received many reports on an
"ideal" location by which they were convinced they would better
themselves by moving. Sometimes, they relied on reports from
relatives or neighbors who had already moved, but often a member of
a family would make a preliminary trip to check out the new
territory. The move usually involved several families making the
trip together.
Myth 4 - Most American men were devoutly religious at the time of
the American Revolution.
Fact: While most colonists gave nominal adherence to Christian
values in the late eighteenth century, some historians have
estimated that no more than 15 percent of the men were church members.
Myth 5 - Immediately following the American Revolution, most
Southern churchmen were either Baptist or Methodist.
Fact: Following the Revolution War, the majority of Southerners of
Anglo-Saxon heritage who were church members still belonged to the
successor of the Anglican Church in America, the Protestant
Episcopal Church. The second largest number of churchmen were the
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The great movement to the Methodist
and Baptist Churches came in the early part of the nineteenth century.
Myth 6 - Most Southern families were slave owners just prior to the
Civil War.
Fact: The majority of the white Southern heads of households never
owned a slave. This is substantiated through a study of slave
census records.
Myth 7 - Most of the wealth of America was in Northern states just
prior to the Civil War.
Fact: While industrial growth in the North had exceeded that in
the South, the southeast had experienced an era of economic
prosperity in the middle of the nineteenth century and, as a
result, six of the ten wealthiest states in the Union in 1860 were
below the Mason-Dixon Line.
Myth 8 - Due to the lack of major industry, there were no large
cities in the South at the outbreak of the Civil War.
Fact: It is true that most of the large cities in the country were
along the eastern seaboard during the 1850's. However, according
to the 1850 census, New Orleans was the fifth largest city in the
U. S., ranking just behind Philadelphia. The population of this
major Southern port city at the time was 116,375.
Myth 9 - Most American males were involved in some kind of military
action between the American Revolution and the Civil War.
Fact: There were a number of wars on Southern soil, between 1783
and 1865, including battles of the War of 1812, the War with Mexico
and several Indian Wars. However, the majority of males in this
country never participated in any kind of military action beyond a
militia drill during this time period.