This is the 1st of a 2-part talk that will focus on U.S. migration. As the American colonies grew, people migrated to the frontier in search for more space, land, or job opportunities. Why did your ancestors settle in one place rather than another? How did they get there? Did they stop along the way and are there records in those places? This presentation will deal with the reasons people moved, records, including land, which reveal when they arrived, and the more common routes between the colonies to the interior of this country. Also discussed will be the part that canals, waterways, and early railroads played in aiding migration. The routes discussed will cover the Eastern seaboard, south and westward to the Midwest. Since routes to the West and Southwest originated in the Midwest, it is important to understand why and how people got to the Midwest in the first place.