Erie Canal: Difference between revisions

[[United States Genealogy|United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]] [[United States Migration Internal|Migration]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]] [[US Migration Canals|Canals]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]] [[New York Genealogy|New York]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]] [[Erie_Canal|Erie Canal]]''  

[[Image:Erie Canal Lock 32.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Erie Canal Lock 32.jpg]]The '''Erie Canal''' in [[New York|New York]] allowed boats from [[New York City, New York|New York City]] on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River Hudson River ]to reach rural upstate [[New York Genealogy|New York]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie Lake Erie]. Eventually the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes Great Lakes ]were also connected to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_River Ohio River] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River Mississippi River] systems by other canals. As canals developed in America settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the canals provided access to markets. They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor settled near a canal, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting waterway.  

The Erie Canal contributed to the wealth and importance of New York City, Buffalo, and New York State. It increased trade throughout the nation by opening eastern and overseas markets to Midwestern farm products and&nbsp;enabling migration to the West. New ethnic Irish communities formed in towns along the canal, as Irish immigrants were a large portion of labor force involved in its construction<ref name="Erie">Wikipedia Contributors, "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Canal Eric Canal]" in "Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia" (accessed 15 April 2011).</ref>.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Erie Canal" in ''Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal (accessed 24 June 2009).</ref>{{[http://www.eriecanal.org/ FHL181733|title-disp=Family History Library Catalog]}}

:*[[Rensselaer County, New York Genealogy|Rensselaer]]  

:*[[Albany County, New York Genealogy|Albany]]  

:*[[Schenectady County, New York Genealogy|Schenectady]]  

:*[[Montgomery County, New York Genealogy|Montgomery]]  

:*[[Herkimer County, New York Genealogy|Herkimer]]  

:*[[Oneida County, New York Genealogy|Oneida]]  

:*[[Madison County, New York Genealogy|Madison]]  

:*[[Onondaga County, New York Genealogy|Onondaga]]  

:*[[Cayuga County, New York Genealogy|Cayuga]]  

:*[[Seneca County, New York Genealogy|Seneca]]  

:*[[Wayne County, New York Genealogy|Wayne]]  

:*[[Ontario County, New York Genealogy|Ontario]]  

:*[[Monroe County, New York Genealogy|Monroe]]  

:*[[Orleans County, New York Genealogy|Orleans]]  

:*[[Niagara County, New York Genealogy|Niagara]]

Prior to the building of the Erie Canal the settlers in upstate [[New York Genealogy|New York]] were often from New England, especially [[Vermont Genealogy|Vermont]]. Once the Canal was finished, setters along the canal and farther west into [[Ohio Genealogy|Ohio]] would have reached the Erie Canal from [[New York City, New York|New York City]], or from along the Hudson River in New York, or from Vermont via the [[Champlain Canal|Champlain Canal]]. Most of the men who&nbsp;labored to build&nbsp;the Erie Canal were from [[Ireland Genealogy|Ireland]] and many of them settled near it.  

*[http://www.eriecanal.org/index.html The Erie Canal by ErieCanal.org] General history but more focused on the western portion from Palmyra to Buffalo  

[[Category:United_States_Migration_Internal]] [[Category:US_Migration_Canals]] [[Category:Migration_Routes]] [[Category:New_York]] [[Category:Ohio]] [[Category:Vermont]]