New England has long been a common stop and destination along popular migration routes throughout history. As a result, many with early roots in the United States have New England ancestors! In this online lecture, Chief Genealogist David Allen Lambert discusses common 17th-19th-century migration patterns into and out of the region, key record sets for tracing these migrations, and more. Click here for a 71-minute YouTube recording of his presentation on September 12, 2024.

Genealogist David Allen Lambert began his presentation with a graph of the early settlement numbers between 1620 and 1640 before discussing general migration patterns.

Early migration followed coastlines, rivers and the earliest post roads that enabled movement. Some movement, as in Rhode Island, was the result of religious differences.

Many towns were then settled as younger residents of the earliest towns moved away to establish new towns. In other cases, earlier towns divided into two or more separate towns.