{"id":5693,"date":"2017-06-05T20:36:46","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T01:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/?p=5693"},"modified":"2026-10-01T16:01:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T21:01:44","slug":"migration-out-of-virginia-the-wilderness-road-and-cumberland-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/migration-out-of-virginia-the-wilderness-road-and-cumberland-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Migration out of Virginia, the Wilderness Road and Cumberland Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My Smith ancestors left Virginia in the 1820s, probably traveling along the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap to Tennessee. Here are some sources I&#8217;ve gathered while I&#8217;m learning about their journey.<\/p>\n<h3>Images<\/h3>\n<p>Sources:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"linedlist\">\n<li>Florida Center for Instructional Technology at <a href=\"http:\/\/etc.usf.edu\/clipart\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/etc.usf.edu\/clipart\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Library of Congress at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5697\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5697\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"boxer\" title=\"Cumberland Gap by Harry Fenn, Harry, 1838-1911, artist, 1872, LOC\" href=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Fenn-Harry-1838-1911-artist-1872-LOC.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Fenn-Harry-1838-1911-artist-1872-LOC.jpg\" alt=\"Cumberland Gap by Harry Fenn, Harry, 1838-1911, artist, 1872, LOC\" width=\"1000\" height=\"665\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5697\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Fenn-Harry-1838-1911-artist-1872-LOC.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Fenn-Harry-1838-1911-artist-1872-LOC-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Fenn-Harry-1838-1911-artist-1872-LOC-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5697\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cumberland Gap by Harry Fenn, Harry, 1838-1911, artist, 1872, LOC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_5713\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5713\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"boxer\" title=\"Cumberland Gap, Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War, 1896, Frank Leslie\" href=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Famous-Leaders-and-Battle-Scenes-of-the-Civil-War-1896-Frank-Leslie.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Famous-Leaders-and-Battle-Scenes-of-the-Civil-War-1896-Frank-Leslie.jpg\" alt=\"Cumberland Gap, Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War, 1896, Frank Leslie\" width=\"1000\" height=\"648\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5713\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Famous-Leaders-and-Battle-Scenes-of-the-Civil-War-1896-Frank-Leslie.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Famous-Leaders-and-Battle-Scenes-of-the-Civil-War-1896-Frank-Leslie-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Famous-Leaders-and-Battle-Scenes-of-the-Civil-War-1896-Frank-Leslie-768x498.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cumberland Gap, Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War, 1896, Frank Leslie<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n&#8220;Cumberland Gap and Heights, Tenn., from the Kentucky side. Cumberland Gap was a place of such importance during the war as to be constantly the object of operations on both sides, who indeed alternately held it. Like Harper&#8217;s Ferry, it was deemed a strategic point of great value; but the fact that no action took place, and that its evacuation was compelled by distinct movements, tend to modify this idea. It is a natural gap in a mountain, 80 miles long, or rather the only natural gap, although other points bear that name. Cumberland Gap is 150 miles southeast of Lexington, Ky. The mountain is here 1,200 feet high, but the notch is a cut nearly two-thirds of this, the road through the gap being only 400 feet high. On the southern or Tennessee side this mountain is abrupt, and in some places perpendicular, and the summit almost inaccessible, except through the gap. The northern or Kentucky side is more irregular, breaking off in a sucession of smaller mountains and hills to the Valley of the Cumberland. Our sketch shows the Kentucky side.&#8221;\u2014 Frank Leslie, 1896<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5698\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5698\" style=\"width: 756px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"boxer\" title=\"Wilderness Road, Almost 300,000 pioneers passed through the Cumberland Gap between 1760 and 1850\" href=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wilderness-Road-Almost-300000-pioneers-passed-through-the-Cumberland-Gap-between-1760-and-1850.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5698\" src=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wilderness-Road-Almost-300000-pioneers-passed-through-the-Cumberland-Gap-between-1760-and-1850.jpg\" alt=\"Wilderness Road, Almost 300,000 pioneers passed through the Cumberland Gap between 1760 and 1850\" width=\"756\" height=\"1038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wilderness-Road-Almost-300000-pioneers-passed-through-the-Cumberland-Gap-between-1760-and-1850.jpg 756w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wilderness-Road-Almost-300000-pioneers-passed-through-the-Cumberland-Gap-between-1760-and-1850-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 756px) 100vw, 756px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5698\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wilderness Road, Almost 300,000 pioneers passed through the Cumberland Gap between 1760 and 1850<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5709\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5709\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"boxer\" title=\"Boones Fort\" href=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Boones-Fort.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Boones-Fort.jpg\" alt=\"Boones Fort\" width=\"1000\" height=\"855\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Boones-Fort.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Boones-Fort-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Boones-Fort-768x657.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5709\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daniel Boone blazed the Wilderness Trail into central Kentucky and built Fort Boone, soon renamed Boonesborough. Source: Benson John Lossing, ed. Harper&#8217;s Encyclopedia of United States History (vol. 1) (New York, NY: Harper and Brothers, 1912)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Video<\/h3>\n<p>This one is more of a commercial for Virginia tourism, but it has a nice map animation that shows the route settlers took.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2K8H86gFZwM?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/76TRQCz7w4w?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This one is done by students, but it&#8217;s pretty good:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CQHCZkqMGDw?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My Smith ancestors left Virginia in the 1820s, probably traveling along the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap to Tennessee. Here are some sources I&#8217;ve gathered while I&#8217;m learning about their journey. Images Sources: Florida Center for Instructional Technology at http:\/\/etc.usf.edu\/clipart\/ Library of Congress at https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/ &#8220;Cumberland Gap and Heights, Tenn., from the Kentucky side&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[122,73],"tags":[74,40,75],"class_list":["post-5693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-immigration","category-virginia","tag-cumberland-gap","tag-immigration","tag-the-wilderness-road"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3viLY-1tP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":860,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/stevensburg-baptist-church-tombstone-inscriptions-stevensburg-culpeper-county-virginia\/","url_meta":{"origin":5693,"position":0},"title":"Stevensburg Baptist Church Tombstone Inscriptions &#8211; Stevensburg, Culpeper County, Virginia","author":"Karen","date":"June 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The following information is available thanks to Teresa Kelley: Stevensburg Baptist Church, founded October 23, 1833, in Stevensburg, Culpeper County, Virginia. Tombstone Inscriptions The following tombstone inscriptions were made on 26 April 1997 and 10 May 1997. Only two stones could not be read: one because it was completely worn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Churches &amp; Cemeteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Churches &amp; Cemeteries","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/places\/churches-cemeteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10972,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/where-to-find-pennsylvania-tax-lists\/","url_meta":{"origin":5693,"position":1},"title":"Where to Find Pennsylvania Tax Lists","author":"Karen","date":"November 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Pennsylvania tax lists are a valuable resource for genealogists, particularly for the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when census records provide little information about individual households. These assessments recorded the names of taxable residents, sometimes identifying their occupations, acreage, livestock, mills, and other taxable property. They can help establish when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Pennsylvania&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Pennsylvania","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/places\/united-states\/pennsylvania\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pennsylvania-Tax-Lists-Header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pennsylvania-Tax-Lists-Header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pennsylvania-Tax-Lists-Header.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pennsylvania-Tax-Lists-Header.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pennsylvania-Tax-Lists-Header.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pennsylvania-Tax-Lists-Header.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":856,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/antrim-parish-halifax-county-virginia\/","url_meta":{"origin":5693,"position":2},"title":"Antrim Parish, Halifax County, Virginia","author":"Karen","date":"June 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"From Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia by Bishop Meade. Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1857, Volume 2, pages 9-13. Article XLVI Antrim Parish, Halifax County When Halifax county was divided from Lunenburg, in 1752, it comprehended all that is now Pittsylvania, Henry, Franklin, and Patrick. Antrim parish was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Churches &amp; Cemeteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Churches &amp; Cemeteries","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/places\/churches-cemeteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7290,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/the-old-jordan-cemetery\/","url_meta":{"origin":5693,"position":3},"title":"The Old Jordan Cemetery","author":"Karen","date":"July 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Old Jordan Cemetery is located at Triune, Williamson County, Tennessee. Triune is an unincorporated community in eastern Williamson County, Tennessee, approximately halfway between Franklin and Murfreesboro. The community is located along the Wilson Branch of the Harpeth River. The intersection of former local roads State Route 96 (Murfreesboro Road)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Churches &amp; Cemeteries&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Churches &amp; Cemeteries","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/places\/churches-cemeteries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Archer-Jordan-1770-1835-Grave-Marker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3469,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/the-westward-expansion-as-portrayed-in-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":5693,"position":4},"title":"The Westward Expansion as Portrayed in Art","author":"Karen","date":"July 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Moving Further Westward, ca. 1840, by James Henry Beard (1812-1893), Cincinnati Art Museum","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moving-Further-Westward-ca.-1840-by-James-Henry-Beard-1812-1893-Cincinnati-Art-Museum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moving-Further-Westward-ca.-1840-by-James-Henry-Beard-1812-1893-Cincinnati-Art-Museum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moving-Further-Westward-ca.-1840-by-James-Henry-Beard-1812-1893-Cincinnati-Art-Museum.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moving-Further-Westward-ca.-1840-by-James-Henry-Beard-1812-1893-Cincinnati-Art-Museum.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moving-Further-Westward-ca.-1840-by-James-Henry-Beard-1812-1893-Cincinnati-Art-Museum.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3459,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/the-emigrant-experience-portrayed-in-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":5693,"position":5},"title":"The Emigrant Experience Portrayed in Art","author":"Karen","date":"July 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Emigrant's Last Sight of Home, 1858, by Richard Redgrave (1804-1888)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Emigrants-Last-Sight-of-Home-Richard-Redgrave-1858-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Emigrants-Last-Sight-of-Home-Richard-Redgrave-1858-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Emigrants-Last-Sight-of-Home-Richard-Redgrave-1858-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Emigrants-Last-Sight-of-Home-Richard-Redgrave-1858-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Emigrants-Last-Sight-of-Home-Richard-Redgrave-1858-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Emigrants-Last-Sight-of-Home-Richard-Redgrave-1858-150x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cumberland-Gap-Fenn-Harry-1838-1911-artist-1872-LOC.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5693"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5722,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5693\/revisions\/5722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}