Re: Hildreth in Wisconsin

I don't know if this will help you much, but this may give you a different line of approach.I am from Michigan, and much of my family has been here for over 150 years. Most of my family was centered in either Muskegon or Ottawa County. Although they were farmers, they also were in the logging industry.The logging industry seems to play a big roll in everyone’s life during this time period.My grandfather was born and raised in Michigan as a farmer, but working in the logging camps led my grandfather quite a way from home.My grandmother worked in the kitchen of her sister's Boarding House, probably as a cook.This was most likely, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.She was from the Greenbay Wisconsin area. If you look at a map, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and upper Wisconsin are very much the same.In fact many of the people from the Upper Peninsula back then came from Wisconsin. This all took place in and around 1894.My Great grand father on my mother’s side was born in Penn. in 1819 but spent much of his life in Michigan as a surveyor.He went all over the State doing his work.My Great-grandmother was a cook in logging camps.Somehow they met, and get this; my grandmother was born in Astoria Oregon in 1890.That is a long way from Michigan, esp. during that day and age.Her husband, my Grandfather was an orphan living on a farm in N.Y. and ran away at the age of 14, lied about his age when he came to Michigan and began to work in the logging camps.Again the logging industry, or work was the ingredient that led to them moving around. My point is your people may not have lived very long in Wisconsin, but were moving around on the count of work.I have never tried to trace people this way, and in fact it never occurred to me to try this line of approach, until I saw your posted message.But I do know historically, that the way people traveled had a lot to do with where they ended up.For instance there were no good roads back then as there are today.So people had to use the best way available.My Grandmother's family walked from Chicago to Greenbay Wisconsin in 1853.Another way included rivers, like the Saint Lawrence Seaway.This was one of the many ways people from the State of N.Y. came to the State of Michigan.I am not sure how to go about this line of research but, following the same line of reasoning, it might be possible to trace families with how the logging industry worked.Just as a suggestion, you might try starting with looking for them in the surrounding states.Let me know what you think of this, as it may help me as well.