Pay particular attention to geographical maps because they can help you determine the migration movements of your family, when you suddenly lose them from a county. As you study maps for clues, be sure to watch for features of the landscape that might also have facilitated travel—canals, navigable rivers and railroads, for example.

Similarly, you will also need to look for mountains, rivers, or other natural barriers to common travel. Generally our ancestors followed the easiest, safest, fastest routes they could find, just as we do; as a result, most people crowded on to the same rivers and roads. Your ancestors, therefore, are recorded among others in the counties surrounding the rivers, canals, and roadways.

Also, keep your eyes open for excellent maps in books on history, travel, and geography. You never know just where a good map might be found. Read the explanatory information provided about maps. If the map has been published in a book, you will often find that information in the book's "Forward" or "Introduction."

If the map is not part of a book, you will find the explanatory information located in one or more corners, along with the map's legend, scale and list of abbreviations.