The Appalachian Mountain range running from New England south to the middle of Georgia was an impenetrable barrier to early colonial migration. Its complex system of mountains, valleys, ridges, and plateaus thwarted easy passage. People of Scott-Irish descent entered in the north, followed the Great Appalachian Valley south into the remote hinterland and became isolated and forgotten for more than a century. Many “Hillbilly” legends evolved after they were rediscovered in the early 20th Century.
There were only a few ways to get by the Appalachians: direct passage in the north via the Hudson and Mohawk valleys; the roundabout way by skirting their southern terminus in Georgia; or through gaps in the range made by rivers that had cut through mountains. The Manlove family made the crossing to the other side via the Cumberland Gap.
George W. Manlove, the fourth child of George and Rachel (Dunning) Manlove, made his appearance in 1786, three years after his parents immigrated from Delaware to North Carolina. He grew up in the Deep River area of Guilford County, but left for Indiana just before he turned 24. We know the specific time and place because this is the way he started his travel journal. “North Carolina Guildford County Deep River, the 17th of the 9th month, 1810. We, Edward Bond and Joseph Bond their wives and my self George Manlove, this day began our journey for the Indiany Territory about four in the afternoon, went a few miles and camped on a friend’s yard.“
He added a sentence or two nearly every night. They camped in Salem the next night, and three miles from Shallow Ford on the Yadkin River the third. Mostly the comments concerned the weather, places they camped, landmarks, or the condition of the road. They stayed several nights at relatives of his traveling companions - John, Elwood, Edward, and Joshua Bond’s places were mentioned. I tried to follow their route but found I could only identify a few points. They crossed the Yadkin several times, the last one being at Rockford. After that their exact route became vague. Rivers were crossed at named fords, but I was unable to identify any other than Shallow Ford. The crossings and mountain ranges proved to be the only way I could follow the party’s early progress. The journal mentioned the New, Solston, Holstine, Powell, Clinch, and Cumberland Rivers - much in that order; the Clinch and Powell Mountains were named just before the party came to the Cumberland Gap. The group eventually entered on Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road, and their travel became easier to follow.
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