The completion of the Erie Canal and your ancestors

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This basic tutorial can help you find if you had ancestors at a particular  location during a certain time frame.  The example used with this tutorial answers the specific question, 

"Do the descendants of Alton Keith Brimhall have any ancestors that may have attended the great celebrations of the completion of the Erie Canal along its route in October and November 1825?"

• How did building a waterway through New York State change the course of U.S. history? 
•  How did this impact your ancestors that lived in  New York  in the early 1800's? 
•  Why was it such an "unimaginable" accomplishment?

PBS Learning Media has a great slideshow for students about building the Erie Canal.  The picture at the left is a view east of eastbound Lockport on the Erie Canal by W.H. Bartlett, 1839.

Here are some brief facts about the Erie Canal:

In 1808 De Witt Clinton argued for the necessity of a waterway between the Great Lakes and the Hudson River in New York State. In 1817 work began on what would be the Erie Canal.  After 8 years of work, it was completed in October 1825 and was 363 miles long, 40 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. 

Governor Clinton and party began their trip down the canal with a cannon salute in Buffalo, New York.  As part of the celebration, cannons were placed along the length of the canal within earshot of each other from Lake Erie all the way to the Hudson River and down the river  to the Atlantic Ocean.  Horses on the towpath pulled the passenger boats, or "packets".  At many of the cities along the way, the celebrations included lots of food, speeches, and sometimes fireworks.