Maps are an essential tool for any family historian.
They rank right up there with paper, pencils, file folders, pedigree charts and family group records. It is almost impossible to trace your roots without them, and it is impossible to completely understand your family heritage without them. They provide perspectives that cannot be gained any other way. Even if you had instant access to a helicopter or airplane or even a prominent mountain, you would still be unable to get the perspective you can get by looking at a map, or a series of maps. Use them a bit.