These migrant groups had religious, family, economic and political associations that converged and split over the generations. First it was waterways and trade routes. Then there were the well-known trails and roads, followed by the development of canal, railroad and steamship routes. We need historic maps and other geographic tools to help us track the patterns. Atlantic Canada saw very early fishing and trapping expeditions and formal settlement attempts more than 500 years ago.
Many location names are hard to find or have changed.