Following the War of 1812, pioneers began to move west as new states were founded (ie. Louisianna, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and others). In the 1830s and 40s, the flood of people heading west ballooned, causing the population of these states to grow as people traveled farther west across the Mississippi River.
In 1836, John Deere was one of those pioneers heading west from Vermont to Grand Detour, Illinois. The following spring, his wife Demarius and their five children also traveled west to join John. John traveled west first to check out the area and to build a blacksmith shop to start earning a living.
John traveled with just a few supplies in a pack. He left Hancock, Vermont, and traveled south to the Erie Canal. His canal boat ticket took him to Buffalo, New York, where he bought a ticket on a ship around the Great Lakes. After reaching Chicago, we presume he caught a wagon ride across the prairie to Grand Detour, Illinois.