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Westward, Ho!
Below are graphic representations of the migratory patterns of the six major families in my ancestry.  The reader will be able to easily discern the similarity in the migration patterns of the early settlers, by family name.  As the large pioneer families matured, the old family farm couldn't support all the heirs and their families.  So, all of my ancestors ended up pulling up stakes and moving West; generally starting in Virginia or South Carolina, then moving westward over the ensuing two centuries to Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and lastly, Texas.  My children have continued that phenomenon by leap-frogging all the way from Texas to California!

Six different "gif" photo files (one each for Barron, Childress, Mathis, McMullen, Overton and Speer surnames) are presented below with each graphic pertaining to the census figures for the years 1850, 1880, 1920 and 1990.  The surname population density is based on the number of surname occurrences in the census for each year.

(Red indicates a density of 1 surname occurrence per 100 people; Green indicates 1 occurrence per 1,000 people and Blue indicates 1 occurrence per 10,000 people.)

                Barron Migration                                 Childress Migration                                  Overton Migration
           (42,500 citizens in 1990)                          (27,500 citizens in 1990)                           (20,000 citizens in 1990)

                    Speer Migration                                     Mathis Migration                                McMullen Migration
              (12,500 citizens in 1990)                         (60,000 citizens in 1990)                         (20,000 citizens in 1990)

Credit for the above graphics goes to Hamrick Software.  Visit their website to view the distribution figures for other families.