Charting the Shire lines - Page 6
© Michael Martinez
Michel Delving remained the largest township of the Shire throughout the rest of the Third Age. The Mayor of Michel Delving eventually became the chief official of the Shire, and the town was as close to the heart of the highlands of the Shire as a point could become. It should not therefore seem odd that the Westfarthing was probably the most heavily populated part of the Shire for many centuries. Hobbiton, Bywater, Overhill, Little Delving, and Waymoot were all in the Westfarthing.
The years 1601 to 1630 seem to represent the last migration period of the Hobbits. Most likely new families moved west every year. But the old settlements seem to have survived, and it would be via correspondence with the folks back home that the colonists would be able to entice friends and relatives to cross the Baranduin. That may explain why it would be 29 years before Stoors began migrating to the Shire. They would have heard of it, but being far away they would not have been as tempted to settle there. Nonetheless, the Stoors must also have been feeling population pressures, and they would be competing for hill-lands with the Dunlendings and Dunedain.
After all, why else would the Stoors elect to settle in a swamp, which is what the name "Marish" means? They may have liked rivers, but did they really like swamps and marshes? But the fact the Stoors accepted the marshlands of Eastfarthing implies that the lands were not inhospitable, as well as that the folklands must already have been claimed. So, who claimed them?
The Tooks settled in the Green-hill country and eventually established Tuckborough and Tookbank. It's not often mentioned, but "Tuck" (pronounced "took" or "tuke") is an old Scottish word meaning to "beat or tap a drum". What has that to do with Hobbits? Well, there are the Hornblowers of Southfarthing. As unlikely as it seems, the early colonists of the Shire may have included some musical families.
There were also probably some hunters. The Fallohides didn't much like farming, and they preferred (originally) to live in or near forests and to hunt for food, if they could. The Tookish skill with weapons and bows in particular may be an indication of a strong Fallohidish tradition. But the Bracegirdles, a wealthy family from Hardbottle, may have been another Fallohide family who had developed a reputation for using armguards -- something archers would use, among other skilled professions.
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