Settled Where the Wagon Broke Down

Is it possible that your migrating relatives simply settled someplace that was "on the way to where they were actually going?" While "settling where the wagon died" sometimes is used as a joke, there can be some truth to it. It might not have been the wagon that died, but the death of a parent on the "way to somewhere else," may have caused the family to put down roots where they did not intend to--and where they didn't have any family or connections.