Giving Thanks at FTF

Signing of the Mayflower Compact
from the Library of Congress

My next post is up at Family Tree Firsts. All about….wait for it…. The Mayflower!  You know I couldn’t resist.  It is that time of the year after all.

I have written several times about learning from my grandmother that we were from “those Pilgrims.”  Several times I have even told you about my application process with the GSMD.  Well, this week is when those stories and dreams are realized.  I have the last pieces of documentation in my hand to prove her tales and hopefully by this time next week it will all be in the mail.  Then I can concentrate on my husband’s multiple lines.  I only have the one line since my family left Massachusetts by the 3^rd generation after settling here, my husband’s family on the other hand stuck around for a while.  300 years  in New England is a while right?  He has 4 potential lines if I can prove them beyond a doubt.

What makes me even more excited is that members of my family are excited too.  I even have cousins of my mother-in-law helping me with their family lines.  Collaboration at its best!  Without their help this would have been a longer process with more costs for me.  Since we are sharing documents, records, and sources with each other we all benefit from on another’s resources. 

Best of all, my oldest got on the bus this morning with his Mayflower ancestors extra credit report.  We had the best time putting it all together.  He looked up their names on the internet, wrote a ½ page about each of them, added some pictures from wikicommons, and by the end of it had a basic understanding of a pedigree chart.  He was so excited to take it to school and show everyone.  In particular to show it to the kids who didn’t believe him.

 

 

Yes, there was some teasing.  Kids are kids right?  My son is very sensitive to others and I was happy the teasing from unbelieving children made him more resolved to prove them wrong.  That would be the desire to become a historian showing through I think.  Now, it would be great if I could get him to have the same drive when it comes to studying math.

Having this last document also proves my first ancestor for the DAR.  I am up over a dozen patriots on both sides of my family.  My mom and dad are tied with patriot ancestors, and at times I wonder if there is a bit of competition between the two of them.  I sometimes wonder if when I call do they get all excited about another one being found to pull them in the lead for the ancestor count?

As I stated in the post at FTF I am submitting William Hayden as my first patriot.  I can also put in for his son Noah as he fought along with his father in the war.  In fact, 5 of William’s sons fought in the Revolution:  John, Stephen, Enoch, Noah, and Hosea.  Enoch and Noah were twins too, but I haven’t figured out if they were identical or not.  In an out of print Magazine called  The Hayden Family I found an interesting description of what William did during the Revolution in Volume 1, No. 3, page 102:

 

 

We also know he died after working on his farm one afternoon in July of 1823 thanks to a poem written after his death.  I have not found a pension record for him or his son Noah; I hope to uncover more about their family’s service in the Revolution.  Oh, and find out where the Fredericksburg Magazine was.  That would be a worthy field trip to take.  Maybe on my next run to the grocery store.

Lessons in research

I am still plodding away on the applications for the DAR and the GSMD.  Why did I think this would be so quick and easy?  Honestly, it is not that hard, just a bit on the tedious side. I mean, all I have been doing is gathering records, calling court houses, cajoling relatives into giving me copies of things, and etc.  While it is taking months longer than I thought to gather these items, I have learned a lot along the way.

First lesson:  how to talk to irate, and at times unhelpful, court clerks on the phone.  I would never have guessed that people who work for the public could at times be rude and condescending.  Not all of them, thankfully, but a few out of the dozen I have talked with on the phone had an unpleasant attitude.   Now, please understand, I am always polite, courteous, and clear when requesting information.  Just the way I was taught; easier to attract flies with honey instead of vinegar you know.  However, one woman actually told me that she had more pressing issues that dealt with living people and didn’t have time for my nonsense.  When I explained that I lived a thousand miles away and would be happy to pay the office for the time it took to retrieve the files and copy them she hung up on me.  Thankfully she wasn’t working when I called back.

Second lesson:  keep an accurate phone and mail log.  It is embarrassing to write or call the same person twice for the same information.  Lucky for me the librarian thought it was funny.  That embarrassment drove me to making an official log, like so many researchers do.  I had been using the inside of the folder I had made to collect the documents in as a on-the-fly note keeper.  That obviously had a flaw, one that I could still repeat, because I had to remember to keep the notes up to date.  So far so good now that I keep an official correspondence log with each file.  Also, this helps me keep a trail of places that I have contacted without success when tracking down where an ancestor’s record may be.  That information can lead me to the next place I should look or contact. 

Third lesson:  cite your sources immediately.  Nothing is more embarrassing than finding an awesome online record and forgetting where you got it.  Worse, is when you have to ask your readers to help you find those lost records (thanks guys!).  In the past I would copy the information or image and attach the web site to it.  Then, when I had the time, I would go back and insert the correct source citation.  For books and paper copies this is much easier since you can just photocopy the title page or write the source on the back of the page.  Now, I make a point to take the few extra minutes to do a correct source citation immediately.

Fourth lesson:  making a spreadsheet to keep track of what you have and what you still need.  Seems like a simple thing right?  Something someone should have started at the beginning of an epic quest such as this huh?  Well… sometimes my brain makes decisions contrary to what should be done.  I printed out the application forms and started to keep track of what I had on there.  However, after about 6 months of notes, additions, deletions, and multi colored pens the chicken scratch was hard to be straight.  My solution was a check list that I stapled to the outside of my paperwork folder.  Now I have a list off what is in the file and what I still need to gather for submission.  No need to try and read the scribble or hunt through each file trying to figure out what I still need. 

There you have it, the lessons that have now been firmly planted in my head about what to do and not to do when conducting a specific research project.  Now, let’s hope that I remember it the next time I start one of these!

Week 33 of Abundant Genealogy

Week 33: Ancestor Legend. What is your favorite ancestral legend or family lore? Who originally told the story and what was the claim? Have you been able to prove the story true or false? What steps did you take to do so?

In past posts I have talked about several family legends, but I admit that my favorite one is still that we are descendants of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins of the Mayflower.  Yeah, corny I know, but you have to admit being bombarded with pilgrim stuff every year in school makes connections like that seem extra cool.  Yes, I do know now the correct history (and living in Virginia, that Jamestown was first) but you have to admit that there is nothing like saying you have roots to early Colonial America.

My Grandma Combs told me the story over and over as a child.  She even read me the poem about them where Priscilla says "Speak for thyself John."  My grandfather's great aunt was the family historian.  Eliza Jane had a family bible that belonged to my 3rd great grandmother, Mary Jane Hayden Combs.  The Hayden's are the ones that carried the line down to us from the Mayflower according to her stories.  The bible had a complete lineage of the Hayden, and now Combs, family through to her generation.  I would give anything to be able to find this bible.

Well, on a lark I sent in a proposed lineage to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.  You know what?  It is looking more and more like this story is actually true.  They have a confirmed lineage through my 4th great grandparents, Mary Jane's parents, Noah Gilpin Hayden and Unity Patterson. The society is confident through his parents, would like a bit more on Noah G. and his wife, and then the rest of the lineage to now.

Currently this is a project that I am working on, and at the same time I can apply for the DAR as Noah's grandfather is an accepted patriot in their database.  That makes this family line doubly exciting to me.

photo credit: Mr. Ducke via photo pin cc

A Sea Venture in the latest Family Tree Firsts Post

The next post is up at Family Tree Firsts. You can read all about my adventure here.

I have done more reading and would like to correct a statement. In an article I read on line, it stated that he came with his son Giles to Virginia. Further study has me wondering where they found that information as I can only find records of Stephen coming over alone on that ship.

The more I read, the more fascinated I am by this man. He was a real character to put it mildly.  While I was in the Williamsburg area I picked up a pick to read on the shipwreck.  I hope it will tell me about the ship, about him, and about the circumstances that led to the mutiny and why he left so quickly from the Virginia Colony.  The book is titled The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown:The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America by Lorri Glover and Daniel Blake Smith. 

I have already bookmarked the pages that talk about Stephen, and in those few pages I am beginning to get a clearer picture of who he was.  He led a mutiny against Captain Christopher Newport in Bermuda because it was his feelings that Newport no longer had power over them.  After all, they were no longer on the ship, and Captains are only in command on ships.  They were not in Virginia so the new governor was not in charge of them.  On this Island their only master was god.  He was eventually pardoned of his death sentence for mutiny, and spent only two years in Jamestown.

Eleven years later he took his entire family on the Mayflower and he once again became the leader of the discontented.  Even giving a speech where he stated “when they came ashore they would use their own liberty, for none had power to command them.” 

A Mayflower Family or Not

There was a sense of awe in me as a child when I thought about the Pilgrims; with their bonnets and starched white collars sharing a meal with the friendly Indians.  Yes, as an adult I know how unrealistic this was, but as a child it was the image of the Pilgrims and their friends that permeated all you saw, and knew, about those historic events.  Imagine my glee when I was told by my Grandmother how our family was related to people who sailed on that ship!  She read to me the poem by HenryWadsworth Longfellow, TheCourtship of Miles Standish,   and seared into my memory the line “speak for thyself John.”  My world was crushed when I learned it was a fictional account.

According to the article Mayflower Descendants by Jim Faber, 25% of Americans think they are descended from the 26 surviving Mayflower passengers.  Best guess is that actually only 35 million people worldwide have a Mayflower ancestor; much less that the 25%, or 70 million who think they do.   The odds looked like they would not be in my favor from the outset, but that is no reason to quit!

One of the first long-lost-cousins I connected with online had grown up with the same story about John and Priscilla, which made me think that there had to be something to the story.  She also had a clue, which family line the connection was to be through!  That was something I could work with.  According to her family source (which I later found out was the same source my grandmother had, Aunt Eliza Jane) the connection was through our 3^rd great-grandmother Mary Jane Hayden. 

 Thanks to many different societies, organizations, and published works on the subject many of the lines are well documented and proven.  My task was to connect my line into the ones already proven.  Easier said than done I have to admit.  Almost a year later I think I am pretty sure of my research, but not completely.  I think it will take a trip to New England, or a really good genealogy library, to make me feel 100% confident in my work.  I found this website just a few days ago, and it helped me confirm my line past Mary Jane. 

The working hypothesis for my family line is:

1.       John Alden and Priscilla Mullins
2.       Ruth Alden
3.       Ruth Bass
4.       Priscilla Webb
5.       William Hayden - Revolutionary War Soldier
6.       Noah Hayden
7.       Noah Gilpin Hayden
8.       Mary Jane Hayden
9.       Franklin Willis Combs
10.   Everett Combs
11.   Paul Combs
12.   My Dad
13.   Me

Of course, this little endeavor left me looking  sideways at my Texan husband; the one with deep roots in New England.  He had to have someone in that web of New England genealogy that could trace a possible lineage back to a Mayflower passenger.  My bloodhound instincts have been working on this for well over 6 months.  Finally I had a break through, and I am a little more confident in his line than mine.

The working Hypothesis for his family line is:

1.       Stephen Hopkins
2.       Giles Hopkins
3.       Mary Hopkins
4.       Mary Smith
5.       Mary Hamilton
6.       Elizabeth Mayo
7.       Slathiel Nickerson -Revolutionary War Soldier
8.       Polly Nickerson
9.       James Cunningham
10.   Eliza Cunningham
11.   Charles Greeley
12.   Frances Maude Greely
13.   Elsie Crabb
14.   His Mother
15.   Him

Our families appear to have come over on the same boat!  My oldest child can't wait to get to school on Monday and tell everyone.  Especially the story of dear Stephen Hopkins, a Mayflower Compat signer and a Jamestown Settler.  Thankfully his teachers humor his history obsession and just go with it.

Well, there it is.  Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, or comments for me about how to completely prove this lineage?  I have twiddled with the idea of actually going on and submitting both of us to one of the many lineage societies for the Mayflower, like the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

*wikimedia commons:   Sculpture of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins: "Why Don't You Speak for Yourself, John?"

*Photograph taken by me at Jamestown archeology site, Jamestown, Virginia.