Question of the Week: Have you found a Mayflower passenger or Puritan ancestor in your lineage?

Question

The roots of the Thanksgiving tradition in the US are often attributed to the Pilgrims who arrived in the Plymouth Colony aboard the Mayflower. You can use the Relationship Finder Quick Links to see if you may be related to one of the original passengers.

Maybe you've found that one of your lines descends from the larger group of Puritans who arrived in New England a little later. The Puritan Great Migration Project is working to identify and document these families.

Share the stories you've discovered, and be sure to check out the projects. There is some great work happening!

Comments

I have multiple Snows in my line too. Among them are Anthony Snow (and wife Abigail Warren) and then I come down through their daughter Sarah and her husband, Joseph Waterman.

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yes. Nicholas Snow Sr. Was father to Nicholas Snow Jr. and William Snow Sr.

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I'm reading a book just written called "PilgrimLives" by Martyn Whittock.

Nicholas Snow Jr and others are mentioned. I'm only in chapter 3. Good read

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Henry Howland Jr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640). My husband and I are 11th cousins , once removed. 

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Yes and I found a drunk in me cupboard too...

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LoL Sue.

Same here. All of my ancestors came across later. Mostly as steerage.

:)

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We were brought up in a similar fashion growing up here in New England. “Humble and honest” just as our cousin Abe was.

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Probably not.

MY GGF was born Joseph John Bond in England.  Some time between  1872 of 1873 he changed his do Dodd.

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My great grandmother, Franc Palmer, was a puritan. Born in Indiana.

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Richard Warren who was  identified as a 'Stranger-Adventurer'Mayflower passenger is my 11th great  grandfather.

Elder William Brewster who is identified as the spiritual leader of the  Separatist Leiden congregation Mayflower passengers is my 12 th great grandfather

Answer 1

Your question prompted me to wonder,  how many PGM grandparents do I actually have?  I 've found 31 sets of PGM ancestors...so far.
I began going down the various branches of my tree ( including the great grandmother's surnames) until I arrived at a profile of a migrating ancestor.  I checked the dates of their immigration and if it was between 1621 and 1640 - bingo, I found one more!

Answer 2

George Soule Sr. 10th Great Grandfather and many other cousins from various line that were Mayflower passengers.

Answer 3

On my mother's side we are descendants of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden.  Nathan Hale is another ancestor.  Many years ago a cousin put together a family tree from the Mayflower forward to the current generation in our family.

Answer 4

I have discovered at least two PGM on my maternal grandmother’s tree: John Dunham from Leiden to Plymouth Colony in the 1620’s and Henry Wolcott came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 on the ship Mary and John.

Answer 5

Thomas White born 1598 in Hampshire England and  was head of the White family who came to America from England on the Mayflower. He is 10 generations back in a convoluted line from my maternal grandmother. Sorry, I don't know how to do all the once/twice etc. removed stuff :)

Answer 6

I am descended fro several mayflower passengers through both my maternal grandfather and grandmother. Some of these are the Cookes, Edward fuller and his son Samuel, Richard warren, Peter Browne, and the Alden's and billingtons through marriage. Probably more but I'll have to keep looking

Answer 7

I am related to both John Underhill and Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett, through my Underhill ancestors.  Both were eventually dismissed from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for non-Puritan conduct.  Poor Elizabeth's Feake husband went mad and abandoned the family, so she was guilty of polygamy when she married William Hallett.  Her daughter, also named Elizabeth Feake, later married John Underhill.  I find this strange as she was so much younger than he was, and would like to know more about that union.

Answer 8

According to my father's exhaustive research, compiled over several decades, I am related to Edward Doty (1598-1655). The Doty line contributes directly to my father's mother(her mother's maiden name was Doty).

I will be adding my lineage over the next several days, weeks, months...

Answer 9

Yes... the naughty Billington's. LOL.

Answer 10

Yes, Stephen Hopkins, John Billington, William Brewster, Peter Brown, Richard Warren, Henry Sampson, and Francis Cooke.

On my wife's side I found Edward Fuller, John Howland, Elizabeth Tilley, George Soule, Edward Doty, Degory Priest and Richard Warren.

Answer 11

Mary	10th Great Grandmother ▼	Mayflower
Stephen Hopkins	10th Great Grandfather ▼	Mayflower
William Brewster	10th Great Grandfather ▼	Mayflower
Giles Hopkins	10th Great Uncle ▼	Mayflower
Francis Eaton	3rd Cousin 9 times removed ▼	Mayflower
Elizabeth Tilley	2nd Cousin 13 times removed ▼	Mayflower
John Robinson	2nd Cousin 13 times removed ▼	Mayflower
James Chilton	5th Cousin 10 times removed ▼	Mayflower
Francis Cooke	6th Cousin 9 times removed ▼	Mayflower
Henry Samson	6th Cousin 9 times removed ▼	Mayflower
Mary Chilton	6th Cousin 9 times removed ▼	Mayflower
John Cooke	7th Cousin 8 times removed ▼	Mayflower
Richard More	8th Cousin 7 times removed ▼	Mayflower

Answer 12

I am currently trying to put the final touches of our line through William White and son his Peregrine White who had a daughter Sarah White Young that married into our Young family.

Answer 13

I have not.  

However, I can trace my ancestor to William Cole  (1598-1664) who arrived in Jamestown in 1618 aboard the Neptune.

Answer 14

I  found Myles Standish and Edward Doty  (both 8th generation ggrandfathers) and have since become a member of the Mayflower Society.

Answer 15

No Mayflower but Roger Conant and Thomas Faunce are my early PGM. My wife is Mayflower through Brewster.

Answer 16

I am a direct descendant of Government Branford and John  Billington

Answer 17

I am just getting started adding family tree here ( had quite a bit entered previously on ancestry) but in my dad's side, he told me we were related to pikes/whites that came over in the Mayflower and the connection. Unfortunately he is elderly now and his mind comes and goes so working on the family tree to make the connection di don't remember the exact relations.

Answer 18

I'm descended from both Peregrine and Resolved White  (and their parents) from the Mayflower.  My aunt tells me we're also descended from Elizabeth Tilley, and Priscilla Mullins and John Alden, but I haven't been able to make those connections yet.  

I would hate to even being listing my PGM ancestors here; it seems like a good 20% of my father's side of the family ends up in the Massachusetts counties of Essex, Wessex and Worcester counties by the time I get back to the 17th century.    Sounds like I could have a mini project on my hands getting a complete list together--could be fun!

Edit:  It's been about 20 hours since I made my initial comment and thus far I've found 18 PGM ancestors.

Answer 19

Yes - Francis Cooke, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins, Billington and 1 other that I can't remember right now.  I thought about joining the MS but as a single mother with teenagers in the 70's - the money was best spent elsewhere & the cache of belonging didn't mean much in Central Texas!!!  As a senior citizen I don't need to belong to know that I am descended from them.  Maybe my grandchildren or great grandkids will be interested in genealogy one day!!!!!  I am descended from at least 100 folks who came into this country during the Pilgrim migration.  I have ancestors that went to Jamestown also. Some of my ancestors where here before all the boats landed!!!

Answer 20

I haven't yet, but I am hopeful!