Puritan Great Migration (PGM) Ancestors? Research Help. #1

Question

Do you have ancestors who migrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 during the Puritan Great Migration (PGM)? Do you know where to start your research?

You can start here in Wikitree, many/most of our Pilgrim Great Migration immigrants have profiles, here. Some are well developed. Others are still scantly researched.

A very good, comprehensive, and highly recommended  place to start is The Great Migration Directory by Robert Charles Anderson (2015). It is a list of persons known to have arrived in New England by 1640.

Sample Entry. “Hampton, Thomas: Unknown; 1637; Lynn, Sandwich [PCPR 1:32; PCR 1:97, 118, 133].” Translated this means that Thomas Hampton came to New England in 1637, but it is unknown where he was before he made the journey. He settled in Lynn and then in Sandwich. Records can be found in the Plymouth Colony Probate Records [PCPR] and the Plymouth Colony Records [PCR] on the pages noted.

Unfortunately, the directory is not available to look at online. Perhaps your library has a copy. Several Wikitree members own copies. If you want to know what it says about your ancestor, you can ask for a lookup here in the G2G.

If you don’t find your ancestor in the Directory, don’t despair. Anderson missed some immigrants, and perhaps your ancestor arrived after the 1640 cutoff date.

Puritan Great Migration Project

Comments

Considering what is provided in the book, the cost is not unreasonable, and it is still in print.

The Great Migration Books cost quite a bit more, but are available on Ancestry. Pages can be downloaded or printed as desired. This can be used at many public libraries and at any Family History Center without a subscription.

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Yes I agree that the cost of the directory is not unreasonable, especially if like me you have lots of PGM ancestors.

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You are so right Anne!  

Members who are researching colonial ancestors during this period may also be interested to know that many of the records Anderson refers to in the index are available online through open sources, like the Plymouth Colony Records you refer to. 

Rick Pierpont started assembling a list of Anderson's sources, and different WT members have helped out by adding links when they find them. Its saved me a lot of trips to the library!

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I do have a number of ancestors from the Great Migration, but I also help others, so having some of these resources, or ready access to them, is certainly convenient. Likewise, I have a number of the Mayflower Silver Books. I have also collected quite a library of electronic sources, such as out of print genealogies, from FamilySearch, Archive.org, and some other sources.

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The Great Migration series (except for the directory volume) is also available (for a fee) on AmericanAncestors.org. If your interest is exclusively New England, AmericanAncestors is a better choice (cheaper and more relevant records) than Ancestry, at least in my opinion.

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American Ancestors is also available for free at some Libraries.

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Working link to Sources used in the Great Migration series

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Thank you.......................

Answer 1

I just ordered a copy from Amazon.  My Hoyt ancestors came to New England in 1628.

Comments

Simon, I assume. We have a shared ancestor

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Yes. Simon.   I am a 13th generation descendant.  I have compiled a genealogy called the Hoyts of Hickory Kingdom, about Simon's descendants who settled in Clearfield County, PA.  If  you would like to see it, I will be happy to email it to you.

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Thank you for the offer, but I'll pass. I'm already overly busy, and I stop being a Hoyt in the third generation, Walter's dtr. Hannah.