My Mayflower Passenger Ancestors

The Mayflower II
at berth in Plymouth, MA

Happy Thanksgiving!

It seems that folks are taking time to post their Mayflower lines on blogs this week as a new meme for the Thanksgiving holiday.  This will be a fun way to compare lineages and find new cousins!

Robert Burnett http://robtsfamily.blogspot.com/2011/11/making-fetich-of-first-rock.html

Wendy Callahan
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/mayflower-2011.html   (a list)
her paternal lines
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/paternal-mayflower-lines-part-1.html  (part 1)
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/paternal-mayflower-lines-part-2.html (part 2)
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/paternal-mayflower-lines-part-3.html (part 3)
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/paternal-mayflower-lines-part-4.html  (part 4)
and her maternal lines
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/maternal-mayflower-lines-part-1.html (part 1)
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/maternal-mayflower-lines-part-2.html (part 2)
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/maternal-mayflower-lines-part-3.html (part 3)
http://freya-newenglandgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/maternal-mayflower-lines-part-4.html (part 4)

Jim Degerstrom http://www.growinupinmaine.com/2008/09/mayflower-genealogy-growin-up-in-maine.html

Midge Frazel  http://granite-in-my-blood.blogspot.com/p/our-mayflower-lines.html

Sarah Greenleaf http://mymouseisbroken.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-meme-mayflower-line.html

Elizabeth Handler http://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2011/11/mayflower-passenger-ancestors.html

Charles Hansen http://charles-mikkelshus.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-lines.html  

Scott Jangro
http://www.familytreecircles.com/my-mayflower-connections-1-william-brewster-42989.html
and also http://www.familytreecircles.com/my-mayflower-connections-2-stephen-hopkins-42991.html

Jolleen http://yourpedigree.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-ancestors.html

Karen K. http://www.theroadbackward.com/blog/2011/11/22/the-great-migration-begins-mayflower-edition-11th-great-gran.html   and also at http://www.theroadbackward.com/blog/2011/11/22/the-great-migration-begins-mayflower-edition-12th-great-gran.html

Polly Kimmitt http://pk-pollyblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/giving-thanks-for-some-mayflower-roots.html

Michael Maglio http://originhunters.blogspot.com/2011/11/our-mayflower-ancestor.html?spref=fb

Reba Mc http://marydexter.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-mayflower-lines-2-of-them-anyway.html

Barbara Poole http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2011/11/mayflower-ancestors-wordless-wednesday.html
her Alden lineage in detail http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2011/11/surname-saturday-alden-of-massachusetts.html
her Mullins http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2011/11/saturday-surname-mullins-of.html

Randy Seaver
http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-connections-1-george-soule.html
and http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-connections-2-william.html
and  http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-connections-richard-warren.html
and also http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-connections-4-francis.html
and also http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-connections-5-stephen.html
and also http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-connections-6-william.html
and finally http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-connections-7-edward.html

Denise Spurlock http://pastlane.blogspot.com/2011/11/descended-from-james-chilton-mayflower.html 

Betty Huber Tartas http://bettysgenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/happy-thanksgiving-honoring-my.html?spref=fb

Erica Voolich  http://genea-adventures.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

Anita Cramer Wells http://www.familytreerings.org/2011/11/happy-391st-thanksgiving-pilgrims-1620.html

Bill West http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-ellingwood-mayflower-ancestry.html  and also two more lines at http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-allerton-and-warren-mayflower.html 

Russ Worthington http://worthy2be.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/mayflower-descendant-in-the-family/

--------------------------------

Here are my own lineages in alphabetical order with Mayflower passengers in bold:

Isaac Allerton(abt 1586 – 1659)and Mary Norris (1587 – 1621-died during  the “starving time” in the first winter on Cape Cod)

Remember Allerton (abt 1614 – 1656) and Moses Maverick

Abigail Maverick and Samuel Ward

Martha Ward and John Tuthill

Martha Tuthill and Mark Haskell

Lucy Haskell and Jabez Treadwell

Nathaniel Treadwell and Mary Hovey

Jabez Treadwell and Betsey Jillings Homan

Eliza Ann Treadwell and Abijah Hitchings

Abijah Franklin Hitchings and Hannah Eliza Lewis

Arthur Treadwell Hitchings and Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

Edward Doty (abt 1599 – 1635) and Faith Clark

Desire Doty and Alexander Standish

Desire Standish and Nathan Weston

Nathan Weston and Hannah Everson

Zadoc Weston and Mary Clements

Matilda Weston and Joseph Edwin Healey

Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil

Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

John Tilley (abt 1571- 1620) and Joan Hurst (abt 1568 – 1621) both died in “starving time”

Elizabeth Tilley (1607 – 1687) and John Howland (1592 – 1673)

Hope Howland and John Chipman

Hannah Chipman and Thomas Huckins

Hope Huckins and Benjamin Hamblin

Hannah Hamblin and Jonathan Crosby

Ebenezer Crosby and Elizabeth Robinson

Rebecca Crosby and Comfort Haley

Joseph Edwin Healey and Matilda Weston

Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil

Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

John Tilley (abt 1571- 1620) and Joan Hurst (abt 1568 – 1621) both died in “starving time”

Elizabeth Tilley (1607 – 1687) and John Howland (1592 – 1673)

Desire Howland and John Gorham

Desire Gorham and John Hawes

Elizabeth Hawes and Thomas Daggett

Elizabeth Daggett and John Butler

Keziah Butler and Samuel Osborn

Samuel Osborn and Sarah Wass

Sarah Osborn and Charles Skinner

Ann Skinner and Thomas Ratchford Lyons

Isabella Lyons and Rev. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill

Caleb Rand Bill and Ann Margaret Bollman

Isabella Lyons Bill and Albert Munroe Wilkinson

Donald Munroe Wilkinson and Bertha Louise Roberts (my paternal grandparents)

George Soule ( abt 1593 – 1680) and Mary Beckett

John Soule and Rebecca Simonson

 Rebecca Soule and Edmund Weston

Nathan Weston and Desire Standish

Nathan Weston and Hannah Everson

Zadoc Weston and Mary Clements

Matilda Weston and Joseph Edwin Healey

Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil

Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

Captain Myles Standish (abt 1584 – 1656) and Barbara Unknown

Alexander Standish and Desire Doty

Desire Standish and Nathan Weston

Nathan Weston and Hannah Everson

Zadoc Weston and Mary Clements

Matilda Weston and Joseph Edwin Healey

Mary Etta Healey and Peter Hoogerzeil

Florence Etta Hoogerzeil and Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Gertrude Matilda Hitchings and Stanley Elmer Allen (my maternal grandparents)

For information about Mayflower passengers online see Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History at

http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/

For information about the Mayflower Society see http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/

--------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Mayflower Passenger Ancestors", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 22, 2011, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-mayflower-passenger-ancestors.html: accessed [access date]). 

10 New Things to Know About Researching a Pilgrim in Your Family Tree

This is an updated version of a blog post from 2015. There has been a lot of new information about researching Mayflower passengers with the upcoming 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower in the year 2020.

It is estimated that over 35 million people all over the globe (not just in the USA) are descended from at least one of the 102 passengers who arrived in what is now Massachusetts on board the famous ship Mayflower in 1620.  According to Genealogy Bank, 12% of American s are descended from Mayflower passengers.  Don't you think that is an amazing number, especially considering that half of the passengers died with the first three months in the New World?  Odds are good that YOU might be descended from a Mayflower passenger, too.

#1:  You might find a Pilgrim in your tree if you start researching now, but you probably won't be able to join the General Society of Mayflower Descendants in time for the 2020 commemoration, or even in time for Thanksgiving.  But better late than never!  At least you can discuss your family history while watching the commemorative events on TV or around the Thanksgiving table.  Gathering the documents needed for your lineage application will take time, but you will have a great research story to tell everyone at Thanksgiving next year in 2021, which is the actual 400th anniversary of the "First Thanksgiving"!

#2:  Start with yourself and work backwards.  You won't have success if you pick a Pilgrim from the Mayflower passenger list and try to work forward through time.  There are too many potential descendants, and it would be a big waste of time to follow all the incorrect lineages for the estimated 14 or 15 or 16 generations needed to reach back to 1620.

#3:  You may already have a clue in your family tree.  The 102 passengers on the Mayflower had some distinctive names like STANDISH, BREWSTER, and BRADFORD, but they also had some common surnames such as BROWNE, COOKE, ROGERS, and WHITE.  To see a complete passenger list, click on this link:  https://www.themayflowersociety.org/the-pilgrims/the-pilgrims

#4:  Is there a branch of your family tree in colonial era (pre-1776) New England?  Were any of them born in Massachusetts?  Were any births from Plymouth County?  This can be a big clue that might lead to finding a Pilgrim.

#5:  The General Society of Mayflower Descendants has a large on-going project to publish a set of books known as the "Silver Books", which contain the first five generations of descendants from each Mayflower passenger known to have issue.  This project is mostly complete, but there are a few families with "Pink Books" (those names are "in progress" with on-going research).  There are also some families with the sixth and seventh generations completed!  If you can connect to an ancestor in one of these books, five generations of research has already been done for you!  This webpage describes the project and books:  https://www.themayflowersociety.org/shop/books-publications/silver-books-and-mfip     There is a database at the New England Historic Genealogical Society website (American Ancestors, members only) of the fifth generation (does not include George Soule, or the John Howland pages from the blue Picton Press books) https://mayflower.americanancestors.org/pilgrim-database

#6:  The Mayflower Society also maintains records of over 200,000 lineage applications approved for membership. This archive is a treasure trove of genealogy gold.  Before working on your lineage papers for membership, send a "Mayflower Match" to the Society, and they will check the records to see if anyone from your line has ever been approved.  This step can save you lots of research hours, and is well worth the $75 price of this service to save you many hours of time.  You will receive a full report from the GSMD along with instructions on what to do next for your application.  Click here for the Mayflower Lineage Match Form:  https://www.themayflowersociety.org/join/preliminary-review-form

P.S.  A large portion of these records held by the GSMD have recently been scanned and digitized by the New England Historic Genealogical Society and also by Family Search (the LDS church).  A project has been started to transcribe, index and use these records for genealogical research.  They also plan to digitize some of the GSMD journals including the first 50 years of the Mayflower Quarterly (1935 - 1984), and all 31 volumes of the "Silver Books" (see above), and The Mayflower Descendant (from the Massachusetts Mayflower Society) has already been available for a while. The databases available now from NEHGS are listed on this page:   https://mayflower.americanancestors.org/mayflower-research-databases

#7:  Plymouth Colony was very small.  In the first hundred years several Mayflower passengers married each other, and even more of their children married each other, and dozens of grandchildren of passengers married each other.  If you find you are related to one passenger, keep looking and you might find several more Mayflower Pilgrims in your family tree.

#8:  Although the Mayflower passengers are some of the most intensively researched genealogy subjects in America, there are also many lasting myths about them.  Many books and web pages claim that someone’s ancestor was a passenger on the Mayflower.  Look up to #3 on this list to see the “official” list of passengers.  Caleb Johnson has a webpage with some of the most common fake Mayflower genealogy.  Check it out here: http://web.archive.org/web/20070611110521/http://members.aol.com/calebj/hoaxes.html

#9:  If you find a Pilgrim in your family tree, please consider joining the Mayflower Society.  Registering your pedigree from a Mayflower passenger is part of the creation of one of the biggest, most researched, and most documented, family trees in United States history.  Having your family tree on file will insure that your future descendants can make a cousin connection and be part of the Society, too.  Membership is open to any man, woman or child who can document their descent from one or more of the Mayflower passengers. For more information, please see the General Society of Mayflower Descendants website at this link: https://www.themayflowersociety.org/

10#:  The Pilgrims and their story belong not just to the descendants, but to all Americans.  The story of survival, cooperation with each other, collaboration with the Native Americans, Thanksgiving and the founding of a new colony is part of American history. “The Pilgrims are America’s Family” is a quote from the past Governor General of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Lea Sinclair Filson.

Good luck!  Maybe you will be one of my new Mayflower cousins!  I am descended of the following Mayflower passengers- Capt. Myles Standish, Isaac Allerton, Mary (Norris) Allerton, Remember Allerton, John Howland, John Tilley, Joan (Hurst) Tilley, Elizabeth Tilley, George Soule, and Edward Doty.

----------------------

Please check these resources for more information:

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants  www.themayflowersociety.org 

Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts   http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/ 

Plimoth Plantation Museum,Plymouth, Massachusetts   http://www.plimoth.org/ 

Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower website http://mayflowerhistory.com/  

Sail 1620, by the Pennsylvania Society of Mayflower Descendants  http://www.sail1620.org/  

The Leiden American Pilgrim Museum  http://www.leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org  

The Pilgrim Fathers UK Origins Association  http://www.pilgrimfathersorigins.org/home.html 

The Mayflower 400 Leiden website    https://www.mayflower400leiden.com/

---------------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "10 New Things to Know About Researching a Pilgrim in Your Family Tree", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 2, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/01/10-new-things-to-know-about-researching.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Mayflower II under renovation at the Mystic Seaport Shipyard

The Mayflower II undergoing repair at the shipyard at the Mystic Seaport Museum

Anyone visiting the wonderful museum at Mystic, Connecticut called Mystic Seaport can see the Mayflower II at the Henry B. DuPont Preservation shipyard undergoing repairs.  This is the historic vessel preservation shipyard in New England.  However, this weekend a small group of lucky members of the Plimoth Plantation Museum (home of the Mayflower II) were able to tour inside the ship while it was under renovations!

Here we are next to Mayflower II

Genealogy blogger June Butka joined us for this very special tour.  Tickets for this event were sold out weeks ago.  We met up with the tour at the Mystic Seaport visitor center and headed over to the shipyard where we heard from Quentin Snedicker of Mystic, and from Whit Perry, the associate director of the Mayflower II maritime preservation project for Plimoth Plantation, and also from Richard Pickering, the deputy director of Plimoth Plantation, about the repairs underway on the Mayflower. 

I wrote about a tour we did with Plimoth Plantation of the Mayflower II when she was in drydock inFairhaven in 2014.  Some of those repairs were found to be inadequate when Mayflower II was in Mystic's shipyard for a short time in 2015.  The new plan is for a complete restoration of the ship at a total cost of $9 million.  This will make the Mayflower II seaworthy, and authentically restored according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects.  Unfortunately, these massive repairs, which include the keel, might take as long as 30 to 36 months.  The plan is to have her returned to her berth in Plymouth harbor in time for the 400^th anniversary of her famous voyage in 1620.

Vincent and June board the Mayflower II 

Notice that the artisans are using traditional wooden tools

New beams installed on the rear half deck 

The Mayflower II was a gift from England to the United States in 1957.  It was a “thank you” for assistance from the US during World War II.  Since 1957 about 25 million people have visited the Mayflower II in Plymouth and in other ports.  This June Mayflower II will return briefly to Plymouth harbor for the summer season, but the real renovation work will begin next fall back in Mystic.  

42 members joined Mystic Seaport staff for this tour, and see how crowded we were?
Imagine 102 passengers in this space in 1620, plus pigs, chickens and 2 dogs,
plus all their belongings and the shallop! For a 66 day journey! 

Below deck you can see new wood joined with wood
from the original 1957 shipbuilders.

Below deck, where the Mayflower Pilgrims stayed during the 1620 voyage,
Whit Perry describes the 1957 ship and her current renovations.

Mayflower II will be pulled out of the water and raised up in drydock where the Amistad (another famous ship from American history) now stands in the shipyard.  Then the most crucial and extensive repair works will begin and last through 2018 or 2019.  This extensive work means that she will not be available to view in Plymouth, but you can keep tabs on her by visiting Mystic Seaport Museum. 

Quentin Snedicker of Mystic Seaport describes the overhaul, standing next to the Amistad in drydock

If you would like to attend a project update about the Mayflower II, Plimoth Plantation's Executive Director Ellie Donovan is holding a meeting on Thursday, May 12th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at the Plimoth Plantation Visitor Center.  Coffee and cookies will be served.  See this announcement online http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f3c74e7836&id=56d62792cd&e=8cf6024ba3   

Vincent and I enjoyed our wonderful tour of the preservation project

of Mayflower II ongoing at the Mystic Seaport shipyard

You can help keep Mayflower II afloat!  Every gift makes a difference!

Write a check to the Development Office, Plimoth Plantation, PO Box 1620, Plymouth, MA 02362

Make a donation by credit card at www.plimoth.org or call the development office at 508-746-1622 (ext. 8226)

Richard Pickering, Deputy Director at Plimoth Plantation
gave a passionate speech to us during lunch.  

---------------------

For the truly curious:

Watch a video of the restoration of Mayflower II at Mystic Seaport   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-KVZ_dhH1M 

Read my blog post about seeing Mayflower II in drydock in Fairhaven in 2013, when the extent of the repair work needed was discovered by the preservation crew:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/05/touring-mayflower-ii-in-drydock.html 

Plimoth Plantation webpage for Mayflower II  http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/mayflower-ii

The webpage for donations towards Mayflower II restoration  https://plimothplantation.cloverdonations.com/save-our-ship/

 

Old tools and new tools being used by the
preservation crew at Mystic shipyard

-------------------------------------

Thank you to June Stearns Butka for some of the photography! 

Published under a Creative Commons License

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Mayflower II under renovation at the Mystic Seaport Shipyard", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 9, 2016, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-mayflower-ii-under-renovation-at.html:  accessed [access date]).

Researching Your Mayflower Ancestors

Celebrating our Mayflower ancestors!

This blog post was published simultaneously here at Nutfield Genealogy and also at the Worldwide Genealogy blog www.worldwidegenealogy.blogspot.com 

-------------------------------

Every year, just before Thanksgiving, some folks  want to know if they have a ancestor from the 1620 ship Mayflower.  My first advice is that it will probably take you more than a few weeks to prove a lineage back to someone born in the late 1500s, who might qualify as a passenger on this ship.  After all, it has been about thirteen or fourteen generations since those passengers were born.  But, if you work hard at it, you might be able to introduce your Mayflower passenger ancestor to your friends and family around the 2015 Thanksgiving table.

Mayflower descendants live all over the globe.  There are active Mayflower Societies in all 50 states, Washington DC, and Canada.  Societies are being considered for the United Kingdom and Australia because there are descendants living there, too.  Many descendants live in the Netherlands, because the Pilgrim families left siblings and married children behind in Leiden.  There are good numbers of other descendants scattered across the map.  Are you one of them?

1.   Start with yourself and work backwards in time.  It is impossible to start with a passenger and try to work forward to yourself along a lineage.  Besides, there were 102 passengers.  Even if grandma swears you descend from William Bradford, you just might be a descendant of Myles Standish or Priscilla Mullins. You will never know unless you follow proper genealogical practices of starting now and working back through the generations.

2.  Become familiar with the surnames of the 102 passengers, their descendants and where they lived.  Yes, BREWSTER is one of the Mayflower names, but there was also an early Brewster family in New Hampshire.  They were not related. Some of the passengers had common names like BROWN and WHITE.  However, if your BROWNS lived in southeastern Massachusetts in the 1600s and 1700s, this is worth researching.   You can find a complete list of passengers with known descendants are at these links:

https://www.themayflowersociety.org/about-the-pilgrims20/the-pilgrims

http://www.americanancestors.org/who-came-on-the-mayflower-pt2/

http://sail1620.org/Society/mayflower-passenger-list

Scroll down to “Mayflower Research” on this page to read sketches on each Pilgrim family from early Plymouth, Massachusetts: http://www.americanancestors.org/articles-topics/

3.  If you can work your family tree back to about the mid 1700s your next step is to review the Silver Books published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.  These are books produced by the “Five Generations Project” to document the first five generations of each Mayflower passenger. Some of the finest colonial genealogists have been part of this project.  Most of these lineages have been published, and the project is now called “Mayflower Families in Progress” as they continue researching the sixth and seventh generations.  You can find these books in good genealogy libraries, book stores, and for sale online at this link: https://www.themayflowersociety.org/membership-info16   For a good listing of all the books, see this link: http://mayflowerhistory.com/mayflower5g 

4. Use primary source documents (birth, marriage and death records) if you are planning to submit your research to a lineage society.  Deeds, probate (wills), gravestones, diaries and family bibles have also been used to establish lineage.  Some of this is available on the internet, and are acceptible if they are scanned images of original documents such as censuses and birth records.  Note all records with proper citations (page numbers, microfilm numbers, etc.).   User submitted trees on www.familysearch.org and www.ancestry.com  are not acceptable because they lack documentation, but you can use them as clues to help you find primary source materials.  Don’t forget to make photocopies of everything you find.  Click this link to read about “The Best Records to Prove your Case” by Mayflower genealogist Alicia Crane Williams:

 http://www.americanancestors.org/researching-your-mayflower-ancestors-part-V/

5.  In rare cases, you might want to consider DNA testing.  Many of the Pilgrim family associations have DNA projects.  However, for acceptance into a lineage society such as the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, DNA testing must be backed up with a paper trail.  DNA can help establish that two men descend from a common ancestor.   Several DNA tests have been used in the lineage application process for GSMD. 

Let’s say you find a link to one of the Mayflower families.  What happens next?

1.  Congratulations!  You are connected to some of the most well researched group of immigrants on the planet earth.  There are endless books, articles, blog posts and all sorts of stories, documents and things to learn about your ancestor to keep you busy for quite some time. New research is being published every year.

2.  You've earned your bragging rights.  Not just that you have a famous ancestor, but you have done an impressive job at researching thirteen or fourteen generations.  You can now take those documents and research papers and apply to family associations (more than half the Mayflower families have family associations), to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Colonial Dames, or any number of other lineage societies.  Here is a link to the “Join GSMD” webpage: https://www.themayflowersociety.org/membership-info16

3.  Double check your research against these links to common Mayflower genealogy hoaxes:

http://faculty.ycp.edu/~tgibson/genealogy/MayflowerAncestryHoaxes.html

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/biography/genealogy/mayflower-ancestry-the-case-for-and-against

http://www.americanancestors.org/who-came-on-the-mayflower-pt2/

http://www.americanancestors.org/researching-your-mayflower-ancestors-pt4/

4.  If the historian of a lineage society questions your lineage application papers, don’t worry.  They are just asking you to clarify a point with additional documentation.  They usually can help point you where to look for that additional piece of information.  Remember that lineage societies are actively recruiting for new members, they don’t want to keep you out of the club!

---------------------------

Some good links for online information on the Mayflower Passengers:

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants  https://www.themayflowersociety.org/

Leiden, Netherlands Pilgrim Archives  http://www.pilgrimarchives.nl/

Leiden American Pilgrim Museum Foundation  http://www.leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org/

The Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts   http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/  

Plimoth Plantation Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts  www.plimoth.org

The New England Historic Genealogical Society  www.americanancestors.org 

Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History website   http://mayflowerhistory.com/

Sail 1620 (Pilgrim Biographies)  http://sail1620.org/

Women of the Mayflower Project  https://sites.google.com/site/womenofthemayflower/home/announcing-a-presentation-of-new-research

Thru the Looking Glass:  Mayflower Families   http://mayflowerfamilies.com/

------------------------------------------

Good Books (there are many, but here’s a good place to start):

The Great Migration Series, The Great Migration Begins (3 volumes)  and The Great Migration (7 volumes) by Robert Anderson published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society

The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony, 1620 – 1633  by Robert Anderson, NEHGS, 2007

William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, edited by Caleb Johnson, 2006

The Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War, by Nathaniel Philbrick, 2007

Strangers and Pilgrims, Travellers and Sojourners: Leiden and the Foundations of Plymouth Plantation, by Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs, 2009

Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History, by Nick Bunker, 2010

---------------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Researching Your Mayflower Ancestors", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 7, 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/researching-your-mayflower-ancestors.html: accessed [access date]). 

Touring Mayflower II in Drydock

The Mayflower II undergoing repairs at the
Fairhaven, Massachusetts shipyard

Every winter the Mayflower II is towed from her usual berth in Plymouth Harbor to its winter quarters in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.  She is inspected every winter by the Coast Guard.  This year the annual inspection including looking under the copper sheathing.  This was installed when the ship was built in England in 1957, to protect against ice damage.  Over the years fresh water (rain and weather) had gotten behind the copper sheathing and caused extensive rot and damage to the planking and beams.

Instead of just patching up the ship, it was decided the time was ripe for a extensive emergency renovation to take place over the winter.  Usually wooden ships built around 1620 would have a life of about 20 or 25 years. In 1957 the Mayflower II was built as close as possible to what a ship of this era would have been originally designed.  Now she is over 55 years old, and this extensive repair work is not unusual at all to keep her seaworthy.   Even the USS Constitution, which now over 200 years old, has had about 90% of the original parts replaced.  Captain Peter Arenstam of the Mayflower II estimates that about 70% of his ship is still original to 1957.

A craftsman uses his shoulder to guide in a new section of a rib on the side
of the Mayflower II.  The hand craftsmanship of the repairs reminded me
of what the original shipbuilders must have been doing in the early 17th century.

Since this extensive repair work was not scheduled, or previously funded, the Plimoth Plantation museum is scrambling to find the proper types of materials and donations to finish this project.  Usually the ship is back in Plymouth Harbor every year during March, but it is now unknown exactly when the Mayflower II will return.  They are hoping for May, or at least June to have her back in the water, fully rigged and ready for the summer tourists.

Captain Arenstam leads the tour of the Mayflower II in drydock

A special tour of the Mayflower II was arranged for 29 May 2013 for members of the Plimoth Plantation museum, and limited to only a dozen lucky guests.  It was led by museum staff and Captain Arenstam and his crew.  Not only did we see the marine workshop at the museum, but we got to see the Mayflower II in drydock at the Fairhaven shipyard.  The Captain and staff carefully outlined the ship repairs, plans for the future, and the repair process going on in Fairhaven. 

A special member of the tour was Joseph Meany, who was the original cabin boy on the
Mayflower II's voyage from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1957.
Can you find him in the photo to the left?*

The Mayflower II is a symbolic image for all Americans and history buffs.  It doesn’t matter whether your ancestors arrived on the original Mayflower or on some other ship, or even by plane or train.  The idea of traveling a long distance from some distant land to a new home in North America is symbolized by this little ship.  She is beloved by Plymouth residents, school children from all over New England, tourists and travelers from all over the world.   I wish the Mayflower II well and hope to see her back in Plymouth as soon as possible.

Vincent and Captain Peter Arenstam of the Mayflower II

In 2020 the Plimoth Plantation, town of Plymouth, state of Massachusetts, the General Society of Mayflower  Descendants, the Wampanoag Nation and a plethora of other organizations and groups will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the voyage the original Mayflower took in 1620, bringing the first permanent settlers to Plymouth.  Having the Mayflower II ship shape by 2020 is a major goal for everyone!

To donate to the repair of the Mayflower II please see this webpage:
http://www.plimoth.org/SOS

The search is on for very, very large white oak trees to supply the planking and beams for the Mayflower II repairs.  Do you know any large white oak trees?  Read this post:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-plea-from-plimoth-plantation-museum.html

*Joe Meany is the young man sitting on the deck of the Mayflower II with the "cape" on his shoulders. (Second to the right, seated in the front row)  He had his graduation ceremony on board the Mayflower II at sea on June 2, 1957, perrformed by the crew.  You can read about that here:
http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/mayflower-ii/journey-mayflower/crew-journals/joe-meany%E2%80%99s-graduation-day

------------------------

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

A Google Book Search for Mayflower Books

Mayflower II 1957 arriving in Plymouth harbor

There are many, many books on the Mayflower and the Plymouth Colony, and many are listed on Google Books, but few are readable online.  Some are just previews, or are searchable, but not readable.  You won't find the latest research or the newly published books on the Pilgrims here, those books are still under copyright - like Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs' book Strangers and Pilgrims, Travellers and Sojourners or Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower.

Many of the older books contain out of date research, but some are invaluable such as the membership directories from the Mayflower Society from 100 years ago, or the epitaphs from Plymouth's Burial Hill written in 1896 (some of those epitaphs are now illegible).  The most recent book on this list was published in 2009, but most are 100 years older than that!  If you are interested in a particular book on this list, just type the title and author into the search bar at https://books.google.com/   Also, please note that these digitized versions of the books are searchable, so you search each volume for surnames, geographic locations, or any other keyword.  Sometimes this is better than having the actual volume in front of you on the desk! 

The Arrival of the Pilgrims, by John Franklin Jameson, 1920, published by Brown University.

Bradford’s History “Of Plimoth Plantation”, 1901, published by Wright & Potter, state printers for the Massachusetts General Court. 

The Brewster Genealogy, 1566 – 1907: A Record of the Descendants of William Brewster of the Mayflower, Ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Church which founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, Volume 1,  by Emma C. Brewster Jones, 1908.

Captain Myles Standish, by Tudor Jenks, 1905, published by Century Company.

Chief of the Pilgrims: Or the Life and Time of William Brewster, Ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Company that Founded New Plymouth, the Parent Colony of New England, in 1620, by Ashbel Steele, 1857, published by J. B. Lippincott.

Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers of the Colony of Plymouth, by Alexander Young, 1841, published by C. C. Little and J. Brown.

The Colony of New Plymouth and Its Relations to Massachusetts: A Lecture of a Course by Members of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Delivered before the Lowell Institute, Jan. 19, 1869, by William Brigham, 1869. 

Elder William Brewster, of the Mayflower: His Books and Autographs, with Other Notes, by Justin Winsor, 1887, published by John Wilson and Son.

Epitaphs from Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts from 1657 to 1892 with Biographical and Historical Notes, by Bradford Kingman, 1892, Brookline, Mass.: New England Illustrated Historical Publishing Company.

The Enterprise of the Mayflower, by Amice MacDonell, 1889, published by Walter H. Baker & Company.

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1901, published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

Good Newes from New England, by Edward Winslow, 1996, published by Applewood Books.  

Governor William Bradford’s Letter Book, by William Bradford, 1906, published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants (reprinted from the Mayflower Descendant).

The Graves of Myles Standish and Other Pilgrims, by Eugene Joseph Vincent Huiginn, 1914.

Guide to Plymouth and Recollections of the Pilgrims, Volume 2, by William Shaw Russell, 1846.

Handbook of Old Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts: Its History, Its Famous Dead, and Its Quaint Epitaphs, by Frank Herman Perkins, 1896.

An Historical Memoir of the Colony of New Plymouth, by Francis Baylies, 1830, published by Hilliard, Gray, Little and Wilkins.

A History of the Allerton Family in the United States, 1585 to 1885, and a Genealogy of the Descendants of Isaac Allerton, Mayflower Pilgrim, Plymouth, Mass., 1620, by Walter Scott Allerton and Horace True Currier, 1900, published by S. W. Allerton.

History of Plimoth Plantation, by William Bradford, 1898, Boston: Wright and Potter Printing Co.

History of Plymouth County with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Massachusetts, by Duane Hamilton Hurd, 1884, Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co.

History of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford, edited with notes by Charles Deane, 1856, Boston: Privately Printed.

The History of the Pilgrims, Or, A Grandfather’s Story of the First Settler of New England, 1831, Boston: T. B. Marvis for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Union.

History of the Town of Plymouth, by William Thomas Davis, 1885, Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co.

History of the Town of Plymouth, from Its First Settlement in 1620 to the Present Time: With a 

Concise History of the Aborigines of New England, and Their Wars with the English, etc., by James Thacher, 1835, published by Marsh, Capen & Lyon.

The Howland Homestead, 1911, published by the Society of the Descendants of Pilgrim John Howland, of the Ship Mayflower.

An Illustrated Guide to Historic Plymouth, Massachusetts, by Walter F. Wheeler, 1921, Boston: The Union News Company.

John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers, A Study of his Life and Times, by Walter Herbert Burgess, 1920, published by Williams & Norgate.

The Last of the Mayflower, by James Rendel Harris, 1920, published by the University Press.

Lives of the Governors of New Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, by Jacob Bailey Moore, 1848, New York: Gates & Stedman.

The Mayflower, edited by Robert Hamilton, 1846, originally published in Boston by Saxton & Kelt.

Mayflower Essays on the Story of the Pilgrim Fathers as Told in Governor Bradford’s History of the Plimoth Plantation:  With a Reproduction of Captain John Smith’s Map of New England, by George Cuthbert Blaxland, 1896, published by Ward & Downey.

The Mayflower: Or, Scenes and Sketches Among the Descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852, published by Knight and Son.

The Mayflower Pilgrims: Being a Condensation in the Original Wording and Spelling of the Story Written by Gov. William Bradford of their Privations and Trials, and the Voyage of the Mayflower and Settlement at Plymouth in the Year 1620, by William Bradford and John Tyler Wheelwright, 1921, published by McGrath-Sherrill Press.

The Mayflower Descendant: A Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy and History, Volume 23 (1921) and others published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants.

Mayflower Descendants and Their Marriages for Two Generations After Landing, 1922, published by the Bureau of Military and Civic Achievement, Washington, DC

The Mayflower Pilgrim Descendants in Cape May County, New Jersey, by Paul Sturtevant Howe, 1921, published by A. R. Hand.

Mourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1986, published by Applewood Books.

Mourt’s Relation Or Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth, contributors Edward Winslow, Henry Martyn Dexter, and William Bradford, 1865, published by J. K. Wiggin.

The New England’s Memorial, by Nathaniel Morton, 2009, published by Applewood Books.

The Pastor of the Pilgrims: A Biography of John Robinson, by Walter Herbert Burgess, 1920, published by Harcourt, Brace & Howe.

Pilgrim Alden: The Story of the Life of the First John Alden in America, by Augustus Ephraim Alden, 1902, Boston: James H. Earle & Company.

Pilgrims and Puritans: The Story of the Planting of Plymouth and Boston, by Nina Moore Tiffany, 1888, published by Ginn & Company.

The Pilgrims and Their Monument, by Edmund Janes Carpenter, 1911, published by D. Appleton and Company.

Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, In New England, Volume 7, by Nathaniel Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, 1861, Boston: the press of William White. 

Records of the Town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Volume 1 1636 to 1705, 1889, Plymouth: Avery & Doten.

Richard Warren of the Mayflower and Some of His Descendants, by Emily Warren Roebling, 1901, published by David Clapp & Son.

The Romantic Story of the Mayflower Pilgrims: And Its Place in the Life of Today, by Albert Christopher Addison, 1911, published by L. C. Page.

Signers of the Mayflower Compact, by Annie Arnoux Haxtun, 1896.

The Signers of the Mayflower Compact and Their Descendants, by Henry Whittemore, 1899, published by the Mayflower Publishing Company.

Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Michigan, 1915.

Stories of the Pilgrims, by Margaret Blanche Pumphrey, 1912, published by Rand McNally.

A Tribute to the Memory of the Pilgrims, and a Vindication of the Congregational Churches of New England, by Joel Hawes, 1836, published by D. Burgess & Company.

The Voyage of the Mayflower, by Blanche McManus, 1897, published by E. R. Herrick & Company.

The Women of the Mayflower and Women of Plymouth Colony, by Ethel Jane Russell Chesebrough Noyes, 1921, published by Memorial Press. 

The Women who Came on the Mayflower, by Annie Russell Marble, 1920, published by the Pilgrim Press.

-----------------------

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Google Book Search for Mayflower Books", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 23, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-google-book-search-for-mayflower-books.html: accessed [access date]).

2020 Events for the 400th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Mayflower

More will be published about these and other events in the upcoming issues of the Mayflower Quarterly magazine published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.  There will be lots of chances for you to participate in family friendly activities.  See the January 2020 Mayflower Quarterly and the GSMD website https://themayflowersociety.org  for reservations and event information.  These spaces will fill up quickly (just like many hotels in Plymouth are already full for September 2020), so plan your 2020 calendar now!  This will be an excellent chance to take a family vacation to Plymouth, Massachusetts to share these once in a lifetime events with your family, children, and grandchildren.

NOTE:  See this UPDATE from May 28, 2020 with a revised schedule:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/05/updated-mayflower-400-schedule.html 

Mayflower 400 Events

January 1^st, 2020 – The Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California will feature a float sponsored by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.  See the California Mayflower Society website for more information https://www.camayflower.org/ about special spectator seating, volunteer opportunities to help decorate the float, or donate to the project. 

April 24, 2020 – POSTPONED Opening Ceremony at the Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. 

May 14 - 19 - POSTPONED Mayflower Sails 2020, the Mayflower II will make her maiden voyage to the Charlestown Navy Yard following her 3 year restoration. The 6 day, 5 night maritime festival will comemorate the 400th anniversary of the historic voyage. www.sailingmayflower.org  

May 23 - POSTPONED  The Mayflower II opens to the public in her home berth at Plymouth, Massachusetts

June 27 – 28 -  CANCELLED Maritime Salute in Plymouth Harbor with a regatta of wooden ships and other boats.  There will be a lobster bake on the waterfront.  Mayflower II will be saluted.  https://www.plymouth400inc.org/event/official-maritime-salute-to-the-400th-anniversary/  

August 1 – POSTPONED TO 2021 Wampanoag Ancestors Walk – members of the Wampanoag tribes of Massachusetts will march through downtown Plymouth with placards with the names of the original 69 villages of the Wampanoag Nation.  They will stop at designated sites to pay homage to Massasoit and King Philip.  There will be a drum ceremony and reception.  https://www.plymouth400inc.org/event/wampanoag-ancestors-walk/  

September 10 – 14, the Mayflower II will visit Provincetown, Massachusetts   https://provincetown400.com/2020-events  

September 12 – Recreation of the Signing of the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown, welcome ceremony for the Mayflower II.  There will be a Mayflower Gala, and historical re-enactments.

September 13 – Memorial Service, Wreath Laying, ticketed luncheon and concert for descendants in Provincetown

September 14 – Sunrise Toast and Bon Voyage to Mayflower II as she sails from Provincetown back to Plymouth

Sept 14 – CANCELLED (Possible 2021?) The Governor of Massachusetts will hold an Official State House Salute to the 400^th Commemoration.  The GSMD members will perform a Pilgrim’s Progress from the Park Plaza Hotel to the statehouse steps. Ticketed Gala at the State House.

  https://www.plymouth400inc.org/event/official-state-house-salute-to-the-400th-anniversary/ 

Sept. 15 – 18 – CANCELLED  The GSMD Mayflower Congress in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

  https://www.themayflowersociety.org/2020/item/373-2020-commemoration-events-and-mayflower-congress

September 17, the US Post Office will release the commemorative US stamp with a picture of the Mayflower. There will be a ceremony in Plymouth, next to the Mayflower at her home berth on the waterfront. 

   

Sept. 19 – 20 –  CANCELLED - some elements moved to 2021 The Embarkation Festival – A cultural and arts festival honoring the traditions, food and music of both the original Pilgrim settlers, Wampanoag people, and the diverse immigrants who followed.   https://www.plymouth400inc.org/event/embarkation-festival/  

Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 – Indigenous History Conference and Powwow hosted by Bridgewater State University.  https://www.plymouth400inc.org/event/indigenous-history-conference-powwow/   

Thanksgiving Week 2020

Nov. 20 concerts in Plymouth, Massachusetts and Boston, Massachusetts

Nov. 21  Thanksgiving parade

Nov. 22 “One Small Candle” Ceremony at the Mayflower House, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Nov. 25, Thanksgiving Eve, Illuminate Thanksgiving spectacle in Plymouth, Massachusetts

2021 Events

April 23, 2021 - Remembrance Ceremony - local dignitaries and state officials will remember the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people of 1620 for their contributions and sacrifices. Details to be announced.

May 2021,  Rescheduled Wampanoag Ancestors Walk. Final date and more details to come soon.

June 25 -27, Official Maritime Salute to the 400th Anniversary.  Originally planned for June 2020. An extra day has been added to kick off the weekend.

September 7 - 12, Tentative, The 400th Anniversary of the First Thanksgiving and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants General Board of Assistants meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  This will include a dedication ceremony for the bronze statue of William Bradford.  

For the Truly Curious:

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants:  https://www.themayflowersociety.org/  

Plymouth 400 website  https://www.plymouth400inc.org/

Revision to schedule:   https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/plymouth-400-announces-revised-schedule-for-anniversary-events/2131738/?fbclid=IwAR0tMSJ7mb3EcVQOCVRznrQHsp90FD_eHLIzR3x5FJ6tKJ_pNVhNpxH7UZc 

Click here for a list of events in the United Kingdom:
https://www.mayflower400uk.org/events/         

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/Plymouth-400--Mayflower-Sails-2020-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-559390461.html   

----------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "2020 Events for the 400th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Mayflower", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 8, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/10/2020-events-for-400th-anniversary-of.html: accessed [access date]).