The Family Tree
By Terence L. Day
Terence L. Day, genealogist and journalist, is on the Washington State University faculty. He welcomes e-mail at genealogy@moscow.com, or regular mail in care of the Tri-City Herald City newsroom, P.O. Box 2608, Tri-Cities, WA 99302-2608.
More than turkey links some people to Mayflower
This story was published Dec. 6, 1998
As I write this column, I'm suffering from a severe case of turkey on the tummy. It's only natural, then, that thoughts of Thanksgiving feasts inevitably led to the Mayflower, pilgrims and their descendants.
Family lore has it that I'm a shirttail relative of Mayflower descendants. We've been told that my stepdad, Chester James Vinnedge (1914-1984), descends from William Bradford or William Brewster. Many years ago a relative sent a pedigree, but it was swallowed into a black hole that gobbles paper in our family.
As memory serves, which is not at all well enough at times, Chet's Mayflower heritage comes down through Lt. Adonijah Taylor, of Deerfield, Mass. Adonijah and his six sons all served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
We have no idea how well documented the linkage of my stepdad's family was to a Mayflower passenger, and tracing this genealogy is on my list of projects. Unfortunately, for my half siblings, it doesn't rank very high on my list of genealogical priorities.
But it will be fun to get my feet wet on Mayflower research one day. Checking our link to the Mayflower may be either embarrassingly easy or impossible. Mayflower genealogy is fraught with problems.
A good place to start, if you suspect Mayflower ancestors, or are just curious, is the Internet Web site of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants at www.mayflower.org/index.html.
Here you can gain a quick background on what will be involved in your search. Rules for documenting Mayflower heritage are stringent. Proof is required. No sloppy genealogizing allowed here.
The society is actually an association of state General Society of Mayflower Descendants, which is a confederation of 52 "state" societies; these include societies in every state, the District of Columbia and Canada. Each society is autonomous, but all lineage papers (proofs of lineage) must "pass muster" with the General Society's Historian General.
Notwithstanding that there are an estimated 35 million living descendants of Mayflower passengers, be forewarned, it isn't easy joining the 24,500-plus members of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Only 26 males among Mayflower passengers are known to have children. You can qualify for membership if you can prove that another of the passengers had "issue" and that you descend from that person, or if you can prove you descend from one of the following men:
John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Billington, William Bradford, William Brewster, Peter Browne, James Chilton, Francis Cooke, Edward Doty, Francis Eaton, Moses Fletcher, Edward Fuller, Samuel Fuller, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, Richard More, William Mullins, Degory Priest, Thomas Rogers, Henry Samson, George Soule, Myles Standish, John Tilley, Richard Warren, William White or Edward Winslow.
Richard Howland Maxwell, GSMD governor general, says most applicants for membership find it relatively easy to document the first five generations of Mayflower descendants. You also should find it pretty easy to prove the last three or four generations, ending with you.
The generations in between likely will be be more difficult. "Some of us call generations six, seven, and eight from the Mayflower ancestor the "Bermuda Tri angle" of genealogy," Maxwell says.
That's why giving my half-sibs a hand in proving their reported Mayflower connection isn't high on my list of research priorities at the moment.
But, thanks to the computer and digital communications, the time has never been better for searching for Mayflower links. The World Wide Web provides many valuable resources. In addition to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, there are a number of sites sponsored by Mayflower descendants. Among the best of these is one maintained by GSMD member Caleb Johnson. Just a few months ago, Johnson published important new findings on the background and family of Stephen Hopkins.
"That means that our sizable volume on Hopkins will need a revision. Similar things have happened recently with the Eaton and Rogers families," Maxwell said.
This means, of course, that genealogists who have been stymied in the past need to return to the hunt once every year or so to search for newly discovered information. Johnson's Mayflower page is at: http://users.aol.com/calebj/ mayflower.html.
If you have questions about pursuing Mayflower lineage, Maxwell asks that you contact your state society. Washington residents should write Margaret Hyre, P.O. Box 30691, Seattle 98103-4726, or e-mail her at WEGardaol.com. Oregon residents should e-mail Merwin F. Almy at almyaracnet.com. Sorry, the society lists only an e-mail address for Almy.
Those who don't have Internet access, or don't like to use the Internet, will find abundant sources at their local library or at the nearest Family History Center operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.