Genealogy
Jett’s American ancestors, 2018 update
I have gone through Jett’s Ancestry tree, reviewing new hints, correcting some errors and adding a few newly-discovered ancestors – specifically the ancestors of Mehitable Williams (a 6th great-grandmother). In the course of reviewing these new hints i discovered some new things: She has several new direct links to Plantagenet royalty (specifically Edward III). She … Continue reading
Col William Burgess Sr, 1622-1686
I had an afternoon free this week, so I decided to travel an hour to visit the All Hallows Cemetery in Harwood MD (formerly Birdsville). I was looking for the grave of an 8th great-grandfather, Col. William Burgess Sr. I thought he was my only direct ancestor buried there, but was surprised to discover, buried … Continue reading
TS4-1 Hop 1: Phillipston MA to Schenectady NY
152 miles via US 202, MA 21, I-90, I-87, I-890 (near Schenectady) and NY 5. Cumulative tow miles: 152. Truck miles: 170. Cumulative truck miles: 170. This hop was over roads that we have traveled before, so no surprises. There is a lot of up-and-down both on US 202 and I-90, so the engine got … Continue reading
Sparky’s immigrant ancestors, 2018 update
Since I have summarized my research into Jett’s immigrant ancestors, I will also summarize mine, for comparison purposes. I have identified 193 immigrant ancestors – many fewer than Jett’s count due to many of the immigrants being more recent than hers. The VA/MD branch is a little shaky, but solid enough to be included. I … Continue reading
Jett’s immigrant ancestors, 2018 update
I have continued to research Jett’s rich ancestry, with a focus on her immigrant ancestors. I have identified 314 such ancestors. Not all are rock-solid, but I am pretty comfortable with the vast majority of them. I will summarize a couple of relevant demographics here. By country of birth: England 288 Ireland … Continue reading
The hidden cost of headstone hunting
I enjoy headstone hunting for several reasons: It is a bit of a treasure hunt – I always feel great when I find an old headstone marking an ancestor’s gravesite. It is esthetically pleasing – most of the old cemeteries are quite scenic. It is free. Well, almost free. As I discovered a couple of … Continue reading
Finding the Oldfields Cemetery
I tried to find the Oldfields Cemetery in South Berwick ME on Friday. I did find it, but the “adventure” I had in locating it was a cautionary tale on the use of GPS. My first thought was to simply Google it. Yes, Google knew of its existence (though there was some dispute over whether … Continue reading
Finding some of Jett’s early immigrant ancestors
We came to Plymouth for 24 days with the intention of visiting some cemeteries where some of Jett’s early immigrant ancestors are buried. The incessant rain got in the way and we didn’t visit as many sites as I hoped we would, but we did find some really significant sites. First and foremost, we visited … Continue reading
Pilgrim Hall
We were blessed with a break in the rain Wednesday (the only day this week that we haven’t been drenched) and used the “good” weather to venture into downtown Plymouth to visit Pilgrim Hall, a small museum celebrating the arrival of the Mayflower and the early history of the Pilgrims in Plymouth. I wasn’t expecting … Continue reading
Plymouth by night
On Saturday afternoon I visited Burial Hill again, looking for the elusive grave of Elizabeth Walker Warren, which I did not find. But I encountered some of Jett’s distant relatives who were also searching for her grave. We had a nice chat about her and about genealogy in general. Later my brother Dennis joined me … Continue reading