Friday, November 29, 2013

Pilgrim Ancestry

According to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, about twenty to thirty million people are descended from the Mayflower pilgrims. One hundred and two pilgrims sailed to the New World and arrived near Cape Cod, Massachusetts in November 1620. Almost half of them died that first winter and still millions can claim ancestry from these original fifty pilgrims!

If you are interested in discovering your Mayflower ancestors, you can first search through the surnames of Mayflower passengers. The following are the eligible names compiled by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

John Alden                                  Francis Cooke                                    Priscilla Mullins
Bartholomew Allerton John CookeWilliam Mullins
Isaac Allerton Edward DotyDegory Priest
Mary (Norris) Allerton Francis EatonJoseph Rogers
Mary Allerton Samuel EatonThomas Rogers
Remember Allerton Sarah EatonHenry Samson
Elinor Billington Moses FletcherGeorge Soule
Francis Billington Edward FullerMyles Standish
John Billington Mrs. Edward FullerElizabeth Tilley
William Bradford Samuel FullerJohn Tilley
Love Brewster Samuel Fuller (Son of Edward)Joan (Hurst) Tilley
Mary Brewster Constance HopkinsRichard Warren
William Brewster Elizabeth (Fisher) HopkinsPeregrine White
Peter Browne Giles HopkinsResolved White
James Chilton Stephen HopkinsSusanna White
Mrs. James Chiltonn John HowlandWilliam White
Mary Chilton Richard MoreEdward Winslow

If you think one of these pilgrims might be an ancestor, you can search to see if your family has been included in a lineage book. The General Society of Mayflower Descendants has published the three volume work Mayflower Descendants Through Five Generations which you can use in the Genealogy & Local History Room.

Other Mayflower-related resources the library owns includes:

Mayflower Marriages
Mayflower Increasings
The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers
Families Directly Descended From All the Royal Families in Europe and Mayflower Descendants 

Visit the General Society of Mayflower Descendants for information on joining the Mayflower Society and visit the Illinois' chapter for information on local Mayflower-related events.

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