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 Cooke	William Mullins
Isaac Allerton	Edward Doty	Degory Priest
Mary (Norris) Allerton	Francis Eaton	Joseph Rogers
Mary Allerton	Samuel Eaton	Thomas Rogers
Remember Allerton	Sarah Eaton	Henry Samson
Elinor Billington	Moses Fletcher	George Soule
Francis Billington	Edward Fuller	Myles Standish
John Billington	Mrs. Edward Fuller	Elizabeth Tilley
William Bradford	Samuel Fuller	John Tilley
Love Brewster	Samuel Fuller (Son of Edward)	Joan (Hurst) Tilley
Mary Brewster	Constance Hopkins	Richard Warren
William Brewster	Elizabeth (Fisher) Hopkins	Peregrine White
Peter Browne	Giles Hopkins	Resolved White
James Chilton	Stephen Hopkins	Susanna White
Mrs. James Chiltonn	John Howland	William White
Mary Chilton	Richard More	Edward 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.