I am a direct decendent of William Bradford. Was wondering if I could get help with family tree.?

Question

I am trying to trace my family tree and wondered if there are any good places to start without it costing a fortune.

Answer 1

There are several societies that have well-documented genealogies on the Bradford descendents. The key is researching your more modern ancestors backwards until you hook up with them.

The most complete records would be the DAR. http://www.dar.org
They will actually do the lookup for you online if you have the name of an ancestor who fought in or was a hero of the American Revolution. The odds are high that your line is in there since they have not left the continental US.

The next is the Mayflower Descendents Society. There is an historian in each state who you can contact for help on your particular line. Try this link: http://www.themayflowersociety.com/index.htm

Their records are extremely thorough, but they're not as well-staffed as the DAR (which turns around requests in under 48 hours), so I prefer to start with the DAR.

You'll also find many state archives have records that will be very helpful to you. Also try major research libraries such as the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, the Newberry in Chicago, Burton Historical Collection in Detroit or the libraries of large colleges. The information kept in the private collections is the most interesting. You'll usually find private trees that were done 150 years ago and often large collections of etchings and photos.

Stay away from some of the online sites. They're usually full of misinformation created to justify someone else's lineage where the evidence is shaky or lacking. Better to use the credible sources because you want solid research and nothing shady or flimsy.

****BTW, I forgot one really valuable source that may help you link up with the mainstream research. Feel free to work with the New England Historical Genealogical Society. Their resources are quite extensive and invaluable in proving your lineage in the NE. They have resources that no one else has access to and full time volunteers to help you find the records you need.
http://www.newenglandancestors.org/

Answer 2

Hey Kansas Cowgirl,

Or should I say cousin. I have about 7 mayflower passengers in my tree. I can prove at least 3. There are millions of americans that have Bradford also. So, you are on a learning quest, one with well documented information.

There are no less than 5 well documented generations of descendants from the mayflower for every passenger. So, you will need to start with you, and work backwards to where you connect to the descendants of William.

You can buy disks with all of the 5 generations spelled out. If you can tie to one of them, you are a Mayflower decendant, no further searching needed. So you have about 8 generations to research. Your first 5 to 6 will be easier, then it will get difficult. The records at generation 6-8 will be obscure. Seek help via GENFORUM for the surname you are researching. Great chance that someone will have what you need.

Here are some really great sites for Mayflower research. Do not overlook your Vital records from you through G5Grandpa and ma. gooo luck, happy sailing.

Answer 3

A genealogist/libriarn at your Public Library, is a good source to help you with your search.