Geneology...Mayflower?

Question

OK, I understand that the Mayflower took off from England with the Speedwell, a Dutch ship. The Speedwell had a leak so some of the passengers, after a few more tries I guess, boarded the Mayflower to America.

I am part dutch, my grandma is half so could I be related to the pilgrims because my family (grandmother and mom) have told me that our family cam over by the Mayflower)

I know that much of the people on board were English but there were dutch too and i think some servants to the english.

I don't recognize any of the surnames of the list of passengers on the ship, mainly because a woman that I'm related to could have married a man and got last name changed.

So do u know of anyway for sure how I can know and do u think it is possible?

Thanks

Answer 1

There is no ambiguity on who came over on the MAYFLOWER since there is an exact list available of all the passengers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_passengers_on_the_Mayflower

Please note that a few passengers are identified as from Leiden, The Netherlands.

You might also want to reseach the Great Migration (1620-1643) http://www.greatmigration.org/books.html

The Great Migration which occured from 1620-1643 concerns the 900 New England families who emigrated from Europe.

Answer 2

The only way to realistically do this is to start with you, go to your parents, then grandparents. At that point, concentrate on the line that you believe came from the Mayflower and follow that line back (this can take years - and you may even hit a dead end - we all do).

Let's take "old" ages for individuals. Say you are 30, and that your mother had you when she was 30, and her mother had her when she was 30. That means your grandmother was born 90 years ago - or 1917. Let's add another 30 years slop to that and use 1887. The Mayflower voyage was in 1620...267 years before your grandmother was born.

Why does she think you were descendants of the Mayflower? What was her reasoning? If it was sound, then you should be able to use that same reasoning to work that line backwards..if not, well you will find that out too.

But definitely don't start with the Mayflower manifest and work towards the present. You will quickly be faced with thousands of lines to trace. Even if this association with the Mayflower is correct, how would you ever pick the right line?

Start with you, then your parents, then grandparents and backtrack concentrating on the line you believe may have come from the Mayflower.

Answer 3

At least 3 of the pasengers coming over on the Mayflower were my ancestors. There were no Netherlanders on board; they were all English.
Dutch is the language, not the people.
Read the book, "Mayflower Bastard, A Stranger Among the Pilgrims", David Lindsay, Copyright 2002 by David Lindsay, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, New York. Resources & books relating to Massachusetts and England.
(Strangers is the name for any one who was not a Separtist, those erringly called "Pilgrims" or "Puritans".)
And: "History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters and First Comers to Ye Olde Colonie", by Leon Clark Hills, Reprinted for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, Maryland 1990, 1996, 2002.

and:
The Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 1, 1899 --- Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. The Mayflower Descendant, A Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy and History 1899. Volume I. Boston. Published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1899. Facsimile Reprint Published 1994 by Heritage Books, Inc.

The Reverend John Robinson fled England to avoid persecution, taking his flock with him. Although they dwelt in Holland, in the Netherland, for years, all were English that boarded the Speedwell AND the Mayflower.

Here are two other books:
Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Volume Nineteen, Thomas Rogers. Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass. December 1620. Originally compiled by Alice W. A. Westgate; Revised by. Reeves. Published by General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2000. Copyright 2000 by General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 4 Winslow Street, Plymouth, MA 02360. Edited by L. M. Kellogg and others. Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Other Books
Mayflower Passengers by Mrs. Katherine (Robinson?) Carver, 104 passengers.

Check: http://www.revjohnrobinson.com/index.htm
and:
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/

The only way to find out, is to start with your parents and work backwards, one generation at a time.

For me, the Mayflower is 9 generations ago...

Answer 4

If you have the name of a particular person who you think came to the US, contact the Holland Society in NY and see what information they have on her. It's a group that has information on all of the early Dutch settlers to the US.
http://www.hollandsociety.org//

It's not probable that your ancestor was on the Mayflower. But she may have been one of the New Netherlands settlers.

Answer 5

The Mayflower Society has great helps for those who are looking to connect to a pilgrim family. Your best bet is to get your family lineage as far back as you can in the line you believe is the Mayflower lineage. Then check with the society about others who have completed their documentation to join the society to see if your lineage as already been completed.
I have a Mayflower lineage that I am still working on to complete documentation to join.

30+years of researching & 20 years of teaching genealogy has made me use all FREE sources including the local genealogy public library, US gov archives,NARA , federal sources, and local history/genealogical societies in the areas where the family lived. Use the Mormon Library with caution, as most family information is not listed with sources cited but from some one in the familys memory. Using original filmed records are best sources for proof of facts. Use several sources to verify each vital area of Birth, Death, and Marriage before you put down for posterity sake the "facts" . In this age of computers, internet & instant genealogy, one wrong statement can lead many others astray down the wrong family tree.
Always keep a record of your searchs (Research log) of what facility your in and record every film # page & volume #, publisher & author of a book (Dewey Decimal # at that library or a repository catalogue #). This keeps you from repeating your search in the next facility and lets you know you've already covered that material. At the end of each days research, log your finds into your genealogical program with your sources cited in footnotes, endnotes or individual persons file notes. Now your ready for another trip to the library.

Best of luck to you.