Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

  DECEMBER 27, 2021 When looking forward, it’s always good to take a glance in the rearview mirror and check out where you came from. Without my ancestors paving the way, I wouldn’t have the life I live today. Week 52: Future The earliest known ancestor in my tree to have immigrated to the Americas was Edward Bosworth. His adventurous spirit led to my future here in the United States, and I have to assume his mindset at the time of his passage circled around setting up the best possible future for himself, his wife, and his kids. Unfortunately, his travels did not go quite as planned, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice. He sailed from England and arrived in Boston on a ship named Elizabeth & Dorcas in 1634. His death was recorded there in Boston Harbor. It is assumed his death was due to natural causes and that he died onboard the ship as it approached land because of a diary entry written by Samuel Sewall: Edward Bosworth, the Father, being ready to dye ask’d to be carried up...

  MARCH 07, 2021 In 2019, my New Year’s resolution was to prove lineage to the Mayflower in anticipation of a 2020 trip to Plymouth for the 400th Anniversary. Of course, that trip didn’t happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And sadly, the familial connection didn’t happen either! William Halsall, “Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor,” 1882; Wikimedia Commons, database with images ( https://commons.wikimedia.org : accessed 7 Mar 2021), search for Mayflower. Week 10: Name’s the Same When I initially made that 2019 resolution, I truly thought it would be a snap to find a direct line from myself to a Mayflower passenger. There’s one branch of my father’s family that has very deep American roots around the Massachusetts Bay Colony area. I was absolutely certain that someone in that cluster of the tree must have been one of the lucky pilgrims to make that “maiden” voyage. And not once, but twice, I thought I had made the discovery! There were several other “cousins” who had blindly accepted th...