Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

  NOVEMBER 28, 2021 In the early years of British Colonial America, the colonists were up against many obstacles -- finding fertile land, surviving harsh New England winters, building towns from scratch, and especially making peace with the local indigenous populations. The adversity they faced required a lot of tenacity, and my 7th great grandmother, Esther (Bobbett) Paul, survived it all. Mrs. Mary Prudence Smith, The young Puritans in King Philip's war , Boston (Little, Brown and company) 1898; pdf, Library of Congress (www.loc.gov/item/98001083/ : accessed 28 Nov 2021). Week 48: Strength Esther was born 15 April 1669 in Taunton, Massachusetts to my 8th great grandparents, Sarah Tarne and Edward Bobbett, who were married 7 September 1654 in Boston. Taunton is one of the oldest towns in the United States. It was founded by members of the Plymouth Colony in 1637 and officially incorporated into a town two years later. Many of the settlers had originated from Taunton in Somerset, E...

  JANUARY 13, 2021 Week 2: Family Legend It seems nearly every family in America boasts about the Cherokee Indian princess in the tree. And my family is pretty much no exception. Ours may not have been a princess, or even full blooded, and maybe not even Cherokee, but the family legend took hold nonetheless. We had a family portrait that was passed down to my maternal grandmother, Edna (Dean) Millhouse. The portrait, seen below, featured John A. Dean and his wife Margaret Marshall seated in the center, along with six of their grown children. John A. Dean and Margaret (Marshall) Dean and children portrait, West Virginia, circa 1895. My grandmother coupled the portrait with this typed family bio and jotted a note at the bottom: “Our Great Grand father, John Dean (Picture) married to Margaret Marshel who was half Indian.” Edna Arlene (Dean) Millhouse, John Dean family details - typed with her handwritten notes, date unknown, privately held by granddaughter Kira D. Foltz. That was the ...