Tag: History

Gathering More Leaves

PART X – CHAPTER FOUR

I suspected that a wealth of information regarding the Pickering’s and collateral families of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts lay hidden within out-of-print 19th-century books. Furthermore, I believed other genealogists were, and had been, investigating these same family lines, placing them years—even decades—ahead of me. These realizations prompted me to adopt new and radical research technique. I began by gathering information from personal trees on Ancestry.com’s OneWorld section. While recognizing … Continue reading PART X – CHAPTER FOUR

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Gathering More Leaves

PART X – CHAPTER 3

The book, “Pickering Genealogy,” provides detailed information on ten generations of Pickerings, but my direct lineage extends only to the third generation covered in the book. After that, my branch left Salem. Benjamin’s son, Edward Pickering (6x great-grandfather) was born in November 1701 in Salem and died in Mendon, Massachusetts. In 1724, he married Hannah Bancroft in Lynn, Massachusetts, and shortly after that, he relocated … Continue reading PART X – CHAPTER 3

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Gathering More Leaves

PART X – CHAPTER 2

Let’s pause the Pickering saga for a moment to introduce some other key persons in Cordelia Pickering Gaume’s family tree. Understanding these relationships, which go beyond just marriage, is vital. They all shared the major event of the Great Puritan Migration and the Winthrop Fleet in the 1630s, which connects them significantly. On top of that, some of them were participants in a pivotal case … Continue reading PART X – CHAPTER 2

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Gathering More Leaves

PART X – CHAPTER 1

I’ve been procrastinating since April, but now finally getting back to working on my book, Gathering More Leaves. I’m up to the tenth and final part of the book, which will probably be about seven chapters. Originally, I was hoping to be completed by my 70th birthday next month, but that’s not likely to happen (although I am committed to working on this every day). … Continue reading PART X – CHAPTER 1

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Bannon

Typical (Irish) Immigrants!

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. However, when it comes to slot machines and genealogy, repeating the same actions can sometimes lead to surprising and rewarding outcomes. That’s why, every year around St. Patrick’s Day, I visit Ancestry.com to continue searching for my Irish ancestors. On my father’s side, the O’Malley family settled in … Continue reading Typical (Irish) Immigrants!

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DeBacker

The Importance of the Portsmouth Compact

A month ago, I wrote an article titled “Massachusetts Ancestors with Wikipedia Articles.” Yet it’s only now, through further study, that I am realizing the significance of what three of those ancestors did when they put their names on a document in the spring of 1638. These men are ancestors on my father’s side of the family, and their names were Philip Sherman, John Coggeshall, … Continue reading The Importance of the Portsmouth Compact

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Knox

Ethnicity Update #9

(or at least it feels that way) A year ago, I wrote about discovering that my ethnicity estimate at ancestry.com had changed yet again. I’m a little thick-headed because I don’t fully understand why it keeps changing. I need to read more. At any rate, it’s December, and I just learned that the ethnicity estimate was updated in July. I’m beginning to understand things better, … Continue reading Ethnicity Update #9

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