The Review and the Decision

 

My application was approved! 

 

Plymouth took a long look at all the evidence and has certified that I am a descendant of Stephen Hopkins.  When John first sent the email letting me know of the outcome I was surprised at how thrilled I was.  

The lineage traces back to my 11^th great grandfather, Stephen Hopkins, who was born in 1581 in England.  The line is on my gran’s side of the family through her father Archie Wood.

Just over 2 years of research on this branch of the family and I am proud to know that the “gold standard in lineage societies” has thoroughly reviewed and verified my research.  The Society will incorporate the documentation I submitted into their vast repository of information available for future researchers.  I feel validated to know I didn’t just drop into a rabbit hole only to find out I was way off base all along. Especially after all the time and effort I spent researching.

Stephen Hopkins was an interesting character and I want to learn more about him and his life.  He was apparently an adventurous sort who survived a shipwreck aboard the Sea Venture in 1609, he talked himself out of a death penalty for “mutiny & rebellion” for speaking out against the governor and he owned a tavern for which he was fined by the courts on more than one occasion for a variety of ‘crimes of the time’.  He was also one of the forty-one signers of the Mayflower Compact in 1620 which set out the rules for self-governance for the good of their new colony. 

It has been a rewarding journey to say the least!

Depiction of the signing of the Mayflower Contract aboard the Mayflower, 1620.

Image from the Mayflower Society Website

www.themayflowersociety.org/history/the-mayflower-compact/

 

Where To Next?

I’ve worked so long on the line to Stephen Hopkins and the Mayflower, that I’m not sure where to go next in my family tree research. 

As far as the status of my Mayflower application is concerned, the Canadian Mayflower historian, John, that I am working with submitted it in late November.  I still wasn’t sure if there was enough supplementary documentation for my 3^rd great grandfather William Wood (Jr.) parents, but he felt we could support the argument.  I found more information supporting my 5^th great-grandmother, Rebecca Cain’s parents as well.  The package was submitted to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (“the Society”) in Plymouth, MA and I was informed that it normally took a couple of months for a review to be complete.

The Society did come back asking for analyses to prove that Leah Adams was the mother of Rebecca Cain and for the parents of William Wood Jr.  Thankfully I had done extensive research and completed research reports for both individuals.  John took my reports and work that he had done and summarized them into two analyses for the Society.  In his words, “given the extensive research you did, I think we can provide analyses which are conclusive.”  The documents were submitted January 30^th.

On that same day, John got another message from Plymouth that another verifier looking at the application wanted some additional and, in some case, better copies of information we had submitted in November.  We gathered what they needed and sent it February 1^st.

I knew going in that this was going to be tough because there has yet to be a proven line down to my Wood ancestors.  Throughout my time researching I did connect with others also descended from the line that too had problems because of the lack of documentation for Rebecca Cain.  I suspected that because of that, the Society were going to take a hard look at my submission.

So, I now anxiously await their decision.  The thing is, there is very specific documentation required by the Society. Failing that documentation there needs to be enough supporting documents, research, and analysis proving that those other documents all relate to the individual for the Society to accept them. I will be extremely disappointed if they don’t accept my application for membership, but I have no doubt that the line I have traced is accurate. 

Conclusions

 

The heart of all our genealogical work is determining identities and relationships and proving them. 

~ Judy Kellar Fox, Certified Genealogist.

I think I’ve cracked the case on my Mayflower connection.  But, as I’ve said before, that doesn’t mean the society will accept my theories.  In mid-July I sent revision 9 to the historian and I’m waiting anxiously for his thoughts on the supporting documents I’ve found. 

In the meantime, I’ve been learning from professional genealogists about writing research conclusions.  There are Genealogy Practice Standards (GPS) that need to be met to prove lineage.  Learning this is going to assist me in writing up the conclusion to this project and any others I may work on with other branches of my tree.

I’ve learned that there are common types of conclusions to support a theory. 

1.    Proof Statements – these are source-cited sentences that are used when at least two citations demonstrate that a conclusion’s accuracy requires no explanation.

2.      Proof Summaries -   these are a little more complex and require direct evidence as with the proof statement.  They can be lists or narratives that present documentations and if there are any conflicts, they are minor and can be easily explained.

3.      Proof Arguments – these are more complex and address situations where the evidence conflicts or direct evidence is not available.  

(What I have called  “brick walls” or “roadblocks” I've been struggling with) 

In each of them, the goal is to clearly state the question that requires an answer and supply the Who? What? Where? When? and Why? by looking at all the evidence gathered and presenting the best records that support my hypothesis.  This includes conflicting evidence and how I resolved it.  

Birth record, Arch Wood, son of George Wood and Elizabeth King

Courtesy Ancestry.ca

The conclusion will show that I am aimed for accuracy when identifying family members and relationships. Also, that I believe people are who I’ve said they are, and they really belonged to the families I’ve attached them to.

My current stumbling block is that along the way I should not only have cited where I found supporting evidence, but also where I found contradicting evidence.  

Unfortunately, as an amateur, I made notes but didn’t cite where I found the conflicting records.  So now I am revisiting my notes so I can find and cite the records for facts I could not easily explain with direct evidence.  YIKES!

It has been a big project, so I guess it deserves the time and effort put into retracing my steps.  Lesson learned. 

Summer Road Trip #1 - Arden and Northbrook

It was a bright, warm, sunny Spring Day on May 27^th and I packed up a little cooler of snacks and drinks and hit the road!  I headed to Arden to visit the Arden United Church Cemetery, the public library, and then onward to Northbrook to the cemetery there.

According to Find-a-Grave, a website used by many to locate the graves of ancestors, Mary Woodcock and William Wood are assumed to be buried in the Arden cemetery.  My plan was to walk the cemetery in search of a headstone or marker for Mary Wood (Woodcock) or William Wood.  The cemetery is on both sides of the Arden Rd. in a somewhat remote area surrounded by trees.  I snapped a shot of the sign and the first thing I noticed was that it was established in 1880. My theory is that Mary died prior to the 1851 census so I was pretty sure I wouldn’t find her here. 

However, I had made the trip and I took the chance to walk it and photograph other Wood headstones in case I linked any of them in the future to the tree.  I did take a few pictures but have yet to connect them to the tree.  Unfortunately, as I suspected because of the date on the sign, no Mary or William.

From the cemetery I travelled to the library.  It is a small one room library next to the Kennebec Community Hall (Arden Community Centre).  The library had a few books, and I took the time to go through each one.

First on the list was a transcription of the graves at the Arden United Cemetery of Kennebec Township.  This was done for the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) in 1986.  Which confirmed that neither William nor Mary was buried there.

The next was Gaylord, Bordenwood, Henderson United, Elmtree, & Parks Farm Cemeteries also transcribed for the OGS.  These were cemeteries close enough to be considered but there were no Wood names.

I researched several other area related books to see if any names within the tree could be found.  Broadening the search to anyone within the family can often lead to other records that can lead to that specific person you are looking for.  Another purpose in taking the time to read these published books is that they list the sources of information.  These might be sources I can look up to see if there are additional records I can find. 

The books I researched while there included:

• 150 Years 150 Women 150 Stories
• 1861 Census of Bedford, Kennebec, Olden, Oso Townships of Frontenac County. 
• Forty Years of Kennebec Township, Frontenac County, Ontario, 1861-1901 Vol. 1
• Forty Years of Kennebec Township, Frontenac County, Ontario, 1861-1901 Vol. 2

I did find some of my ancestors in the books and created a list of other sources to look at.  So, my trip to Arden was not a waste of time.  If nothing else, it eliminated the a few possible burial spots for William and Mary.

Since then, I have reached out to the Minister at the Arden United Church and asked about historical records.  She has informed me that the United Church of Canada was not established until 1925 and she is not sure where one can find records prior to that time.  Which I suppose does make one wonder about the cemetery being dated 1880.

On the United Church of Canada website, it confirms that the church as inaugurated on June 10, 1925, and is a union of the Methodist Church, the Congregational Union of Canada, and 70% of the Presbyterian Church of Canada.  My Wood ancestors were Methodist.  But where to find the Methodist records before 1925?  That is the question.

My trip to Northbrook was to revisit the Northbrook Cemetery.  I had been there in 2012 with my mother after a family reunion in Flinton. At the time, I didn’t know a great deal about my mom’s side of the family.  I wanted revisit the headstones now that I know more about them and the extended branches. 

Another reason for visiting the cemetery is that I was contacted by a DNA match through Ancestry.  We discovered that we are fourth cousins through brothers George Wood (my 2x great-grandfather) and William Wilson (her 2x great-grandfather).  We are both researching the Wood line and helping each other where we can.  I took some time to see her tree and wanted to get pictures of the cemetery of those in her direct line as well. 

     Headstone of Mont Wood and Jessie Smith         Headstone of Wilson Wood and Lois Hicks

There are a lot of Wood ancestors in this cemetery, and I stopped by each grave to pay my respects.  Starting with Gran and her parents Arch and Clara.  I took pictures of every stone that referred to the name Wood and I am matching them up to the people in the tree.

My great-grandparents Arch and Clara 

Granny's stone 2023                         Granny's stone 2012

Especially touching to me was when I found the headstone for my mom’s Aunt Laura.  She and my mom were born in just a few months apart in 1937.  Mom in February and Laura in July.  Laura passed away in November 2015 and my mom in July 2016.  They were very close growing up and I’m glad I had the chance to meet this special person.

This picture was featured in a calendar.

My mom is the one holding the Girls sign.

Her aunt Laura is on the far left holding the "Be Prepared" banner.

Photo is also on Flickr along with others in the Cloyne & District Historical Societies photostream.

A New Roadblock on my Mayflower Journey

In February I touched on my journey into proving my line back to an ancestor, Stephen Hopkins, who was a passenger on the Mayflower.  I’m continuing the research to obtain as many official registration records as possible.  Where I can’t get those official records, I’ve ventured into secondary records such as censuses, church registers, published family histories, and old newspapers. I’ve also joined several genealogical societies and Facebook Genealogical groups from different areas. 

I am so close, and yet so far, from my application being accepted.

I can prove with official records that I am descended from William Wood and Hannah J. Dodge (whom we believe was ‘taken in’ and adopted by a Thompson family at a young age).  That section of my tree looks like this:

With research, we start with what we know and work our way back, which is how I followed the records to this relationship. Early on, I thought my 4^th great grandfather’s name was John because that is the name given on the death record for William.  My research expanded to look for records of any kind because government registration was not in place in 1834 for births.  I was unable to find anything that linked William Wood as the son of John Wood.  I did however piece together census information starting in 1851 for William Wood as the father of William and this William’s father’s name was John Wood.  I looked at John Wood being the grandfather, not the father of William the younger and started finding connections that supported this theory. 

More often than we might think, historical records can hold incorrect information and I believe that the name John was not correct.  I believe this because 1) I could not find a household with John as the head who had a son named William; 2) I could find several records that showed a William Wood and son William Wood; 3) William juniors’ son Gilbert reported the death.  Gilbert was a young boy when William senior died and he may not have known or remembered his grandfather’s first name; 4) I can find more substantiation for the relationship of William and William, and none for John and William as father and son.

As mentioned in my last post, I must prove parentage about a person with supporting documentation. At that point, I was researching the parentage of one female ancestor but have since learned from the historian I’ve been working with that I need to try to get more definitive proof of parentage for William Wood.  Essentially, my brick wall in terms of the certification process starts with William in 1834 rather than the female ancestor born in 1760.

One of the records sources I found William on are the Canadian Census records from 1851 through the 1911 census, the last before he died.

When reviewing the 1851 Census I found Wm Wood listed twice on the same page and I believe it is a record of the same person.  Families of the time often lived near or on the same property and the first record shows the household of David Wood and his wife Magdalene, their son and Wm Wood listed as a Labourer and not a member of the household family.  (See the image below). David is Williams older brother and I believe William was residing with or helping around the farm.  He might possibly have been there when the census was taken so he was included.  After all, it was the first census, and they were enumerating everyone in the household.  

Census record image from Ancestry

On the same page of the census, lines 26 to 31, is the household of Wm Wood, aged 64, widow and his children – Jane, Ebenezer & Hannah along with a boy named Gregory Whitelock, Wm Wood jun, age 19 also a labourer, and Margaritte Babcock. They are listed as family members.

Census record image from Ancestry

    

On the 1861 Census I find William Wood senior living with William & Hannah and their children William, Eliza Jane, and George C.

Census record image from Ancestry

On this same page are William’s brother Ebenezer’s family and other family surnames I recognize as familiar to our family:   Boomhower, Woodcock, Thompson, and Peterson.

By the 1871 census, William senior is now living with David and Magdalene’s family (the same family listed on the 1851 census).  This record is only a few pages after William juniors’ family listing in the census, again supporting the theory they are related and living nearby one another.

These census records analyzed together with other records I’ve found make me confident that William’s father was William Wood, born in the United States who married Mary Woodcock of Lennox & Addington in September 1819.  The roadblock? Mary died before the 1851 census was taken and birth registrations were not in place.  I am struggling to find an acceptable record that says she was the mother of William but I’m not giving up!

Rediscovering the Art of Genealogy

 

This journey to prove that I am a Mayflower descendant has been interesting.  Even though I can prove a line by various sources available, there are very specific documentary requirements that need to be met to get certified by The Society of Mayflower Descendants. That’s more challenging than you might think.

For every generation in your lineage there are five specific life events that you have to prove: birth and death of the line carrier, their marriage, and birth and death of their spouse.  Not only do you have to prove birth, marriage, and death, you must prove it with at least two of the records clearly indicating who the parents were of that person.  To stack onto the paper trail, if a woman was married more than once and had a different surname at her death, you must prove that it was the same person by providing marriage information to the second spouse as well.

These days we think everything is online.  We scour through Ancestry, Family Search or some other online genealogy platform searching for hints.  And there are many hints to be reviewed, some belong to your family, some do not.  But then there are those elusive records.  The ones that you need that date prior to the government registrations or census taking.  Those records create the biggest challenge to meet the societies criteria.

A lot of the early to mid-1800s information is hard to find because that’s when people were on the move and settling in different areas.  And, those areas were shifting and changing names so it’s really important to know the history of that area.  I’ve seen census records for relatives that were once living in Mecklenburg District, later in Midland District, and later in a specific township.  When I researched the history of the area, I discovered that Mecklenburg was later called Midland, and then later broken into townships so they were basically in the same place each time.

Throughout this process I have been reminded of the art of doing genealogy.  Not just surfing the web but digging into old archives at churches and libraries, visiting cemeteries, and connecting with historical societies where my ancestors lived.  There was a time back in the 1990’s when I was researching my dad’s family.  There wasn’t as much online as there is now and I took a road trip to Shelburne, Nova Scotia to visit the historical society there.  They had so much information.  I even saw school records from when he was in the third grade!  I’m at that stage in my research again and glad that spring is coming so I can look forward to these little road trips!

The Absentee Blogger

As it turns out, I’m not a great blogger.  I realize I haven’t written in almost a year, but in my defence, I have been doing research. (Well except for last summer, but I tend to do less research when it’s warm and I can be outside gardening)

As I was researching my grandmother’s ancestors, I came upon an interesting discovery that if I can prove undoubtedly, links our family to some very interesting times in North American history.  I’ve been quite hush-hush about it because I haven’t validated everything yet, but I am close.  I am only writing about it now because I realize I have ignored my blog far too long and I’ve hit a brick wall in the research.  I really think I need to take a bit of a break from it so I can start with a fresh brain.

Essentially, if I can prove the parentage of one ancestor, born in the mid-1750’s to early 1760’s I can prove that I am a Mayflower descendant.  If that is proven, then I can trace our family tree back to one of the founding fathers of the U.S.A. (3^rd cousin 8x removed but still…).

After compiling the research and the evidence I had, I consulted an historian with the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Canada.  He reviewed what I had, indicated what I needed, and suggested that I should make an application.  I was also advised that records from the seventeen and eighteen hundreds may not exist and I may have to find alternate proof such as wills or church records that could demonstrate proof of parentage.  This is where I am now stuck.  I need proof of parentage for that key person linking to all those historical times and people.  It has been the main focus of my research which has been both interesting and frustrating at times.   

I’ve recently sent a revision of my application and data to that historian.  He has suggested some other places to look and is helping me find information.  I hope it hasn’t all been for nothing but that is the way with genealogy.  Sometimes you find out that the rabbit hole you fell into wasn’t the right one and you’ve got to start over on a line. 

Keep your fingers crossed that I get lucky and keep watching for updates!