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!
