This year, I’m verifying our Mayflower connections with my husband, Rob. His path is smoother because his great-uncle previously applied and the Mayflower Society accepted his application via William Brewster. For him, I just need to reconstruct that application and include more evidence. It’s mainly about proving the parent-to-child relationship across generations.
On Family Search (www.familysearch.org) I, apparently have a connection to Degory Priest on my maternal line. If this is true, he would be my 12th great-grandfather.
On the website American Ancestors (a subscription site, part of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society), I found an article that explains how to document your lineage back to a Mayflower passenger.
The first 5 generations, starting with Degory Priest, are completed for you and published in the “Silver Books” (named for their silver covers). These books also include the children of the 5th generation, giving you six generations with names, dates, and places. Beyond that, however, you’ll need to provide your own proof. In my case, the individual from the 5th generation is Sarah Swan (Ebenezer Swan, Mary Pratt, Mary Priest, Degory Priest).1
Sarah Swan was born on 26 Feb 1700/01 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, British America, and married Ephraim Cook in Cambridge on 14 Dec 1727.2 They had 10 children including my potential 7th great-grandmother, Sarah Cook.
So now I need to link the remaining generations down to me. And like all genealogy questions, you start with what you know and move backward. Hopefully, when I do get further back those documents will connect with Sarah Cook. If they don’t at least I’ll know who my ancestors are not.
Won’t you join me on my Mayflower Journey?
Genealogy Tip: When starting a lineage application, read through it carefully and educate yourself on what the society needs to approve your application. There are many online sources to help you with whatever society you are trying to join.
If you’d like to see if your lineage takes you back to the Mayflower, let’s get started…together.
1 “Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700-1880,” online database, AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society (https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/mayflower-families-fifth-generation-descendants-1700-1880/image?; accessed 10 Jan 2023), entry for Degory Priest, Vol. 8, pp. 72-3; citing “Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620,” Plymouth MA; General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1975-2015.
2 Ibid.
