I have been remiss in blogging. I'm going nuts with updating my database. Finding children, sourcing. I have to finally admit that I'm enjoying the ease of the collaboration between Rootsweb and Ancestry. It annoys me. I don't want to PAY for genealogical information. But it's SO easy..... that Rootsweb is the home for my database, it's just There. I don't know what else to say.
I'm finding sources the like I've never had before, aside from my years of Living in NC and actually going to the Lenoir Co. courthouse. Ancestry IS a bonafide resource (bummer!!!).
I still consider it a racket, to have to PAY. I am increasingly frustrated that the GenWeb is losing momentum. Why is that? Why are there not more volunteers keeping the county websites going? Back in the day, 10yrs ago, you could find a lookup for country records. Today, you're lucky to find someone even maintaining the website, much less look-ups or reliable links.
So, that's why I'm hiding from blogging. Update, clean, solidify. That's where I am these days.
I'm hoping to teach another class soon and really get back into this. I also want to join the local Gen society and start researching (albeit for their GenWeb) and transcribing for them. Because I still believe in the GenWeb. Ancestry is awesome... but the more we can promote the FREE, the volunteer... the more we are working together as a collaborative group.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Where did it start? (this interest in Genealogy?
I love this question.
Why did you start doing genealogy research?
This is a question I am not asked much any longer, because I converse with people who are also frantically researching. But finding your beginning is an important note, to yourself, to conversation, and just to keep in your heart....
My genealogy class was primarily made of "seniors", as though this is the only generation interested; as though something changes in you when you become older. Which I do believe is true... but Why Not be interested when you're younger?
Why did I become interested at 17? Just because I like math and puzzles? Or History?
Well... probably all of the above.
But... why me? Why not a cousin of mine before me? What were they doing that made them.. NOT interested?
I've been considering this a lot recently, now that I'm teaching genealogical research.
I started because...
my father told me, when I was 17, that my brothers and I were the last of the Loops name. It was all he knew.
I did a quick internet search (such at the beginning of the internet) and found others who shared the same name. 22 of them! 22 whole people in the U.S. with our last name LOOPS, and only 4 being US. I had to explore.
But, it was so much more. It was that, my father didn't know... his father hadn't told him (or didn't know enough himself to share). There was no story to our family. We were made up of generations who lived their lives and weren't curious. And my father, sometime in his 40s was totally accepting of this, that he was the only person left with the LOOPS name - cause his Uncle Frank had only daughters.
This... is fascinating. That I quickly became an anthropologist in school and study, tied right into my interest in how a family could become so isolated, so removed from their history, and really not care so much. The family stories were just... nill. Left to the few gatherings when the slides would come out about "life in the 40s".
I suppose there were elements of ME... that I was a child of divorce, so learning about your family became really important. And also that my mother seemed to know much more about her family than my father did about his. Perhaps I had some tugging strings, both ways.
Where are we from?
It is a fascinating question. Why do we continually search for it? Do we find solace in the answers? I do, a bit. And that I'm interested in History in itself... I love to learn about people in the 1600s who'd just moved to America because they were fighting something in England and ventured across the Frontier and landed in California. OMG... this is the stuffs of movies! :-)
I'm rambling...
My question is... do you remember where it all started for you? How did this "happen", this interest, this drive to learn and research.
Why did you start doing genealogy research?
This is a question I am not asked much any longer, because I converse with people who are also frantically researching. But finding your beginning is an important note, to yourself, to conversation, and just to keep in your heart....
My genealogy class was primarily made of "seniors", as though this is the only generation interested; as though something changes in you when you become older. Which I do believe is true... but Why Not be interested when you're younger?
Why did I become interested at 17? Just because I like math and puzzles? Or History?
Well... probably all of the above.
But... why me? Why not a cousin of mine before me? What were they doing that made them.. NOT interested?
I've been considering this a lot recently, now that I'm teaching genealogical research.
I started because...
my father told me, when I was 17, that my brothers and I were the last of the Loops name. It was all he knew.
I did a quick internet search (such at the beginning of the internet) and found others who shared the same name. 22 of them! 22 whole people in the U.S. with our last name LOOPS, and only 4 being US. I had to explore.
But, it was so much more. It was that, my father didn't know... his father hadn't told him (or didn't know enough himself to share). There was no story to our family. We were made up of generations who lived their lives and weren't curious. And my father, sometime in his 40s was totally accepting of this, that he was the only person left with the LOOPS name - cause his Uncle Frank had only daughters.
This... is fascinating. That I quickly became an anthropologist in school and study, tied right into my interest in how a family could become so isolated, so removed from their history, and really not care so much. The family stories were just... nill. Left to the few gatherings when the slides would come out about "life in the 40s".
I suppose there were elements of ME... that I was a child of divorce, so learning about your family became really important. And also that my mother seemed to know much more about her family than my father did about his. Perhaps I had some tugging strings, both ways.
Where are we from?
It is a fascinating question. Why do we continually search for it? Do we find solace in the answers? I do, a bit. And that I'm interested in History in itself... I love to learn about people in the 1600s who'd just moved to America because they were fighting something in England and ventured across the Frontier and landed in California. OMG... this is the stuffs of movies! :-)
I'm rambling...
My question is... do you remember where it all started for you? How did this "happen", this interest, this drive to learn and research.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Genealogy Class #2
Tonight was the second genealogy class, finishing up where we started on Monday. Yay! The totality of this class was by-far the best class I've taught so far, and for a year of classes, 1-2 a week, that says something! Hooray!
The second class seems like it would be easier, but never quite so much. Especially because, in theory, you leave a good portion of the first of the class to questions about the previous class, a recap on what we covered, and what experiences/challenges came up when the 'students' went home to play on their own.
In my class, no one apparently went home and played. So.... the Q & A portion of the class was about 3 minutes, instead of my allotted 30min. Hmph.
So, in following the ideas that we covered on Monday - the bigger databases, Ancestry, LDS, and Rootsweb, I thought we'd first need to backup and start with some simple searches on Google, and move from there. The class ended up looking like this:
- Google. How to search on Google. Use Quotations! The fun of Google Books, and just basically outlining what information you'd find in a basic Google search (like people's personal websites, archived information... what "archived" means)
- Forums. Both Rootsweb and GenForums. These have been invaluable to me, and hopefully a great place to start for people who don't have a lot of information yet. Seems like with the examples I showed tonight (from my own family and family searches from the class), there isn't a lot of activity on the GenForums any longer. Is there somewhere better? Rootsweb still seems to have a lot of action.
- The GenWeb. I'd always found TWO helpful aspects to the Genweb - county "lookups" and the search engine for the archives. While the archive search is still AMAZING and something EVERYONE needs to have bookmarked, all the counties we looked at (four), none had volunteer "lookups" any longer. Is the GenWeb losing some oomph in that way?
- Gravesites. We covered Find a Grave and Interment. Find a Grave seems to have greatly expanded, now offering (not consistent, mind you, but still) obituaries and family group links. WOW! Someone is really on it with this site. Interment is helpful, but Find A Grave definitely stole the show.
- A quick look back at PAF software and how to create a gedcom file, exporting.
And that was a wrap. Whew! I think I overwhelmed them. I would've been overwhelmed if I was just starting out. It was a lot of websites. And we finished 1/2hr early. But... I got great feedback from the class - that they really enjoyed it, learned a lot.
So... YAY! I want to teach more! I want to start a, once a week, Genealogy Group!! I want to be a GenWeb volunteer again (I was for years when I was NC, going to the library and printing off old newspapers from the 1800s and then transcribing and uploading). I want to join more groups. Lawd. I'd never work. And I'd never make any money to afford me time to do all that I want to do.
The class said was that they could tell I was passionate about genealogy research. It definitely came across. I hope that's a good thing :-)
The second class seems like it would be easier, but never quite so much. Especially because, in theory, you leave a good portion of the first of the class to questions about the previous class, a recap on what we covered, and what experiences/challenges came up when the 'students' went home to play on their own.
In my class, no one apparently went home and played. So.... the Q & A portion of the class was about 3 minutes, instead of my allotted 30min. Hmph.
So, in following the ideas that we covered on Monday - the bigger databases, Ancestry, LDS, and Rootsweb, I thought we'd first need to backup and start with some simple searches on Google, and move from there. The class ended up looking like this:
- Google. How to search on Google. Use Quotations! The fun of Google Books, and just basically outlining what information you'd find in a basic Google search (like people's personal websites, archived information... what "archived" means)
- Forums. Both Rootsweb and GenForums. These have been invaluable to me, and hopefully a great place to start for people who don't have a lot of information yet. Seems like with the examples I showed tonight (from my own family and family searches from the class), there isn't a lot of activity on the GenForums any longer. Is there somewhere better? Rootsweb still seems to have a lot of action.
- The GenWeb. I'd always found TWO helpful aspects to the Genweb - county "lookups" and the search engine for the archives. While the archive search is still AMAZING and something EVERYONE needs to have bookmarked, all the counties we looked at (four), none had volunteer "lookups" any longer. Is the GenWeb losing some oomph in that way?
- Gravesites. We covered Find a Grave and Interment. Find a Grave seems to have greatly expanded, now offering (not consistent, mind you, but still) obituaries and family group links. WOW! Someone is really on it with this site. Interment is helpful, but Find A Grave definitely stole the show.
- A quick look back at PAF software and how to create a gedcom file, exporting.
And that was a wrap. Whew! I think I overwhelmed them. I would've been overwhelmed if I was just starting out. It was a lot of websites. And we finished 1/2hr early. But... I got great feedback from the class - that they really enjoyed it, learned a lot.
So... YAY! I want to teach more! I want to start a, once a week, Genealogy Group!! I want to be a GenWeb volunteer again (I was for years when I was NC, going to the library and printing off old newspapers from the 1800s and then transcribing and uploading). I want to join more groups. Lawd. I'd never work. And I'd never make any money to afford me time to do all that I want to do.
The class said was that they could tell I was passionate about genealogy research. It definitely came across. I hope that's a good thing :-)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Genealogy Class #1
Tonight was my first genealogy class.. that I'm teaching! Whoo-hoo!
So, not my standard blog, but definitely something worthy of reporting on. I am not a genealogist, do not promote myself as such, disclaimer disclaimer, blah blah blah. But I am an educator. I teach computer classes and had interest from my 'students' on a genealogy class. "hmmm... I could probably do that!"
It's an answer. "Sure!"
I've been doing this for 17years, sure, I can help teach others on where to start.
Except...
Where do you start?
It's been a long time since I was a beginner. I've had to channel that newbie researcher in me, that's talking to family members and having everything hand-written, maybe in a binder, maybe not even there yet :-)
And certainly assuming that when I started, I wasn't tech savvy... that I teach Intro to Computers classes mainly and my 'students' are Seniors, Of course you have to start at the beginning of what a "database" means. Not just your own database, but at the very beginning of "The Internet" lesson - a website is a site within itself, housing it's own data. It only has the data submitted to that site. So no one site will have everything you need. You will need to research multiple sites.
Once I wrapped my head around this idea as a starter for a lesson plan, day 1 ended up something like this:
- Background on genealogy, period. Lots of handouts on family group sheets, individual record sheets, research logs, etc. All the things you need before you even start researching, so you have the proper tools to write down your information (a bit more than that steno pad you've been carting around for a while).
- Starting your family tree. Online tree (and what options there are) vs. your own software (and how to pick which software to use). I, of course, promote Personal Ancestral File because it's EASY and FREE -- two words that are key for seniors (and myself, cause, hey, it's what I use. I dig EASY and FREE!)
- A lesson on Family Trees... how to input information
- Finally, the internet... a lengthy discussion on what you can even hope to find (on the internet, or at a Clerk of Court); how internet sites work, and what is Free and what is for Cost.
- Today we covered Ancestry first. Because it's what everyone knows because Ancestry has now flooded our televisions with creative and flattering marketing campaigns.
- LDS - which everyone loved more, which is typical. Because (i forget), when you're starting out, you're not looking for source data so much, you're just trying to FIND people, and file submissions are the easiest places to start. Plus, they have submitter information, so you can contact your 'cousin' - which is totally what you want to do!!
- And Rootsweb
We covered my surname because LOOPS is a great example for searching because you don't get 10,000 results. And finally was able to spend the last 20 minutes of class looking up 'students' names, through LDS and Rootsweb (Ancestry forgotten at this point).
A Great Class!!! 100% successful (despite the technological failures of working for the City, which were horribly embarrassing and left me looking completely incompetent for 20 minutes). But once that was over, people were excited, actually wanted to go home and play, and were so happy that we had another day to do more.
YAY!!!!
Wednesday should cover something like, adding more to your database (notes & sources), exporting GedCom's and why you would even do that, looking at reports. And of course, more websites like FindAGrave, the world of the GenWeb, and how to just run Google lookups. I realize the latter will confuse people. There's a lot of lessons involved in exploring Google, like using quotation marks, etc. But it's a necessity. Google is awesome and shouldn't be ignored. If you have any ideas for Wednesday, let me know! I'll keep you posted on the lesson plan.
So, not my standard blog, but definitely something worthy of reporting on. I am not a genealogist, do not promote myself as such, disclaimer disclaimer, blah blah blah. But I am an educator. I teach computer classes and had interest from my 'students' on a genealogy class. "hmmm... I could probably do that!"
It's an answer. "Sure!"
I've been doing this for 17years, sure, I can help teach others on where to start.
Except...
Where do you start?
It's been a long time since I was a beginner. I've had to channel that newbie researcher in me, that's talking to family members and having everything hand-written, maybe in a binder, maybe not even there yet :-)
And certainly assuming that when I started, I wasn't tech savvy... that I teach Intro to Computers classes mainly and my 'students' are Seniors, Of course you have to start at the beginning of what a "database" means. Not just your own database, but at the very beginning of "The Internet" lesson - a website is a site within itself, housing it's own data. It only has the data submitted to that site. So no one site will have everything you need. You will need to research multiple sites.
Once I wrapped my head around this idea as a starter for a lesson plan, day 1 ended up something like this:
- Background on genealogy, period. Lots of handouts on family group sheets, individual record sheets, research logs, etc. All the things you need before you even start researching, so you have the proper tools to write down your information (a bit more than that steno pad you've been carting around for a while).
- Starting your family tree. Online tree (and what options there are) vs. your own software (and how to pick which software to use). I, of course, promote Personal Ancestral File because it's EASY and FREE -- two words that are key for seniors (and myself, cause, hey, it's what I use. I dig EASY and FREE!)
- A lesson on Family Trees... how to input information
- Finally, the internet... a lengthy discussion on what you can even hope to find (on the internet, or at a Clerk of Court); how internet sites work, and what is Free and what is for Cost.
- Today we covered Ancestry first. Because it's what everyone knows because Ancestry has now flooded our televisions with creative and flattering marketing campaigns.
- LDS - which everyone loved more, which is typical. Because (i forget), when you're starting out, you're not looking for source data so much, you're just trying to FIND people, and file submissions are the easiest places to start. Plus, they have submitter information, so you can contact your 'cousin' - which is totally what you want to do!!
- And Rootsweb
We covered my surname because LOOPS is a great example for searching because you don't get 10,000 results. And finally was able to spend the last 20 minutes of class looking up 'students' names, through LDS and Rootsweb (Ancestry forgotten at this point).
A Great Class!!! 100% successful (despite the technological failures of working for the City, which were horribly embarrassing and left me looking completely incompetent for 20 minutes). But once that was over, people were excited, actually wanted to go home and play, and were so happy that we had another day to do more.
YAY!!!!
Wednesday should cover something like, adding more to your database (notes & sources), exporting GedCom's and why you would even do that, looking at reports. And of course, more websites like FindAGrave, the world of the GenWeb, and how to just run Google lookups. I realize the latter will confuse people. There's a lot of lessons involved in exploring Google, like using quotation marks, etc. But it's a necessity. Google is awesome and shouldn't be ignored. If you have any ideas for Wednesday, let me know! I'll keep you posted on the lesson plan.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Notes vs. "Actual Text"
I'm curious... I pose this as a question..
What do YOU do with your database, on Notes vs. Actual Text?
Right now, I'm running through Census files. Previously, I'd put the information in the Notes section (this is when I was young and a newbie). I'm now putting everything in the "Actual Text" of the source.
THEN I create a timeline, 1870:, 1880:, in the notes section, including year, where, and occupation only.
This seems like a Great collaboration of notes & actual text - and perhaps what the two parts are originally designed for.
BUT, what about other things.. like articles. Do you put the full article in the "Actual Text" of the source? Or do you put it in the notes?
It seems a better idea to Source it, and put the source & INFO in the Notes section, because then it prints. Whether you're uploading your database to share or creating individual webpages, the notes will show, but the sources are separate. So... notes are more visible.
Just curious. What do you do? How do you sort it out?
What do YOU do with your database, on Notes vs. Actual Text?
Right now, I'm running through Census files. Previously, I'd put the information in the Notes section (this is when I was young and a newbie). I'm now putting everything in the "Actual Text" of the source.
THEN I create a timeline, 1870:, 1880:, in the notes section, including year, where, and occupation only.
This seems like a Great collaboration of notes & actual text - and perhaps what the two parts are originally designed for.
BUT, what about other things.. like articles. Do you put the full article in the "Actual Text" of the source? Or do you put it in the notes?
It seems a better idea to Source it, and put the source & INFO in the Notes section, because then it prints. Whether you're uploading your database to share or creating individual webpages, the notes will show, but the sources are separate. So... notes are more visible.
Just curious. What do you do? How do you sort it out?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Cleaning of the Database (pt2) - Rootsweb and Ancestry
I have a new love - Rootsweb (my database) and my PAF software, two windows on my screen. Oh, a whole new world for cleaning the database.
I am not a big fan of Family Tree Maker. I have it, of course. And it's connection to my Ancestry.com membership is handy. Sometimes. Still, I really prefer my Personal Ancestral File from LDS. It's FREE. It's Easy. And it works just the same as Ancestry Family Tree, which I'm still depressed that they discontinued. Btw, is that for real? Does anyone know if it's Really, Truly gone? Cause I can't find it on the web any longer.
Enyhoo... Ancestry has it's place. It does. While I'd rather not pay for genealogical information, it's not a soap-box I'm willing to rant about tonight.
So... My new favorite thing....
I upload my database to Rootsweb. Instead of having 10,000 pages on my personal website, it just makes more sense to have a link to a free family tree... Rootsweb is by far my favorite.
Rootsweb is also tied in with Ancestry, so each individual listing - if Ancestry can find it - gives you search results to Ancestry throughout the Rootsweb database.
This is the best help for cleaning up the database!
I open one window with MY database on Rootsweb. Which has the links to Ancestry.
And then another window of my PAF database.
I can look right at my notes and sources on my rootsweb pages, find oddities, old information, and of course, Ancestry links... and update in my PAF at the same time. It's So much easier than having to click on the Sources and Notes for each individual person - not sure what I'm going to find - cause Rootsweb has it all listed right there.
Of course this means that I've been uploading new databases to Rootsweb every day this week.
But... I don't have a job. And the baby is still taking two naps a day. I have time :-)
If you have an ancestry membership and upload to Rootsweb, this is, so far, the easiest way that I've found to start with cleaning the database. It's at least showing me the weak links, and immediate connections to cleaning up Notes and Sources. Ooh... I've got a long list to build on. But you've gotta start somewhere.
I am not a big fan of Family Tree Maker. I have it, of course. And it's connection to my Ancestry.com membership is handy. Sometimes. Still, I really prefer my Personal Ancestral File from LDS. It's FREE. It's Easy. And it works just the same as Ancestry Family Tree, which I'm still depressed that they discontinued. Btw, is that for real? Does anyone know if it's Really, Truly gone? Cause I can't find it on the web any longer.
Enyhoo... Ancestry has it's place. It does. While I'd rather not pay for genealogical information, it's not a soap-box I'm willing to rant about tonight.
So... My new favorite thing....
I upload my database to Rootsweb. Instead of having 10,000 pages on my personal website, it just makes more sense to have a link to a free family tree... Rootsweb is by far my favorite.
Rootsweb is also tied in with Ancestry, so each individual listing - if Ancestry can find it - gives you search results to Ancestry throughout the Rootsweb database.
This is the best help for cleaning up the database!
I open one window with MY database on Rootsweb. Which has the links to Ancestry.
And then another window of my PAF database.
I can look right at my notes and sources on my rootsweb pages, find oddities, old information, and of course, Ancestry links... and update in my PAF at the same time. It's So much easier than having to click on the Sources and Notes for each individual person - not sure what I'm going to find - cause Rootsweb has it all listed right there.
Of course this means that I've been uploading new databases to Rootsweb every day this week.
But... I don't have a job. And the baby is still taking two naps a day. I have time :-)
If you have an ancestry membership and upload to Rootsweb, this is, so far, the easiest way that I've found to start with cleaning the database. It's at least showing me the weak links, and immediate connections to cleaning up Notes and Sources. Ooh... I've got a long list to build on. But you've gotta start somewhere.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Mayflower Ties
***9/27/2010*** I have since learned that the Webb connection through Samuel Webb and Hannah Ripley is NOT CORRECT. So... while it's still fun to learn about William Bradford, I am not actually connected to him. Ho hum. (the joys of research!)
William BRADFORD, Mayflower
From Mayflower History:
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com
William Bradford was born 1590 in the small farming community of Austerfield, Yorkshire. His father WIlliam died when young Bradford was just a year old. He lived with his grandfather, William until his grandfather died when he was six. His mother Alice then died when he was seven. Orphaned both from parents and grandparents, he and older sister Alice were raised by their uncle Robert Bradford.
William was a sickly boy and by the age of 12 had taken to reading the Bible, and as he began to come of age, he became acquainted with the ministry of Richard Clyfton and John Smith, around which the Separatist churches of the region would eventually form about 1606. His family was not supportive of his moves, and by 1607 the Church of England were applying pressure to extinguish these religious sects. Bradford, at the age of 18, joined with the group fo Separatists that fled from England in fear of persecution, arriving in Amsterdam in 1608. A year later, he migrated with the rest of the church to the town of Leiden, Holland, where they remained for eleven years.
Bradford returned to Amsterdam temporarily in 1613, to marry his 16yr old bride, Dorothy May.
In Leiden, Bradford took up the trade of a silk weaver to make ends meet, and was also able to recover some of the estate in England that he had been left by his father, to support himself and his new wife in Leiden. They had a son, John, born about 1615/1617.
By 1620, when a segment of the church had decided to set off for America on the MAYFLOWER, Bradford (now 30) sold off his house in Leiden and he and his wife, Dorothy, joined; however, they left young son John behind, presumably so he would not have to endure the hardships of colony-building. While the MAYFLOWER was anchored off Provincetown Harbor at the tip of Cape Cod, and while many of the Pilgrim men were out exploring and looking for a place to settle, Dorothy accidentally fell overboard and drowned.
John Carver was elected governor of Plymouth and remained governor until his death a year later in April 1621.
Bradford was then elected governor and was re-elected nearly every year thereafter. In 1623, he married to the widowed Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, and had a married feast very reminiscent of the "First" Thanksgiving, with Massasoit and a large number of Indians joining, and bringing turkeys and deer. Bradford was the head of the government of Plymouth, oversaw the courts, the colony's finances, corresponded with investors and neighbors, formulated policy with regards to the foreigners, Indians, and law, and so had a very active role in running of the entire Colony. With his second wife, he had three more children, all of which survived to adulthood and married. Beginning in 1630, he started writing a history of the Plymouth Colony, which is now published under the title of "Of Plymouth Plantation". A number of his letters, poems, conferences, and other writings have survived.
William Bradford was generally sick all winter of 1656-1657; on May 8, Bradford predicted to his friends and family that he would die, and he did the next day, 9 May 1657, at the age of 68.
My connection to William BRADFORD:
William Bradford, 1590-1657
Alice Carpenter, 1590-1670
Maj. William Bradford, 1624-1703/1704
Alice Richards, 1627-1671
Hannah Bradford, 1662-1738
Joshua Ripley, 1658-1739
Hannah Bradford Ripley, 1685-1751
Samuel Webb, 1690-1779
Samuel Webb, abt 1720/1721 - 1801
Deborah Davison, abt 1717-1803
Col. James Webb, abt 1758-1825
Nancy Cony/Conney, died 1809
James Webb Jr., 1795-1833
Sophia Bell, 1797-1840
Rev. James Barney Webb, 1823-1901
Margaret Ann Laughinghouse, 1823-1880
George Bell Webb, 1855-1914
Agnes Pittman, 1856-1883
Eva Bell Webb, 1882-1966
Charles Ernest Loops, 1875-?
William BRADFORD, Mayflower
From Mayflower History:
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com
William Bradford was born 1590 in the small farming community of Austerfield, Yorkshire. His father WIlliam died when young Bradford was just a year old. He lived with his grandfather, William until his grandfather died when he was six. His mother Alice then died when he was seven. Orphaned both from parents and grandparents, he and older sister Alice were raised by their uncle Robert Bradford.
William was a sickly boy and by the age of 12 had taken to reading the Bible, and as he began to come of age, he became acquainted with the ministry of Richard Clyfton and John Smith, around which the Separatist churches of the region would eventually form about 1606. His family was not supportive of his moves, and by 1607 the Church of England were applying pressure to extinguish these religious sects. Bradford, at the age of 18, joined with the group fo Separatists that fled from England in fear of persecution, arriving in Amsterdam in 1608. A year later, he migrated with the rest of the church to the town of Leiden, Holland, where they remained for eleven years.
Bradford returned to Amsterdam temporarily in 1613, to marry his 16yr old bride, Dorothy May.
In Leiden, Bradford took up the trade of a silk weaver to make ends meet, and was also able to recover some of the estate in England that he had been left by his father, to support himself and his new wife in Leiden. They had a son, John, born about 1615/1617.
By 1620, when a segment of the church had decided to set off for America on the MAYFLOWER, Bradford (now 30) sold off his house in Leiden and he and his wife, Dorothy, joined; however, they left young son John behind, presumably so he would not have to endure the hardships of colony-building. While the MAYFLOWER was anchored off Provincetown Harbor at the tip of Cape Cod, and while many of the Pilgrim men were out exploring and looking for a place to settle, Dorothy accidentally fell overboard and drowned.
John Carver was elected governor of Plymouth and remained governor until his death a year later in April 1621.
Bradford was then elected governor and was re-elected nearly every year thereafter. In 1623, he married to the widowed Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, and had a married feast very reminiscent of the "First" Thanksgiving, with Massasoit and a large number of Indians joining, and bringing turkeys and deer. Bradford was the head of the government of Plymouth, oversaw the courts, the colony's finances, corresponded with investors and neighbors, formulated policy with regards to the foreigners, Indians, and law, and so had a very active role in running of the entire Colony. With his second wife, he had three more children, all of which survived to adulthood and married. Beginning in 1630, he started writing a history of the Plymouth Colony, which is now published under the title of "Of Plymouth Plantation". A number of his letters, poems, conferences, and other writings have survived.
William Bradford was generally sick all winter of 1656-1657; on May 8, Bradford predicted to his friends and family that he would die, and he did the next day, 9 May 1657, at the age of 68.
My connection to William BRADFORD:
William Bradford, 1590-1657
Alice Carpenter, 1590-1670
Maj. William Bradford, 1624-1703/1704
Alice Richards, 1627-1671
Hannah Bradford, 1662-1738
Joshua Ripley, 1658-1739
Hannah Bradford Ripley, 1685-1751
Samuel Webb, 1690-1779
Samuel Webb, abt 1720/1721 - 1801
Deborah Davison, abt 1717-1803
Col. James Webb, abt 1758-1825
Nancy Cony/Conney, died 1809
James Webb Jr., 1795-1833
Sophia Bell, 1797-1840
Rev. James Barney Webb, 1823-1901
Margaret Ann Laughinghouse, 1823-1880
George Bell Webb, 1855-1914
Agnes Pittman, 1856-1883
Eva Bell Webb, 1882-1966
Charles Ernest Loops, 1875-?
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