Ancestor-based family associations in Massachusetts

Alden house in Duxbury, Mass., circa 1904

To honor ancestors and to help find cousins, some people have created family associations based on a specific ancestor or couple. These are typically membership-based organizations with mission statements, boards, and bylaws.

For example, the Alden Kindred of America Inc. owns the original 17th century home of pilgrims John Alden and his wife Priscilla Mullins in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Part of the Alden Kindred’s purpose is to preserve the home, which has never been owned by anyone other than Alden descendants. However, people related to the Aldens can become lineage members (as well as museum members) by documenting their ancestral lines. Lineage members are invited to family reunions, receive publications and discounts, have opportunities to volunteer or participate on committees, support research projects, and have a certain pride of place when visiting the old homestead.

Ancestor-based family associations may offer its members access to ancestor-related databases, unique library collections, digital and manuscript archives, newsletters, special events and reunions, book publication projects, DNA projects, research help, historical houses—and much more. It all depends upon the goals of that individual society.

Below, you’ll find links to ancestor-based family associations related to Massachusetts. Many of these groups are connected to pilgrims who came on the Mayflower in 1620 and settled in Plymouth Colony.

ALDEN - Alden Kindred of America Inc.

Pilgrims John Alden (1599?-1687) and Priscilla Mullins came to Plymouth Colony in 1620. Also preserves the family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

ALDRICH - National Aldrich Family Association

George Aldrich (1605-1682/83), who came from England to Dorchester in 1631; settled in Mendon, Massachusetts.

ALLERTON - Pilgrim Isaac Allerton Society

Pilgrim Isaac Allerton (1586?-1659) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

AVERY - Avery Memorial Association

Christopher Avery and son James (1621-1700) came from England to Gloucester, Massachusetts, before 1642. James settled in Groton, Connecticut.

BARTLETT – Bartlett Society  

Robert Bartlett (d. 1676) came to Plymouth Colony on the Anne in 1623.

BREWSTER – Elder William Brewster Society

Pilgrim William Brewster (1566-1644) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

CHANDLER - Edmund Chandler Family Association

Edmund Chandler (d. 1662) of Duxbury, Massachusetts.

COGSWELL – Cogswell Family Association Inc.

John Cogswell (1592-1669) of Ipswich, Massachusetts, arrived 1635.

COOKE - Pilgrim Francis Cooke Society

Pilgrim Francis Cooke (d. 1663) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

CUMMINGS - Descendants of Isaac Cummings of Topsfield/Ipswich, Massachusetts
Isaac Cummings (1601-1677) of Topsfield/Ipswich, Massachusetts.

DELANO - Delano Kindred

Philippe de Lanoy (1602?-1681/1682) came to Plymouth Colony in 1621 on the Fortune.

DELVEE - Delvee Family Association

Peter Delva (1745-1803) settled in Warwick, Massachusetts.

DOTY - Pilgrim Edward Doty Society

Pilgrim Edward Doty (d. 1655) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

FOLSOM - Folsom Family Association

John Foulsham and his wife, Mary Gilman, who came from England in 1638 to Hingham, Massachusetts. Also lived in Exeter, New Hampshire.

FULLER - Fuller Society
Pilgrims Edward Fuller (1575-1620/21) and Samuel Fuller (d. 1683) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

GOODENOW - Goodenow Family Association

Five Goodenow siblings immigrated from England on the ship Confidence in 1638 and settled in Massachusetts. The name is spelled various ways including Goodenough, Goodnough, Goodno, and Goodnow.

HARLOW – Sergeant William Harlow Family Association
Sergeant William Harlow (1625-1691) of Plymouth Colony.

HARRIMAN - Harriman Family Association

Leonard and John Harriman, immigrants to Rowley, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1638.

HARTWELL - Hartwells of America 

William Hartwell of Concord, Massachusetts, 1635, and other branches.

HOPKINS - Pilgrim Hopkins Heritage Society
Pilgrim Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

HOWLAND - Pilgrim John Howland Society

Pilgrim  John Howland (d. 1672/73) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

NICKERSON – Nickerson Family Association
William Nickerson (1604-1689/90) and wife Anne Busby arrived in 1637, settled in Chatham, Massachusetts. Maintains the Nickerson House and Genealogical Research Center, located in Chatham, and the adjacent Caleb House (1827).

RAYNOR - Raynor Family Association  

Thurston Raynor (1593-1667) family and Thurston’s nephew, Edward Raynor (d. 1684), arrived in Boston on the ship Elizabeth in 1634.

RICE - Edmund Rice (1638) Association

Edmund Rice (1594?-1663) arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1638 and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts.

ROGERS – Thomas Rogers Society

Pilgrim Thomas Rogers (1571?-1620/21) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

SAMSON – Pilgrim Henry Samson Kindred

Pilgrim Henry Samson (1604-1685) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620. Also Abraham Samson (b. 1614; d. 1685-1701) who was in Duxbury by 1638.

SOULE - Soule Kindred of America

Pilgrim George Soule (d. 1679) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

STANDISH - Myles Standish Society

Pilgrim Myles Standish (d.1655) came to Plymouth Colony in 1620.

TAFT - Taft Family Association

Robert (d.1725) and Sarah Taft (d.1725), first found in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1675, and of Matthew and Ann Taft who were in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, in 1728.

TUPPER - Tupper Family Association of America 

Thomas Tupper (1578-1676) of Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1637.

TYLER - Job Tyler Family Association

Job Tyler (1619-1700) arrived in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1638.

WARE - Ware Family Association 

Robert Ware (1625?-1699) settled in Dedham, Massachusetts, by 1642.

WYMAN - Francis Wyman Association

John and Francis Wyman arrived with their Richardson uncles by 1640. Also preserves the Francis Wyman home in Burlington, Massachusetts.

For more family associations and surname groups check out:

• The Hereditary Society Community (USA)
• Directory of Family Associations
• Guild of One-Name Studies
• FamilyTree DNA

October is family history month

Numerous U.S. states recognize October as Family History Month. Plan ahead before Thanksgiving and the winter holidays give you ample opportunities to interview family members, share stories, and identify photographs together. Here are some guidelines to help you make the most of your time.

1. If you're new to genealogical research, learn the basics before you visit Great Aunt Bertha. Bring along a pedigree chart and family group records to put your research in perspective and to provide an overview of vital record facts.

2. Create a family photo book to give visual prompts to potential storytellers. You may even want to purchase a handheld scanner to collect images from relatives. Once you've collected a bunch of digital images, organize the photos in such a way that you know the subjects, the time period, and who you scanned the images from.

3. Do you have any questions based on details from birth, marriage, and death records you've found, like why were those specific witnesses chosen to sign the marriage certificate? Or what's the relationship between the deceased and the death certificate's informant? Write down your list of questions and bring along copies of the vital records for backup.

4.  Do you have newspaper clippings with fascinating tidbits of sports records, school achievements, injuries and accidents, social outings, court proceedings, wedding announcements, retirement parties, obituaries, church meetings, reunions, and the like? Bring copies to share so you can get the full story.

5. Have you found your family on the 1940 census? Although copying the census pages may be unwieldy, consider bringing along your laptop with the census images already saved. People like to see themselves in historical records. You could learn about the home they lived in, who lived with them, what jobs they had, who the neighbors were, and more. 

6. Did your relatives live through big, historical events like President Kennedy's assassination or the Blizzard of 1978? Ask them what they remember of the event to put their lives in historical perspective. 

7. Have you found a troubling pattern of illnesses and causes of death? Consider putting together a family health pedigree and asking your family for input. 

Make the most of your family time. Be prepared. Know what you want to learn. Bring images and records to serve as prompts. See where the path leads. You may be surprised. 

Newspapers: Beyond birth notices, wedding announcements, and obituaries

Newspapers may provide stories of your ancestors—and clues to their descendants—even long after they have died.

The first newspaper in the 13 Colonies was published in 1690 and was quickly suppressed by the government after one edition. In 1704, the Boston News-Letter started a successful 74-year run reporting the news.

Although we don’t have a day-by-day newspaper account of the 1692 Salem witch trials, we do have eyewitness reports and court records that have been published. But since the trials have captured the American psyche for centuries, it’s not surprising that we find newspaper stories either reminding us of the past or offering new information about the event. 

Let’s use one of the more famous victims of the Salem witch trials as an example. Rebecca Nurse was one of the very few accused witches who was found not guilty at her jury trial on 30 June 1692. But when the court read the verdict, the afflicted girls renewed their fits and outcries against the 71-year-old Nurse, causing the jury to reverse their opinion. Even petitions signed by prominent society members and a reprieve from Governor Phips could not stop the escalating proceedings of the Court of Oyer & Terminer. On 19 July 1692, Nurse was hanged.

Rebecca Nurse homestead (2014)

On 19 July 1883, the Boston Daily Advertiser reported on the first reunion of the descendants of Rebecca Nurse at her old homestead located on Pine street in current-day Danvers, Massachusetts, previously Salem Village. Nearly 200 people attended, most who were lineal descendants of Francis and Rebecca Nurse, who had eight children. 

The descendants included “representatives of the Miles family of Worcester; the Tapleys and Putnams of Danvers; the Hayes family of Farmington, NH; the Putnams of Lynn; the Prince family of Danvers; the Newhalls of Peabody; the Browns of Lynn; a branch of the Chase family of Philadelphia; the Wiggins family of Providence; the Needhams of Peabody; the Maynards of Shrewsbury; the Evans family of Springfield; the Forbes family of Westboro; and branches of the Nourse family of Arlington, Berlin, Bolton, Lexington, Leonminster, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and Salem.” This is a genealogy goldmine!

Other reunions were reported in various papers, including the 1885 placement of the Rebecca Nurse monument in the Nurse-Putnam burial grounds at her old homestead.

40 Supporters

On 31 July 1892, the New York Times reported that the Nurse Monument Association had commemorated the “brave defense of 40 neighbors and friends of Rebecca Nurse, who risked their lives to put on record their testimony in her favor” by erecting a granite tablet in their honor. It was placed near the 1885 memorial to Rebecca Nurse in the burial grounds at her old homestead in Danvers. The article recalls how Joseph Putnam—and no doubt the others who came to Nurse’s defense—truly put their lives on the line by signing the petition.

The 40 neighbors and friends listed on the granite tablet were Nathaniel Putnam, Israel Porter, Elizabeth Porter, Edward Bishop, Hannah Bishop, Joshua Rea, Sarah Rea, Sarah Leach, Samuel Abbey, Hepzibah Rea, Daniel Andrew, Sarah Andrew, Daniel Rea, Sarah Putnam, Jonathan Putname, Lydia Putnam, John Putnam, Rebecca Putnam, Joseph Hutchinson, Lydia Hutchinson, William Osburn, Hannah Osburn, Joseph Holton, Sarah Holton, Benjamin Putnam, Sarah Putnam, Job Swinnerton, Esther Swinnerton, Walter Phillips, Nathaniel Felton, Margaret Phillips, Tabitha Phillips, Joseph Houlton, Samuel Endicott, Elizabeth Buxton, Samuel Osborn, Isaac Cook, Elizabeth Cook, Joseph Herrick, and Joseph Putnam.

Conclusion

Even though the above examples are of a well-known historical person, it shows you why it’s important to check newspaper resources for your ancestors—even after they have died. You may find articles written about family reunions and commemorating special events. A list of descendants who attended certainly can help you fill in your family tree.

Sources

Boston Daily Advertiser, “Rebekah Nurse: Gathering of the Descendants of the 'Witch' of 1692 at Salem Village—Tribute to Her Memory,” 19 July 1883. Available on GenealogyBank (fee).

New York Times, "Worthy Witch Memorial," 31 July 1892.

Haunted Happenings in Salem for genealogists

Salem Witch Museum

This week kicks off the annual, month-long Haunted Happenings events in Salem, Massachusetts, starting with the Haunted Happenings Grand Parade on Thursday, October 4. If you take away the Hollywood-and-horror storefronts and screamfest attractions, Salem is a great destination for genealogists in October. Here are a few suggestions:

Movies

Salem National Park VisitorCenter, 2 New Liberty Street. Watch the 35-minute Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence film.

Cinema Salem, Museum Place Mall. View The True 1692, a 35-minute 3-D movie.

Live Performances

House of Seven Gables, 115 Derby Street. Legacy of the Hanging Judge; Spirits of the Gables.

Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square. Cry Innocent: The People Versus Bridget Bishop.

PioneerVillage (recreated 1630s village). 

Gallows Hill (formerly Witches Cottage at Griffen Theater), 7 Lynde Street. Possessed: The Afflicted Girls of Salem.

Witch House (Judge Jonathan Corwin’s mansion), 310 Essex Street. Eerie Evenings: Tales at the Witch House.

Tours

The Candlelit Ghostly Tour and Graveyard Walking Tour.

Derby Square Tours. The candlelit Witch Trial Trail, the Terror Trail.

Salem Time Machine (formerly 13Ghosts), 131 Essex Street. Ghost Tours and Historical Tours.

Salem Historical Tours, 8 Central Street. Salem 101: Salem Survey; Cemetery 101: Grave Matters; 1692 Salem Witchcraft Walk; Haunted Footsteps Ghost tour.

Salem Night Tour, 127 Essex Street.

Salem Witch Walk, 125 Essex Street.

Gallows Hill (formerly Witches Cottage at Griffen Theater), 7 Lynde Street. Ghosts & Legends Trolley Tour.

Salem Trolley, 8 Central Street. Tales & Tombstones; Salem Village Tour at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead.

Mahi Mahi Haunted Harbor Cruise.

Attractions

Salem Wax Museum of Witches & Seafarers, 288 Derby Street.

Salem Witch Museum, 19 1/2 Washington Square North.

Salem Witch Trials Memorial, 43 Charter Street.

Witch Dungeon Museum, 16 Lynde Street.

Witch History Museum, 197-201 Essex Street.

Please read the web site descriptions of these events and museums so you won't be disappointed. For instance, two years ago the Salem Witch Village on Derby Street turned into a haunted maze during Columbus day, with horror creatures prowling around in the dark rooms. Needless to say, it was not the 15-minute guided tour of witchcraft myths and reality we expected. Plus, be aware that some of these attractions need some serious refurbishing and updating their stories based on new historical research.

1940 census and Social Security

In the summer of 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law. It provided workers (and later, their families) with monetary benefits based on payroll tax contributions made throughout their working years. In November 1936, the United States Postal Service first distributed Social Security forms (SS-5 forms). Beginning in January 1937, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes were collected. By January 1940, monthly benefits were paid to retired workers or to surviving widows and under-aged children.

On the 1940 census, the U.S. government asked 15 supplementary questions to 5 percent of the general population. Anyone listed on lines 14 or 29 of a census page answered three questions about Social Security.

Question 42 asked people ages 14 and above if they had a Social Security number (SSN). At no point were people asked to give their Social Security number to the census taker. If they didn’t know their SSN or if they had lost the Social Security card, it didn’t matter; the yes/no answer was based on having registered for the Social Security program.

Question 43 asked if, in 1939, wage or salary deductions were made for “Federal Old-Age Insurance” or Railroad Retirement. Up to $3,000 could be deducted from wages or salaries for private, non-government employment “except agriculture, railroads, charitable, and nonprofit organizations, employment as sailors, and in domestic service in the home of the employer.” The Railroad Retirement contributions were different, in that deductions were made for the first $300 earned each month in the railroad industry.

If the answer to question 43 was “yes,” then question 44 asked what percentage of their wages or salaries went to these retirement programs, with answers being:

1.     deductions were taken from all of the person’s wages or salary (up to $3,000 for Federal Old-Age Insurance or $300 per month for Railroad Retirement)

2.     deductions were taken from one-half or more of the person’s wages or salary, but not all of the amount

3.     deductions were taken from some but less than half of the person’s wages or salary

The Social Security Administration (SSA) web site offers a brief history and timeline of the program.

1940 census: Understanding the employment fields

The 1940 federal census captures a critical moment between the Great Depression and the United States’ involvement in World War II. It’s no surprise the U.S. government asked 10 specific questions about employment for anyone 14 years of age and older in the 1940 census.

At the time, the federal and state governments sponsored numerous Emergency Work programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which provided unemployed people with jobs to keep them off poor relief; the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which gave men ages 18 to 25 jobs in conservation, typically with national and state parks; and the National Youth Administration (NYA), which provided high school and college students part-time jobs.

People ages 14 and older were asked about their employment status (questions 21-31). People enumerated on rows 14 and 29 were asked supplementary questions on employment as well (questions 42-47).

According to the census enumerator instructions, people ages 14 and above were divided by workers in the labor force and those not in the labor force the week of March 24-30, 1940. Workers in the labor force were broken down into four categories:

1.     In private or non-emergency federal, state, or local government work (“yes” to question 21). This included people in sales and service; farmers; unpaid family workers who contributed to the family income by working on the family farm or in the family business (other than housework or incidental chores); people who had five or more boarders; and people who worked at home for individual customers (dressmaker, laundress, etc.) or commercial employers (such as factory piecework).

2.     At work or assigned to public federal or local emergency work programs, such as WPA, CCC, and NYA (“yes” to question 22).

3.     Currently seeking work (“yes” to question 23).

4.     People who were absent from work during that week but have jobs, businesses, or enterprises (“yes” to question 24), whether on vacation, temporarily ill, temporarily laid off or on strike. This did not include seasonal workers, for example, the “professional football player and the housewife who works as a saleswoman during the Christmas season.”

Workers in private or non-emergency federal, state, or local government were asked how many hours they worked during the week of March 24-30, 1940 (question 26), while emergency program workers and job seekers were asked how many weeks they were unemployed up to March 30, 1940 (question 27). Weeks of working for public emergency work were to be counted for weeks of unemployment. Workers also were asked very specifically their occupation (question 28) and industry (question 29) and what class of worker (question 30):

• PW: wage or salary worker in private work
• GW: government worker paid wages or salary
• E: employer (farmers with hired farm laborers, store owners with paid employees, etc.)
• OA: working on own account (lawyers, doctors, farmers, etc., who did not employ paid helpers or assistants)
• NP: unpaid family worker who “contributed to the family income, on the family farm, or in the family shop, store, etc.”

Inmates (“Inst.” for question 21) of “prisons, reformatories, jails, penal farms or camps; institutions for the mentally diseased, mentally defective, or epileptic, and home for the aged, infirm, or needy” did not answer questions 22 through 34.

People not in the work force, those who answered “no” to questions 21 through 24, were asked in question 25 if they were engaged in housework (H); in school (S); unable to work for reasons of physical disability, old age, or illness (U); or, “for any other reason, were not at work, not seeking work, and without a job” (Ot). 

Back to 1939

Question 31 asked how many weeks a person was employed in 1939, which allowed the football player and Christmas saleswoman to be counted as employed. Question 32 asked the amount of wages or salary for Jan. 1, 1939 through Dec. 31, 1939. However, it did not include business profits, sales of crops, or fees for income. The limit for this column was “$5,000+.” Question 33 asked about income of $50 or more from sources other than wages or salary, including business profits, fees, rents, unemployment benefits, direct relief, interest, dividends, and income in kind paid as wages. However, it did not include lump sum inheritances or sales of land (“unless the person regularly earns his living by buying and selling such properties”). If the person operated a farm, check out the farm schedule (the number on the farm schedule is included in column 34).

1940 Census Index Project posts remaining five states

On August 21, the FamilySearch blog posted that the 1940 Census Community Project has completed indexing all 50 states and uploaded the indexes to the FamilySearch.org web site. The last five states were Massachusetts, New Jersey, Michigan, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Indexes for Guam, Panama Canal, and the Virgin Islands have been posted as well. The last items on the project's list, the territories of Puerto Rico and American Samoa, will be uploaded soon. 

On April 2 at 9 a.m. the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) uploaded the census pages online (all 3.8 million of them!). Two weeks ago, subscription site Ancestry.com finished indexing the 1940 census first, using paid indexers in China, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. In just four months, however, the 1940 Census Community Project worked together to create an everyname index for NARA, Archives.com, FindMyPast.com, ProQuest, and FamilySearch.org with 160,000 unpaid volunteers from around the world. The Ancestry.com and 1940 Census Community Project web sites give free access to the 1940 census index and census pages.

Having two different indexing sources can help your genealogy research. Some bloggers, such as Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings, have been making name-by-name comparisons of both indexes. Me, I like Ancestry.com's enhanced image viewer. But, after trying many variations on Ancestry.com, in just a minute on FamilySearch.org, I found my first cousin twice removed, Harry Henry, in Boston. Yes, his wife told the census taker he was a decade younger, but I know it's Harry because he was a musician working on the WPA music project, just like he stated in his 1942 World War II draft registration. 

The 1940 community project inspired many genealogists to work together on a common goal. The next big project is indexing the U.S. immigration and naturalization records, including the Boston passenger lists 1820-1891. Consider volunteering.