Thursday, November 22, 2012

Hey, Pilgrim!!

Here it is November again. And that means that families all over America are gathering to feast on turkey, mashed potatoes and gray, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Oh, forgive me, I forgot the Green Bean Casserole!

But some of us are looking beyond Turkeyfest. We are searching for Pilgrim ancestors. Once again it is the same thing as the Salem Witches. You will be doing backwards genealogy. Fortunately, when you want to find ancestors who came over on the Mayflower, your odds are a lot better -- just because there are more resources. Let's face it, the Pilgrims were a little bit more popular that the Salem Witches.

So where do you go?http://www.themayflowersociety.com/  This is your initial source and also your best source. This website will give you the surnames of all the Mayflower Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Even though I probably don't have any ancestors who arrived on this particular ship, I am so impressed by this website. It is a wealth of information, full of history and interesting facts -- including many celebrities who are descended from the Pilgrims.

FYI: George Washington declared a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789.
President Lincoln proclaimed an annual Thanksgiving Day in 1863 during the Civil War. President Franklin Roosevelt established our present day Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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