Great Migration Ancestors

The Great Migration Project is a multi-decade research effort led by Robert Charles Anderson of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).  Click Americanancestors.org to view their website.

The goal of the project is to identify and catalog all the immigrants to New England from 1620 to 1640, beginning with the Mayflower and ending with the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1641, when migration dropped dramatically.  It is estimated to encompass some 21,000 souls.  It is also called the Puritan great migration.  It does not include early immigrants to other parts of the American continent, such as Virginia or New Netherlands.[1]Virginia immigration began, of course, in 1607 with the founding of Jamestown.  The Dutch colony of New Netherlands was established in 1624.

The Great Migration Project began in 1988 and has published 12 volumes of results, primarily covering migrants arriving between 1620 – 1635.  Work continues today on the years 1636 – 1640.

In 2015, an index was published called The Great Migration Directory, which provides short entries for all migrants in the entire 20 year period even before the volumes for 1636 – 1640 are completed.  I received the book as a Christmas gift and have been going through it to identify which of my ancestors can be firmly identified among these earliest of American pioneers.

The Great Migration Directory, Robert Charles Anderson (NEHGS: 2015)

 

How many Great Migration ancestors do I have?

78

That is, there are 78 direct ancestors who have a profile listing in the directory.  A profile, however, refers more often than not to a head of household accompanied by wife or children.  Thus, the total number of direct ancestors is certainly over 100 and possibly 150 or so.

I’ve listed the 78 individuals below, organized by the third great-grandparent (3GG) family branches to which they belong.  Four of these Puritan ancestors are 8GG, 24 9GG, 36 10GG, 13 11GG, and one 12GG.  They range, in other words, from 10 to 14 generations back.

Of my 32 families at the 3GG-generation level, 9 have Great Migration ancestors —

  1. Jones           2
  2. Smith           3
  3. Beckwith  14
  4. Brown       13
  5. Lukemire   4
  6. Vermilyea  2
  7. Mead         14
  8. Whitney   22
  9. Price           4

Based on this, the most Puritan ancestral lines in the Jonnes Family Tree currently are —

Beckwith
Brown
Mead
Whitney

However, I predict that upon additional research the following lines will also prove to be heavily Puritan:

Smith
King
Green

In listing each Great Migration pioneer below, I provide the years they lived and died, along with their year of arrival and the colony they settled.  (While most death dates are definitive, birth years are often educated guesses.)

Colonial America (Source: slideplayer.com, by Pamela George)

As reference, here are the major British colonies established in New England during the 17th century.  Both Saybrook and New Haven colonies were swallowed up by Connecticut.

  • Plymouth Colony
    1620-1691
  • Province of New Hampshire
    1629-1776
  • Massachusetts Bay Colony
    1630-1691, then called Province of Massachusetts 1691-1776
  • Saybrook Colony
    1635-1644
  • Connecticut Colony
    1636-1776
  • Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
    1636-1776
  • New Haven Colony
    1638-1664

You’ll notice that very few of my Great Migration ancestors arrived before 1630.  This is a function of the fact that probably 95% or more of the Great Migration occurred between 1630 and 1640.  The European population of New England was almost certainly under 1,000 at the time the Winthrop Fleet arrived in Salem harbor in June 1630, bringing 700-1,000 new colonists, essentially doubling the population in one fell swoop.

“By 1630, the population of the Plymouth colony was only 300.”[2]http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/explorers-settlers/intro23.htm

The 6 earliest Puritans in our ancestry with profile listings in the Great Migration Directory are below.  Most were previously discussed in an article I wrote three years ago about Plymouth Colony ancestors (click here).

  1. John Howland — 1620 (Mayflower)
  2. John Tilley — 1620 (Mayflower)
  3. Ralph Wallen — 1623
  4. Richard Norman — 1624
  5. Capt. Thomas Southworth — 1628
  6. Simon Hoyt — 1629

Here’s the full list:

Jonnes

The Jonnes/Jones line is primarily populated by Quakers who arrived in New Jersey in the late 17th century.  As a result, it has only two Great Migration ancestors.

  1. Richard Lippincott (1613-1683) — 1639; Massachusetts, returned England 1652, later Rhode Island, then New Jersey
  2. Robert Potter (1609-1655) — 1634; Massachusetts, later Rhode Island
Smith

The Smith line has 3 Great Migration ancestors, although it should have a lot more because its roots in almost all directions go to early New England.  Additional research will undoubtedly add more.  This is a line that ends up being geographically centered in New London County, Connecticut — especially Old Lyme, Niantic, and Waterford.

  1. Nehemiah Smith (1605-1686) — 1637;  Plymouth, then New Haven, later Connecticut
  2. Thomas Bourne (1581-1664) — 1636;  Plymouth
  3. Alexander Winchester (1610-1647) — 1635;  Massachusetts, later Plymouth
Beckwith

The Beckwith line is completely Puritan in origin and includes 14 Great Migration ancestors so far.  The line includes both John Winthrops, father and son governors in early New England.  John Winthrop Sr. was the leader of the Winthrop Fleet.  His son, Gov. John “the Younger” Winthrop, founded the Colony of Connecticut.  The line ends up in Waterford, Connecticut, where it merges with the Smith line.

  1. Matthew Beckwith (1610-1681) — 1639;  Saybrook
  2. Richard Rayment (1602-1692) — 1631;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  3. Henry Brooks (1592-1683) — 1638;  Massachusetts
  4. Robert Daniels (1600-1655) — 1636;  Massachusetts
  5. Samuel Morse (1576-1654) — 1635;  Massachusetts
  6. George Chappell (1615-1682) — 1635;  Connecticut
  7. Henrie Waye (1583-1667) — 1630;  Massachusetts
  8. Rev. Stephen Bachiler (1561-1656) — 1632;  Massachusetts, returned to England 1652
  9. Edward Culver (1610-1685) — 1637;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  10. Ann Ellis (1619-1678) — 1636;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  11. Gov. John Winthrop (1587-1649) — 1630;  Massachusetts
  12. William Keeney (1601-1675) — 1638;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  13. Carye Latham (1613-1685) — 1639;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  14. John Masters (1584-1639) — 1630;  Massachusetts
Brown

The Brown family is a purely Connecticut line.  Even those ancestors who first settled in Massachusetts Bay or Plymouth colonies subsequently moved to Connecticut or did so by the second generation.  The line ends up in Fairfield County, Connecticut, particularly Stamford, Norwalk, and New Canaan.

  1. Simon Hoyt (1592-1657) — 1629;  Massachusetts, then Connecticut
  2. George Slawson (1616-1695) — 1636;  Massachusetts, then Connecticut
  3. William Tuttle (1607-1673) — 1635;  Massachusetts, then Connecticut
  4. Eglin Hatherly (1586-1684) — 1635;  Plymouth
  5. Richard Miles (1598-1667) — 1639;  New Haven
  6. Edmund Lockwood (1600-1658) — 1630;  Massachusetts
  7. Richard Norman (1580-1653) — 1624;  Massachusetts (originally with Essex Colony)
  8. Henry Gregory (1586-1655) — 1639;  Massachusetts, then Connecticut
  9. William Comstock (1595-1683) — 1637;  Massachusetts, then Connecticut
  10. Richard Platt (1603-1684) — 1637;  New Haven
  11. William Brinsmead (1588-1648) — 1631;  Massachusetts
  12. Thomas Carter (1578-1652) — 1636;  Massachusetts
  13. George Clark (1615-1690) — 1637;  New Haven
Lukemire

The Lukemire line is believed to be mainly German and Scottish in origin, but has a small branch, the Bowne family, that descends from early New England.  Our Bowne descendants ended up in Monmouth County, New Jersey by the late 17th century, then called East Jersey.

  1. William Bowne (1609-1677) — 1635;  Massachusetts, later Long Island, then East Jersey
  2. Rev. Obadiah Holmes (1610-1682) — 1638;  Massachusetts, later Plymouth, then Rhode Island
  3. Richard Borden ( 1596-1671) — 1638;  Rhode Island
  4. John Throckmorton (1601-1683) — 1631; Massachusetts, later Rhode Island
Vermilyea

Vermilyea line is mainly composed of French Huguenots and Englishmen who arrived in New Netherlands in the late 17th century.  It has only two Great Migration ancestors.

  1. William Odell (1602-1676) — 1635;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  2. Robert Huestis, or Husted (1595-1654) —  1635;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
Mead

Throught its Hazen and Hamblin branches, 14 Great Migration ancestors are found in the Mead line.  They include our sole Mayflower ancestors, John Howland and John Tilley, as well as two Massachusetts Bay governors, Simon Bradstreet and Thomas Dudley.  The Meads and their associated branches eventually meet in the 1790s in the vicinity of Roxbury, New York, in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.

  1. Thomas Grant (1601-1643) — 1638;  Massachusetts
  2. Thomas Howlett (1605-1677) — 1630;  Massachusetts
  3. Thomas French (1584-1639) — 1639;  Massachusetts
  4. Francis Peabody (1613-1698) — 1635;  Massachusetts
  5. Gov. Simon Bradstreet (1603-1697) — 1630;  Massachusetts
  6. Gov. Thomas Dudley (1576-1653) — 1630;  Massachusetts
  7. Rev. William Perkins (1607-1682) — 1632;  Massachusetts
  8. John Jenkins (1609-1684) — 1635; Massachusetts, later Plymouth
  9. Ralph Wallen (1595-1643) — 1623;  Plymouth
  10. John Howland (1599-1673) — 1620; Plymouth (Mayflower)
  11. John Tilley (1571-1621) — 1620; Plymouth (Mayflower)
  12. Capt. Thomas Southworth (1616-1669) — 1628;  Plymouth
  13. Richard Sears (1595-1676) — 1632;  Plymouth
  14. Thomas Crosby (1575-1661) — 1639;  Massachusetts
Whitney

The Whitney line has the most Great Migration ancestors and includes some well-known names, such as Henry Dunster, first president of Harvard, Thomas Dewey, and Simon Willard.  The various Whitney branches eventually converge in western Massachusetts, particularly Springfield, Westfield, and Otis, before moving to Homer, Cortland, New York in the 1830s.

  1. John Whitney (1592-1673) — 1635;  Massachusetts
  2. Thomas Coldham (1600-1675) — 1633;  Massachusetts
  3. Jacob Sheafe (1616-1659) — 1639;  Massachusetts
  4. Henry Webb (1600-1660) — 1637;  Massachusetts
  5. Richard Sawtell (1611-1694) — 1636;  Massachusetts
  6. Maj. Simon Willard (1605-1676) — 1634;  Massachusetts
  7. Henry Dunster (1609-1659) — 1640;  Massachusetts, later Plymouth
  8. Michael Bacon (1579-1648) — 1640;  Massachusetts
  9. John Whitcomb (1588-1662) — 1635;  Massachusetts
  10. Lawrence Waters (1602-1687) — 1635;  Massachusetts
  11. William Warrener (1582-16760 — 1638;  Massachusetts
  12. Johanna Searle (1602-1671) — 1637; Massachusetts
  13. Thomas Dewey (1603-1648) — 1633;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  14. Phillip Randall (1574-1662) — 1633;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  15. Richard Hawes (1606-1656) — 1635;  Massachusetts
  16. John Roote (1608-1664) — 1638;  Connecticut
  17. Thomas Kilbourne (1578-1640) — 1635;  Connecticut
  18. Robert Ashley (1620-1682) — 1638;  Massachusetts
  19. John Eddy (1597-1684) — 1630;  Plymouth, later Massachusetts
  20. Rowland Stebbins (1592-1671) — 1634;  Massachusetts
  21. Samuel Wright (1606-1665) — 1639;  Massachusetts
  22. Lt. Samuel Smith (1602-1680) — 1634;  Connecticut, later Massachusetts
Price

The Price line is an offshoot of Whitney.  It is composed of Englishmen, French Huguenots, and one suspected Danish nobleman, all centered primarily in northern New Jersey (e.g., Piscataway, Middletown, Hopewell).  Some of its early English arrivals were Puritans, however:

  1. John Stowe (1581-1643) — 1634;  Massachusetts
  2. Rev. George Philips (1593-1644) — 1630;  Massachusetts
  3. Sgt. Thomas Spencer (1607-1687) — 1633;  Massachusetts, later Connecticut
  4. Nathaniel Bearding (1597-1674)– 1636;  Connecticut

References

References
↑1 Virginia immigration began, of course, in 1607 with the founding of Jamestown.  The Dutch colony of New Netherlands was established in 1624.
↑2 http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/explorers-settlers/intro23.htm
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