36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences
Registration for the 36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences is still open! Don’t miss this opportunity to attend presentations from some of the top scholars in heraldry and genealogy. The conference also features exhibits of heraldic treasures, a vendor hall, excursions to sites around Boston, and more! Learn More
Upcoming In-Person Event, November 10–17
Salt Lake City Research Tour
Navigate the resources of the world’s largest genealogy library with help from American Ancestors. We have more than 40 years' experience guiding researchers of all levels through the vast resources of the FamilySearch Library. Benefit from our special orientations and tutorials, one-on-one consultations, informative lectures, and more!
Ancestors Who Lived on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, or Nantucket
Share your thoughts about the survey!Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Your submission may be featured in an upcoming newsletter or shared on social media; please note in your email if you do not want your story to be shared. Published responses may be edited for clarity and length.
Date Your Earliest Ancestor Arrived in North America
Total: 3,625 Responses
0%, I am the first person in my family line to come to North America.
0%, 2000 to the present
1%, 1900 to 1999
7%, 1800 to 1899
6%, 1700 to 1799
80%, 1600 to 1699
4%, Before 1600
7%, My Native American ancestors were living in North America prior to the arrival of people from other continents.
2%, I am not sure when my earliest ancestor arrived in North America.
0%, I do not live in North America and none of my ancestors came to North America.
Readers Respond
Ellen Lauzon Swan, Walkerton, Indiana: My ancestor Gilles Lauzon landed in New France in 1653 and was one of the earliest settlers of Ville-Marie, now Montreal. Most Lauzons in North America are descended from Gilles’s sons. My New England ancestors were descended from some of the "Men of Kent," early settlers of Scituate, Massachusetts, who arrived in 1628.
Paul White, Bend, Oregon: My maternal eighth great-grandfather William Wadsworth and my paternal ninth great-grandfather John White both arrived in Boston Harbor in September 1632, having sailed from London, England, on the Lyon. They were followers of Thomas Hooker and left their comfortable homes in Essex to join the Great Migration to New England. After settling first in Newtowne (now Cambridge, Massachusetts), they followed Hooker to Connecticut in 1636, founding the city of Hartford.
Joan Koesterherm, North Andover, Massachusetts: My fourth great-grandmother was an Aboriginal Canadian. Her name is unknown. In 1804 she had a daughter, Marianne, with John Black, a fur trader who worked around the Great Lakes in Upper Canada. In 1806, Black married Marguerite Lavalle. When Marianne was 4 years old, her father brought her to Sorel, Quebec, where she was baptized in the Anglican Church. Marianne was raised by John and Marguerite. DNA testing has confirmed that our family has native North American heritage.
Danny Pierce, Quincy, Massachusetts: My tenth great-grandfather Peregrine White was born aboard the Mayflower while it was anchored off Cape Cod. I have other Mayflower ancestors, but this connection is particularly meaningful to me. Peregrine is interred at the Old Winslow Burying Ground in Marshfield, Massachusetts, where my siblings and I will bury the cremated remains of our parents and younger brother in August.
Bruce Richardson, Boulder, Colorado: My eighth great-grandparents Catalina Trico and Joris Rapalje left Amsterdam on January 25, 1624—just four days after they married. They spent two years at Fort Orange (now Albany) before moving to New Amsterdam (now Manhattan). Catalina and Joris were among the first buyers of land in southern Manhattan, building two homes on Pearl Street. They then moved their homestead across the river to 335 acres of farmland in the new village of Breuckelen. There they raised eleven children. Their second daughter, Jennetje Joris Rapalje, born 1629, is my seventh great-grandmother.
Spotlight: Champaign County, Ohio, Newspaper Database
by Valerie Beaudrault
Champaign County, seated in Urbana, is located in west central Ohio. The Champaign County Library has made a newspaper database available in its digital archives. The collection comprises over 522,000 pages from 35 local newspapers. Titles include Urbana Daily Citizen (1883-2020), Urbana Citizen (1968-1979), Urbana Daily Democrat (1914-1928), ChampaignDemocrat (1881-1935), Urbana Daily Times Citizen (1895-1910), and Urbana Citizen And Gazette (1849-1901). The databases are keyword searchable and can also be browsed. Search Now
Database News
Portsmouth, NH: School Records, 1846-1958
We have added 100 volumes of school records to our Portsmouth, NH: School Records, 1846-1958 database. The new volumes include the following schools; Atlantic Heights, Bartlett, Cabot, Farragut, Franklin, Hanover, Haven, High Street Primary, Jones, Lafayette, Manning, New Franklin, Peabody, Portsmouth High, and Whipple.
Produced in partnership with the Portsmouth Athenaeum, this database provides fascinating details about students’ lives in nineteenth and twentieth-century New Hampshire. Search Now
As a family historian, you know that wills are important in your research—but have you created a will for yourself? Free Will, an easy and free online will creation tool, will guide you step-by-step through identifying beneficiaries for your assets, supporting the causes that are important to you, and planning for the preservation of your research. Learn More
