Let me start with grandparents since my parents are a "no brainer". This is my maternal grandfathers side of the family so first I obtained his birth certificate from Hamilton, Essex County, MA. This was easy. His name was Clarence Stuart Knowlton, Jr. My g-grandparents were Clarence Stuart Knowlton, Sr. and Mabel Preston Woodberry. I knew when both had died from family records. She died in 1908 (very young) and he died in 1932. I got his birth certificate from Hamilton and I got hers from Beverly, MA. Both certificates listed their parents. This again was easy. My gg-grandparents, John Harrison Knowlton (originally Mears - he was adopted) and Sarah Ann Knowlton, both from Hamilton, MA. Both births are listed in the Hamilton Vital Records along with their parents. I am in the process of transcribing Hamilton's Vital Records pages for John Slaugther's website ( http://john-slaughter.rootsweb.com/VitalRecords ). My ggg-grandparents, Ira Patch Knowlton and Esther Lovering Appleton were also listed in the Vital Records along with their marriage. I also have pictures of their tombstones which connects the two as spouses. All of these generations were not brain surgery. They lived in the same house for 6 generations. I have pictures of the family and the house dating back to the 1800's. This portion of my entire family tree was the most "well" documented until I reached my gggg-grandparents. My gggg-grandparents were the toughest link. I knew they were Edmund Knowlton, Jr. and Lydia Patch but I had to prove they married. Their son Ira Patch Knowlton's (my ggg-grandfather) birth certificate only lists his parents as Edmund and Lydia Knowlton - no maiden name for her. (I was not transcribing the Hamilton Records at the time I was proving this portion of my line - when I received the Vital Records from John I saw their marriage listed) So I had to go to Hamilton and hope to find their tombstone and pray that it would have some sort of a connection and BINGO! it did. They have a joint tombstone which has them listed as Edmund Knowlton and Lydia Patch Knowlton with exact birth and death dates. Once I proved their relationship I was home free. The Mayflower Society needed proof of Edmund, Jr. and Lydia's marriage (which I got) because they have the previous generations documented and they are as follows: Edmund, Jr's parents were Edmund Knowlton, Sr. and Mary Austin (Mayflower Society documented) Edmund, Sr's parents were Benjamin Knowlton, Jr. and Susanna Potter (Mayflower Society documented) Benjamin, Jr's parents were Benjamin Knowlton, Sr. and Susanna Dutch (Susanna is the granddaughter of Richard More and this is all documented through the Mayflower Society) The remainder of the line I had from a family tree that my GG-Aunts worked on back in the late 1800's. I have seen the same line on the internet in many different trees so I am assuming that it's correct but we know what happens when one assumes. Benjamin Knowlton's parents were John Knowlton and Bethia Edwards John's parents were William Knowlton and Elizabeth Balch William's parents were Capt. William Knowlton and Ann Elizabeth Smith I hope this is not too confusing. You can always refer to my website ( http://www.geocities.com/popepa_chick/Knowlton.html ). Kathy Prior Executive Assistant Bayer HealthCare Technical Operations - North America 973-254-4621 973-408-8122 (Fax) Kathleen.Prior.B@Bayer Dick/Dena Iverson <norarts@worldnet To: KNOWLTON-L@rootsweb.com .att.net> cc: Subject: Re: [KNOWLTON] Re: William Knowlton Born 1584. mar. Ann 02/05/2004 12:46 Elizabeth Smith PM Please respond to KNOWLTON-L You mentioned earlier that you had "Concert Proof" on the Knowltons. I have been doing some intense research the past couple of weeks on this line, and finding many areas where there seems to be no sources for documentation. I would b every much interested in know, what are your sources of proof ??????????? Regards, Dena Kathleen Prior wrote: > > >Which 3 Knowlton boys are you referring to who settled in Ipswich? I just want >to make sure my William who married Elizabeth Balch is the real McCoy. Thanks! > >Kathy Prior >Executive Assistant >Bayer HealthCare >Technical Operations - North America >973-254-4621 >973-408-8122 (Fax) >Kathleen.Prior.B@Bayer > > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > > > ============================== Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237