Dear Pamela: <snip> The question of documentation and references is crucial especially for any Society such as the Mayflower. However, sometimes there is a point to be made that one needs some direction and hints ( hypothesis) in order to go in some direction for their research. I took the original questions as being in that light. I would agree totally that the Silver books should be the first stop. The few dollars of cost as compared to the thousands and thousands of hours of research that went into these is the bargain of the century!!!. Do you happen to know if there has been a change in policy regarding the accepting of the documentation in the Silver books as proof. In other words can the Silver books be quoted as the documentation on a certain line? At one time that was not the case and independant certified copies had to be supplied with the application. Thanks for your time. Best Regards John A Hansen > > > 1. Let me point out that no one (with one possible exception) has cited > any source(s) for the above information :-). <snip> > 3. The standard reference for Stephen Hopkins is the "silver book" > published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants: "Mayflower > Families Through Five Generations: Family of Stephen Hopkins" by John D. > Austin, F.A.S.G. Vol. 6. [My copy is the 2nd edition, 1995].
Dear John, Your basic concern/question is frequently asked, and I shall refer you to several URLs which you will find extremely helpful. http://www.macatawa.org/~crich/mayfaq.htm http://members.aol.com/calebj/mayflower.html http://www.rootsweb.com/~canms/applicat.html It is not essential to spend your hard earned dollars to buy one or more of the GSMD 'silver books' for they can be found in major genealogical libraries, and/or acquired through inter-library loan. However, many do choose to buy them. I do urge you to make use of the "Proposed Application Review Form" found at: http://www.mayflower.org/apform.htm which you can mail (along with a check for $5) to either your State Historian or the GSMD in Plymouth, MA. Susan Roser writes the following on her website: "A synopsis form can be printed from the General Societys site (where you will also find their address) and should be filled out (Mayflower passenger #1) and sent along with $5 (U.S.). If a previously approved, well documented paper is found, you will be sent a copy, and will be able to use the data & sources from that paper, up to the point where your lines branch off, which means your documentation efforts will begin at this point. If the search proves successful, this could be extremely beneficial and cut down on the number of generations you will have to document." Best regards, Pam Sears John A Hansen wrote: > > Dear Pamela: > > <snip> > > The question of documentation and references is crucial especially for > any Society such as the Mayflower. However, sometimes there is a > point to be made that one needs some direction and hints ( hypothesis) > in order to go in some direction for their research. I took the original > questions as being in that light. I would agree totally that the > Silver books should be the first stop. The few dollars of cost > as compared to the thousands and thousands of hours of research > that went into these is the bargain of the century!!!. > > Do you happen to know if there has been a change in policy regarding > the accepting of the documentation in the Silver books as proof. In > other words can the Silver books be quoted as the documentation on > a certain line? At one time that was not the case and independant > certified copies had to be supplied with the application. > > Thanks for your time. > > Best Regards > John A Hansen > > > > > > > 1. Let me point out that no one (with one possible exception) has cited > > any source(s) for the above information :-). > > <snip> > > > 3. The standard reference for Stephen Hopkins is the "silver book" > > published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants: "Mayflower > > Families Through Five Generations: Family of Stephen Hopkins" by John D. > > Austin, F.A.S.G. Vol. 6. [My copy is the 2nd edition, 1995].
Dear Pamela: Thanks for your so very prompt reply ! Thanks also for the referral to the various URL's. I had previously been to those sites and that was what created the basic question to start with :-). If you take the case of a John Doe that is a descendant of John Alden. But there has been no Mayflower application from anyone in his/her particular line before. So there is no previous applications from someone in the 5th generation below John Alden that pertains to the line of John Doe. Not every descendant of John Alden in the Silver books has been used as a gateway ancestor. So my question remains: When a person submits the application to the Historian , will the Silver Books alone be sufficient proof that this line of ancestors is properly documented? The way I read your answer and the FAQ infers, the answer to my question is still NO. Thanks again for your reply. Best Regards John A Hansen > -----Original Message----- > From: Pamela J. Sears [mailto:pjsears@stratos.net] > Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 9:55 AM > To: MAYFLOWER-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [MFLR] Hopkins>Snow>Small>Woodworth relatives > > > Dear John, > > Your basic concern/question is frequently asked, and I shall refer you > to several URLs which you will find extremely helpful. <snip> > "A synopsis form can be printed from the General Societys site (where > you will also find their address) and should be filled out (Mayflower > passenger #1) and sent along with $5 (U.S.). If a previously approved, > well documented paper is found, you will be sent a copy, and will be > able to use the data & sources from that paper, up to the point where > your lines branch off, which means your documentation efforts will begin > at this point. If the search proves successful, this could be extremely > beneficial and cut down on the number of generations you will have to > document." > > Best regards, > Pam Sears >
John, Although you addressed your question to Pamela, I'm going to jump in here and answer and then go back to work cleaning out my house in preparation to move. For the 26 years that I have been involved with the Mayflower Society as an Historian on one level or another, the Silver Books have ALMOST ALWAYS been fully accepted by the Historian General, without any further documentation being submitted, UNLESS new information has surfaced which negates what is published in them. Right now, since the old volumes 1 and 2 have been completely re-researched (if there is such a word) and republished under different volume numbers, MF1 and MF2 really should not be used as references for any lineage papers, although you may still find them in various libraries who haven't up-dated their collection. However, if the old books are the only ones you have access to, cite them and we'll change the references to the new books in the Historian General's office. The same is true of MF Vol. 3 (Soule) although we are still accepting that to some extent. That should be used with the new Soule "MFIPs" (pamphlets) which provide better information than the original MF3. Once a new Silver book is published on George Soule, then MF 3 will also be completely obsolete. Often, State Historians will take care of these problems for you and you won't even have to worry about it. The problem you MAY run into is when a person is shown as a "possible" child or even a "probable" child in any of the Silver books. There is no solid documentation that has been found by the Prime Researchers that can be cited, although circumstantial evidence seems to be pointing in that direction. These people cannot be positively attached though the use of vital, church, probate, land or other records where the families resided or are known to have died. However, if the residence of some of these people cannot be discovered, further research cannot be done. Sometimes, an applicant will have information about where they migrated to and be able to provide good supporting evidence for possible or probable children. Without that additional proof, children marked "possible" are not likely to be accepted even though they are shown in the Silver Books and those marked "probable" may still be very "iffy!" (Mrs.) Bette Innes Bradway Assistant Historian General, et. al.