On Thu, 20 Jun 2002 18:47:42 -0400 "BA Young" <scanbar@prodigy.net> writes: > I am trying to reconstruct my grandmother's Pilgrim genealogy which > was stolen from her home. Barbara - I'll sit down with your list this weekend for a close look and see what references I can suggest. I did notice one error that isn't really germane to Mayflower descent but which has persisted in print and on the web: > SAMPSON, Abraham (1) arrived 1629 brother of Mayflower Pilgrim > HenrySAMPSON After quite a bit of reading about these two (although I have no known descent from either) I have found nothing to convince me of a provable relationship between Henry Samson and Abraham Sampson. (Note to those new to these two families - the surnames of these two distinct families are generally, but not always, spelled in records the way I spelled them here). I think I can safely say that it is generally accepted that Henry was baptized in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England on 15-Jan-1603/04. See "English Ancestry of Seven Mayflower Passengers: Tilley, Sampson and Cooper" by Robert Leigh Ward, The American Genealogist, v. 52, pp. 198-208. The evidence presented there showing the origins of the Mayflower passengers bearing those three surnames is, I believe, absolutely convincing. The records cited in that article explain the relationship between Edward and Ann Tilley and the "cousins" (as Bradford wrote) that they brought with them on the Mayflower, the children Henry Samson and Humility Cooper (Cowper). On 14-Aug-1614 in the nearby parish of Campton, Bedfordshire, Henry's first cousin Abraham Samson was baptized. This was possibly the immigrant Abraham Sampson of Duxbury. I have seen no evidence to contraindicate that possibility, but I have seen no evidence that establishes that the Campton Abraham was indeed the immigrant. For additional discussions of the Bedfordshire Samsons and of Abraham and his descendants see "The Early Sampsons" by Mrs. John E. (Rachel) Barclay, The American Genealogist, v. 28, pp. 1-11; "Henry Sampson's Paternal Grandfather" by Robert Leigh Ward, The American Genealogist, v. 56, pp. 141-143; and "The Daughters of Abraham(1) Sampson (born 1614?) of Duxbury MA" by Robert S. Wakefield, The American Genealogist, v. 63, pp. 207-210. As a side note, a great-great-granddaughter of Abraham was Deborah Sampson who disguised herself as a man and fought in the Revolutionary War as "Private Robert Shurtleff." She was aided in receiving a soldier's pension by Paul Revere. A number of articles have been written about Deborah. For starters I suggest "The Saga of 'Private Shurtleff': A Mayflower Connection with a Twist" by Robert C. Thompson, The Mayflower Quarterly, v. 65, pp. 265-268; as well as an article about her father, "The Secret Life of Jonathan Sampson" by Barbara Lambert Merrick, The Mayflower Quarterly, v. 48, pp. 172-177. Deborah Sampson was also a descendant of William Bradford, Myles Standish and John Alden. Dale H. Cook, Chief Engineer, WWWR Roanoke VA, WCQV Moneta VA, WKBA WZZI Vinton VA, WKPA WLNI WLVA WZZU Lynchburg VA

Hello Dale -- I'm trying to clear away some of the cloud regarding Susanna WEST and her parents. Susanna married Ephraim COLE 2 Mar 1724/5 in Duxbury, according to Duxbury VRs, cited in IGI. I believe that Susanna was born about 1695, probably in Duxbury. I think that her parents were Richard WEST/WASTE and Mary SAMSON/ SAMPSON. There was such a marriage 26 Oct 1693 in Duxbury, according to Duxbury VRs, cited in IGI. So far, this information is only partly cloudy. In meteorological terms, the ancestry of Richard WEST is heavy overcast. The Pedigree Resource File has several entries that list his parents as Francis (John) WEST and Susannah SOULE; Richard was born in 1663 in N. Kingston, RI. Did Susannah descend from George SOULE? And who were Francis WEST's parents? What is pea soup fog is the ancestry of Mary SAMSON. I'd guess that she was born about 1670, but to whom, and where? Is there any evidence to show that she was descended from either Abraham Sampson or Henry Samson? I'd appreciate any help you can provide. Bruce Bardes Cincinnati Dale H Cook wrote: > On Thu, 20 Jun 2002 18:47:42 -0400 "BA Young" <scanbar@prodigy.net> > writes: > > > I am trying to reconstruct my grandmother's Pilgrim genealogy which > > was stolen from her home. > > Barbara - > > I'll sit down with your list this weekend for a close look and see what > references I can suggest. I did notice one error that isn't really > germane to Mayflower descent but which has persisted in print and on the > web: > > > SAMPSON, Abraham (1) arrived 1629 brother of Mayflower Pilgrim > > HenrySAMPSON > > After quite a bit of reading about these two (although I have no known > descent from either) I have found nothing to convince me of a provable > relationship between Henry Samson and Abraham Sampson. (Note to those new > to these two families - the surnames of these two distinct families are > generally, but not always, spelled in records the way I spelled them > here). > > I think I can safely say that it is generally accepted that Henry was > baptized in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England on 15-Jan-1603/04. See "English > Ancestry of Seven Mayflower Passengers: Tilley, Sampson and Cooper" by > Robert Leigh Ward, The American Genealogist, v. 52, pp. 198-208. The > evidence presented there showing the origins of the Mayflower passengers > bearing those three surnames is, I believe, absolutely convincing. The > records cited in that article explain the relationship between Edward and > Ann Tilley and the "cousins" (as Bradford wrote) that they brought with > them on the Mayflower, the children Henry Samson and Humility Cooper > (Cowper). > > On 14-Aug-1614 in the nearby parish of Campton, Bedfordshire, Henry's > first cousin Abraham Samson was baptized. This was possibly the immigrant > Abraham Sampson of Duxbury. I have seen no evidence to contraindicate > that possibility, but I have seen no evidence that establishes that the > Campton Abraham was indeed the immigrant. For additional discussions of > the Bedfordshire Samsons and of Abraham and his descendants see "The > Early Sampsons" by Mrs. John E. (Rachel) Barclay, The American > Genealogist, v. 28, pp. 1-11; "Henry Sampson's Paternal Grandfather" by > Robert Leigh Ward, The American Genealogist, v. 56, pp. 141-143; and "The > Daughters of Abraham(1) Sampson (born 1614?) of Duxbury MA" by Robert S. > Wakefield, The American Genealogist, v. 63, pp. 207-210. > > As a side note, a great-great-granddaughter of Abraham was Deborah > Sampson who disguised herself as a man and fought in the Revolutionary > War as "Private Robert Shurtleff." She was aided in receiving a soldier's > pension by Paul Revere. A number of articles have been written about > Deborah. For starters I suggest "The Saga of 'Private Shurtleff': A > Mayflower Connection with a Twist" by Robert C. Thompson, The Mayflower > Quarterly, v. 65, pp. 265-268; as well as an article about her father, > "The Secret Life of Jonathan Sampson" by Barbara Lambert Merrick, The > Mayflower Quarterly, v. 48, pp. 172-177. Deborah Sampson was also a > descendant of William Bradford, Myles Standish and John Alden. > > Dale H. Cook, Chief Engineer, WWWR Roanoke VA, WCQV Moneta VA, WKBA WZZI > Vinton VA, WKPA WLNI WLVA WZZU Lynchburg VA > > ==== MAYFLOWER Mailing List ==== > Check out the web page of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants at http://www.mayflower.org/