I am a new kid on the block, just now joined the list. Yesterday I learned that my great-great grandfather's brother's wife's sister's husband Enos Putnam of Vermont is allegedly a descendant of Thomas Putnam of Salem, the Thomas Putnam who had a role in the witch trials there. I stumbled upon this information by accident on a web site while browsing idly for Putnams just to pass some time. These Putnams are, of course, quite distant from my own lineage, but I was impressed by the historical significance of this dogleg jutting out of the family saga, off yonder though it may be. It has been too long now since I've come across things of historical significance in my work. Today was a family history center day out here, and I ordered a film of the book, "A History of the Putnam Family in England and America," by Eben Putnam, 1891. On the way home I bought a copy of Marion Starkey's "The Devil in Massachusetts" so that I can brief myself on the story. My initial question here is: What can I expect from the Eben Putnam book? I imagine this is might be a good list for finding knowledgeable authorities on the Putnams. I ordered a film of the book today, but it will be awhile before I can see it. The alleged lineage I am looking at is Enos Putnam, son of Joshua, son of Ebenezer, son of Holyoke, son of Edward, son of Edward, son of Thomas of Salem witch trial repute (m. Ann Holyoke), son of John. This appears on a private web site on the net, minus sources for anythng, thus inherently lacking in credibility. I refuse to accept net lineages like the one I found, but I also hate reinventing wheels, thus my investment in the Eben Putnam book. If anyone is familiar with Eben, I would like to know if his work seems reasonably solid, and also just how far down the Enos Putnam lineage Eben will get me. I am hoping that Eben's book will get me to Ebenezer, son of Holyoke (and hoping too, of course, that Eben has a good reputation out there). I won't see this book for at least 10 days hence. My guess is that I will have to connect Enos to Joshua to Ebenezer myself, and that part might be a very tough row. I checked the archives of this list at my public library on the way home from the FHC, and I did see some old posts by Putnam descendants, though none of the line I am interested in. I also saw that the old Putnam posts here generally are more numerous than I will be able to sort through for a quite a while yet. So, I'll be busy off-list. Meanwhile, I thought I might start by asking around with regard to whether or not Enos Putnam's ancestry, above, might be real. I am beginning at square one with the Putnams and know next to little about them, especially from Enos working back eventually to Salem. Lester Powers ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com