Ray Nelson sent the following, to which I reply: James Walter Woolsey does not "document" one instance of any George Woolsey's involvement before 1647. In fact, in his later works, he had begun to doubt the existence of any "Uncle Benjamin Woolsey" and so stated. I'm not acquainted with any Dangerfield book (1945) but there was a Delafield book, but again, he only "re-stated" the works by Dwight & Woolsey, which gave no documentation for their statements. I repeat, there is nothing in the records of Norfolk, England, that indicate that George Woolsey was born in 1610. I have found the christening date for George Woolsey as 1616, which would make him only 7 years old in 1623, a little young for indenture, especially as George Woolsey's father did not die until 1629, when we can expect the break-up of the family, from the Rotterdam Orphan's records. George Woolsey himself did not really know the date of his birth, as he said he "was age 26 " in 1647, making his birth date as 1621. There is no record extant of which I am aware, that George Woolsey was ever "apprenticed" to Isaac Allerton. It is true that Isaac Allerton was on the Mayflower in 1620. It is also true that Allerton was the "business manager" for the Plymouth Colony. However, as Allerton was using the credit of the Plymouth Colony to further his own financial interests, especially in the Kennebec area, the Plymouth Colony finally "fired" him and Allerton went to work in much the same capacity for the Dutch at New Amsterdam, where he begins to appear in the records of New Amsterdam, with George Woolsey. Ray, I would appreciate documentation of "earlier transaction" between Allerton and Woolsey. Also, I have seen no documentation of an "Uncle Benjamin" Woolsey. The only Woolsey in the early records is the Reverend Benjamin Woolsey of Dosoris, Long Island, two generations later. Also there is no Hook girl that married into any Woolsey family during that early period. Ray, thank you for your input. We may be able to iron this all out with open dialogue. Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker ----- Original Message ----- From: Ray Nelson To: mwdiet@home.com Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2000 1:33 PM Subject: Joris immigration Hi again, I noticed the following on the list: 1623 George Woolsey, to Plymouth 1262:339 973 W2cm Colket: Founders of Early American Families 1975 [I have included the above three dates because they are indelibly marked in the records. However, I do not believe that our ancestor George Woolsey, the Immigrant, was in America before 1646, although there is a record that indicates that he may have been here as early as 1643. www.] It would seem that "The Settler" , the James Walter Woolsey (1981) and rhe (1945) Dangerfiield books have stuck to the story that Joris was indentured to Isaac Allerten in 1623 at Plymouth at age 13. Some said his uncle, the Rev Benjamin Woolsey came with him. I have seen mention of merchant transactions earlier than your dates that he performed for Allerton. All other dates in New Amsterdam of course begin with his Flushing land purchase, marriage to Rebecca Cornell in 1647, Stuyvesant Fire Warden appointment (1648), cadet in the Berger Guards (1653) etc. I agree that it is tough to document the years between 1623 and 1647, but there just seems to be too much detail to bring me to strong possibility of your view. With best wishes, Ray Nelson