Thank you for registering for the online course, Researching & Verifying Mayflower Ancestry
Four hundred years ago, the Mayflower landed on the shores of Massachusetts with 102 passengers aboard. Today, there is an estimated 35 million Mayflower descendants worldwide. Join experts from American Ancestors for a five-session online course that will explore the many resources, record collections, and research strategies for verifying your connection to the Mayflower. We will also include several case studies demonstrating ways to break down brick walls, including an examination of using DNA to confirm a hypothesis. Finally, we’ll discuss how to take your research further by contributing your finding to ongoing Mayflower scholarship.
This course includes five 90-minute classes and exclusive access to handouts and recordings of each presentation. These recordings and all course materials will be available for the foreseeable future.
COURSE SCHEDULE
October 29 – Class 1: Getting Started: Mayflower Resources and Records, Lindsay Fulton
This first class will get you started on the right track for verifying your line. We will discuss organizing your research, "hotspots" for Mayflower connections, and many trusted resources and record collections to make your research more efficient and effective.
November 5 – Class 2: Applying to the Mayflower Society, Kristi Schkade
Many researchers want to confirm their line to a Mayflower passenger so they can apply to the Mayflower Society, a national lineage society. In this second class we look at the details for working with a state historian and completing your application.
November 12 – Class 3: Creating a Proof Argument: Documenting Your Mayflower Lineage, Lindsay Fulton
You've verified that you have a Mayflower connection, now it's time to document each vital event and generational connection! This class will go over the steps of creating a qualification outline and demonstrate how and when you may need to write a proof argument.
November 19 – Class 4: Advanced Strategies, Christopher C. Child
Hit a brick wall in researching your Mayflower line? This class will look at several case studies that use various strategies for breaking down a brick wall, including using DNA to confirm a hypothesis and prove a connection.
November 26 – Class 5: Contributing to Mayflower Scholarship, Christopher C. Child
The passengers on the Mayflower and their descendants continue to be a popular area of genealogical study. New discoveries are being made all the time! In this final class, we will discuss some of the ways you can contribute to this area of study through publications, online group projects, and more.
COURSE HANDOUTS
COURSE PRESENTATIONS
Class 1: Getting Started: Mayflower Resources and Records
Live Broadcast: October 29, 2024
Presented by: Lindsay Fulton
Running Time: 01:41:24
Class 2: Applying to the Mayflower Society
Live Broadcast: November 5, 2024
Presented by: Kristi Leigh Schkade
Running Time: 01:30:42
Class 3: Creating a Proof Argument: Documenting Your Mayflower Lineage
Live Broadcast: November 12, 2024
Presented by: Lindsay Fulton
Running Time: 01:48:41
Class 4: Advanced Strategies
Live Broadcast: November 19, 2024
Presented by: Chris Child
Running Time: 01:45:45
Class 5: Contributing to Mayflower Scholarship
Live Broadcast: November 26, 2024
Presented by: Chris Child
Running Time: 01:20:37
OTHER RESOURCES
Archived Lecture: The Basics of Mayflower Research
Research Guide: Mayflower Lineage
Research Guide: Native Nations of New England
Research Guide: 17th-C. New England Research
Qualification Outline Template (.docx)
INSTRUCTORS
Christopher C. Child, Senior Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press and Editor of The Mayflower Descendant has worked for various departments at American Ancestors since 1997 and became a full-time employee in July 2003. He has been a member of American Ancestors since the age of eleven. He is the editor of the genetics & genealogy column in American Ancestors magazine and has written several articles in American Ancestors, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and The Mayflower Descendant. He is the co-editor of The Ancestry of Catherine Middleton (American Ancestors, 2011), co-author of The Descendants of Judge John Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts (Newbury Street Press, 2011) and Ancestors and Descendants of George Rufus Brown and Alice Nelson Pratt (Newbury Street Press, 2013), and author of The Nelson Family of Rowley, Massachuestts (Newbury Street Press, 2014). Chris holds a B.A. in history from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. His areas of expertise include Southern New England, especially Connecticut; New York; ancestry of notable figures, especially presidents; genetics and genealogy; African-American and Native-American genealogy, 19th and 20th Century research, westward migrations out of New England, and applying to hereditary societies.
Lindsay Fulton, Vice President for Research and Library Services, joined the Society in 2012, first a member of the Research Services team, and then a Genealogist in the Library. She has been the Director of Research Services since 2016. In addition to helping constituents with their research, Lindsay has also authored a Portable Genealogists on the topics of Applying to Lineage Societies, the United States Federal Census, 1790-1840 and the United States Federal Census, 1850-1940. She is a frequent contributor to the American Ancestors blog, Vita-Brevis, and has appeared as a guest on the Extreme Genes radio program. Before, American Ancestors, Lindsay worked at the National Archives and Records Administration in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she designed and implemented an original curriculum program exploring the Chinese Exclusion Era for elementary school students. She holds a B.A. from Merrimack College and M.A. from the University of Massachusetts-Boston Her areas of expertise include New England and New York research, with a focus on lineage society applications.
Kristi Leigh Schkade, Library and Research Services Coordinator of the General Society of Mayflower Descendantshas been researching and sharing the story of the Mayflower and early Plymouth Colony for over a decade. She began her work at the Mayflower Society verifying the lineages of applicants, before stepping into her current role, managing the collections of the Research Center Library. Kristi designed and implemented the Mayflower Society Research Services program, and serves as the head researcher, overseeing the research team and coordinating daily operations. Prior to her work at the Mayflower Society, Kristi worked as an historical interpreter at Plimoth Patuxet Museum. There she created and facilitated interactive programs for museum visitors, and studied the life and times of early Plymouth colonists. Kristi holds a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University and a B.A. from the University of North Texas. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and her work has been published in the Mayflower Quarterly Magazine. Her areas of specialty include the Mayflower, Plymouth Colony, New England, and Texas.