Thank you for registering for the online course, Verifying Your Mayflower Lineage!
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 three-part 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.
This course includes three 90-minute classes and access to handouts and recordings of each presentation.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Class 1: Getting Started: Mayflower Resources and Records
Presented by 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.
Class 2: Verifying and Documenting Your Connection
Presented by Lindsay Fulton
In this second class we'll demonstrate various ways to document your line and when a proof argument may be necessary.
Class 3: Advanced Strategies & Next Steps
Presented by Christopher C. Child
This final 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. We will also discuss next steps once you have verified your connection, adding to Mayflower scholarship.
COURSE HANDOUTS
Other Resources:
Research Guide: Mayflower Lineage
Research Guide: Native Nations of New England
Research Guide: 17th-C. New England Research
Qualification Outline Template (.docx)
COURSE PRESENTATIONS
Class 1: Getting Started: Mayflower Resources and Records
Live Broadcast: November 1, 2023
Presented by: Lindsay Fulton
Running Time: 1:50:12
Class 2: Verifying and Documenting Your Mayflower Connection
Live Broadcast: November 8, 2023
Presented by: Lindsay Fulton
Running Time: 1:48:30
Class 3: Advanced Strategies & Next Steps
Live Broadcast: November 15, 2023
Presented by: Christopher C. Child
Running Time: 1:50:41
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.