Mayflower Ancestry - William White & Susanna Jackson

William White and Sussana Jackson would be my 10th great grandparents.  Here is the line through the Tannahill family.  The first 5 generations are in the Mayflower Families - Through Five Generations - Vol 13 (Silver Books)  There are a few comments on a few interesting ancestors.  I have several ancestors who were on the Mayflower.  I suppose most people who have early New England ancestry probably share the same claim.  

William White (10 Nov 1591 - 21 Feb 1621) m. Susanna Jackson (1592 d. 01 Oct 1680 )

William, Susanna and their son Resolved were 3 of the 102 passengers of the Mayflower. They also brought along two servants.  In late November, Susanna gave birth to their son Peregrine having made the voyage in the latter stages of her pregnancy.  The two servants who came with the White family both died that first winter with Edward Thompson being the first to die amongst the passengers.  William Holbek also died soon after they landed. Both were indentured servants.

There were also 30 crew.  They dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod Massachusetts on November 20, 1620.  During that first winter, most stayed on board the ship because of a lack of shelter and food.  There was an outbreak of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis.  Only 53 passengers and half of the crew survived that first winter.

Susanna was the only surving widow and went on to become one of the first brides, marring Edward Winslow in May of 1621, having 5 more children in addition to her two sons with William White. It has only been the past few years that we have actually known her last name thanks to persistent research by some descendants.

Resolved White (1615 d. aft 19 Sep 1687)  m. Judith Vassall (b. 1619 d. abt 3 Apr 1670)

Anna White (b. 4 Jun 1649 d. 26 May 1718 ) m. John Hayward (b. 20 Dec 1640 d. 22 Nov 1718)

David Allen b. 1675 d. bef 1752) m. Sarah Hayward (b. 16 Jun 1689 d. bef 1748)

David Allen (9 Feb 1713 d. 1799-1800) m. Sarah Baker (27 Sep 1715 d. Aft 1762)

Interesting point - I worked with Lucy Kelly Simpson trying to find the connection between Adoniram Allen and Ethan Allen (Green Mountain Boys - Revolutionary War).  We never could make the connection through the Allen family  and it turned out the connection was through the Baker's.  Their mother's were sisters.   David traveled to either NC/GA likely after 1762 and ended up in North Carolina.  Both David and his son Adoniram fought in the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780 which would have made David around 67 and Adoniram at 46 years of age.

Adoniram Allen (b. 1734 d. 1838) m. Elizabeth Morris b. 1777 d. 1815)
Adoniram is possibly one of my favorite ancestors.  He was born near the New Hampshire border in 1734 moved to Georgia and then North Carolina with his father.  He then got a land grant and moved to Kentucky and started a mill there in 1807 at 70 years old.  His nickname was "Teges" because he was "particular" and the creek near that mill is called "Teges" in his honor.  Adoniram retired at 102 and died two years later at 104 years of age.  

Morris Allen (b. 1794 d. 4 Nov 1864) m. Rachel Bishop (b. 1805 d. aft 1870)

Ailey Allen (b 12 Apr 1823 d. 5 Apr 1890)  m. William Kelly (1818 d. 9 Jun 1899)  - on the right is a photo of Ailey Allen.  According to family stories, this was a tintype that was nailed to the wagon that carried John Ward Kelly and family to Kansas and Oklahoma.  The nail hole is still in the upper right hand corner.

John Ward Kelly (b. 8 Aug 1849 d. 20 Feb 1910)  m. Melvina Robertson (b. 19 July 1849 d. 22 Dec 1890) John Ward Kelly and Melvina Robertson had 14 children.  Melvina died in childbirth with that child.  They moved to Kansas around 1885 near the Oklahoma border.  

Sarah Rachel Kelly (b. 17 Dec 1877 d. 21 Jan 1966)  m John Lyons Tannahill (b. 28 Apr 1873 d. 21 May 1945)

They were the parents of:

• Samuel Ward Tannahill (1897-1973)
• Earl Sylvanis Tannahill (1898-1942)
• William Sylvester Tannahill (1900-1988)
• John Theodore Tannahill (1902-1987)
• Goerge Carter Tannahill (1904-1971)
• Elvina Almira Tannahill (1907-1972)
• Rachel Olive Tannahill (1912-1984)
• Oliver Richard Tannahill (1912-1947) (my line)

Ancestral Characters...

I enjoy watching programs like “Who Do You Think You Are” and Henry Louis Gates series “Finding Your Roots!”  I was bitten by the genealogy bug many years ago….probably even when I was a child because I loved listening to the stories of my grandparents and various other relatives.  The guests find that their family mysteries are seemingly solved with a short TV episode, although I must say they are missing out on all of the fun.

Genealogy is a journey!  There are a lot of interesting stops along the way, but always something new on the horizon.  There are even walls that may take years to tear down if ever.  Every few years there seems to be some new tools to add to the treasure chest.  Like those programs, I am picking and choosing some “interesting ancestors.”  My great great grandfather who had 17 children.  He was married to one sister, ran off with another sister and after she died, married a “widow” who turned out to be a divorcee.  In the early 1900’s, this was somewhat of a scandal.  Here are the blogs I wrote about George Christian Shawver:

George Christian Shawver - 1st Family

George Christian Shawver - 2nd Family

George Christian Shawver - 3rd Family

My 10th great grandfather has all of the credentials of a hero and significant figure in history.  He was the first man to navigate Boston harbor.  That probably doesn’t sound all that important to today’s generations but to someone in 1630 it was significant.  Ships could navigate in a safe passage in and out of Boston, which could arguably be called one of the most important cities in Colonial America.  He really was one of the more important people of his generation.

John Gallop - 10th Great Grandfather

John Gallop - The rest of the story

I have Mayflower ancestors that came on that first ship. Elizabeth Tilley was a teenager whose parents died during that first winter and she ended up marrying one the two bachelors who made the trip, namely John Howland.  There are a lot descendants who can claim ancestry to John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley.  (Mayflower Ancestry - Part 1)

Then there is John Billington.  He was considered to be the troublemaker of the group causing constant tension among the passengers.  His two boys nearly blew up the ship during the journey playing with flint around gun powder.  John Billington also turned out to be the first man hung for murder in the new world.  (Mayflower Ancestry - Part 2)

William White was one of the nearly ⅓ of the passengers who died that first winter.  There is a lot to be admired anyone who undertook the journey on the Mayflower.  These people didn’t know what they would face and took the hazardous trip to be able to practice their religious beliefs without the interference of a government.  William White’s wife, Susanna ended up marrying the first governor of the colony, Edward Winslow..who turns out to be my 9th great grandfather’s older brother.  (Mayflower Ancestry - Part 3)  Kenelm was quite an interesting fellow as well…(Coffin Make in New England)

My father’s great grandfather (Washington Abraham Johnson) was a 1st cousin to Pres. Andrew Johnson which is interesting enough.  However, his younger brother Nicholas Johnson was interesting in his own way.  If you talk to his family members, Nicholas disappeared after the Civil War and ran off to California abandoning his wife and children as well as aged father.  I am not sure I will ever find what happened  to him. (Nicholas Johnson - Man of Mystery)

There are a lot more characters in my ancestry.  I had ancestors who were among the first settlers here and as far as I can find, I don’t have an ancestor who arrived any later than 1810.  I have been very lucky, I have known 3 great grandmothers, 2 grandmothers, 2 grandfathers, and a great grandfather.  Every one of these people have made me who I am.  I am not like most of those celebrities in those TV shows because I do know a lot about my history.  When I began doing research more formally, I did it with my mother. Mom was my best resource for stories about her family and many years ago she took the initiative on long ago conversation with her father in law to give us a great starting point on his family. We lost Mom back in 2005 - I know she is breaking down all those brick walls...sure wish she could tell me what she has learned. This is my favorite picture of my Mom...in her signature red, her favorite color.

Happy Thanksgiving

I didn't appreciate the significance of the history of Thanksgiving when I was young.  I knew the general stuff about the Pilgrims because we got to color pictures of them and talked about them in a general sense.  When I got older, teachers only seemed to want to spent a few minutes on the most general and unexciting of details.  History is a story that needs to be taught like a story and not a bunch of names and dates.  I didn't have an appreciation for significance of the Pilgrims and those other early settlers who arrived in the next ten years.  I didn't understand the deprivation that they suffered or the loss of people.  There were a lot of these new settlers who in a few months lost husbands, wives, and children to sickness in those first few months.  I'm not sure that most teachers really know that story to be fair...they probably received the same type of education that I did on the subject.

I've been researching my family's genealogy for 15 years.  During that time, I've come across mostly common people who have made their way in the world - each in their own unique way.  However, so much of my family comes from the New England area and I knew that it was likely that I had a few Mayflower ancestors.  Last year I wrote about these ancestors in:

• My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 1 - My Gallup line tracing back to John Howland & Elizabeth Tilley.
• My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 2 - My Swan line going back to John Billington.
• My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 3 - My Allen line going back to William White and my Winslow line.

You might say that now when I sit down to our Thanksgiving table with family and friends that I have a new appreciation of who has come before me.  

I think that this was my second Thanksgiving ..as I am the toddler sitting in the high chair.  So much on the table is familiar from my childhood - from the candle holders, the china, salt and pepper shakers to the Turkey in the center.  As I place that Turkey on our table once again, I know that it has been our family since about 1948 and has been on every Thanksgiving table during my lifetime.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Mysterious Mr. White

My great grandmother, Shirlie, was a widow when she married Ulpian Johnson on 27 Apr 1909 in Washburn, McLean Co., ND.  For many years we had a photo of her and first husband and the only name that we knew him by was Mr. White.   Honestly, I don’t know a whole lot more about him now!

Shirlie moved to North Dakota probably sometime after 1900.  While she isn’t recorded in the 1900 census with her father, I suspect that she is working out of the house and I’ve never been able to locate her.  She married Charles A. White on 11 Nov 1903 in Washburn, McLean Co., ND.  She must have become pregnant right away, because her son George was born on 9 Jul 1904 in Washburn.  Shirlie’s second son was born 6 Aug 1906.  Eight months later, Shirlie was left a widow.  Her husband, Charles, had been out fighting a prairie fire and died a several days later of smoke inhalation.  A kind researcher back in North Dakota found his obituary for me.

Charles A White Dead.  

Charles A While was born at Muskegon Michigan on Feb. 10, 1870. Died April 29th, 1907. He leaves a wife and two children living near Washburn, and an aged father and mother, two sisters, and one brother at Muskegon, to mourn the loss of a loving husband and father, a dutiful son, and an affectionate brother.  The cause of his death was from the effect of inhaling smoke and fires from a prairie fire he was helping to fight on the 23rd of April, 1907, and had not been well since.  His wife had been and got medicine for him and as it had no effect on him he thought he would go and see the doctor, he had gone about five miles and fell out of the buggy just in front of Mr. Wiese house, Mr. Wiese seen him fall and went to him, he never spoke, was unconscious and never rallied, and lived about town minutes after they got him in the house. His remains were taken to his wife’s fathers Mr W.L.Pope and funeral services were held there at ten O'clock May 1. His remains were laid to rest in the Svedrup cemetery followed by a large concourse for friends. The funeral sermon was preached by Rev Ehlers of the M.E.Church of Washburn.

I found it interesting that he was buried at Sverdrup Cemetery and that there is no stone that has been found for him.  Shirlie’s mother, Nancy Ann Marie Lyons Pope had been buried there in 1906.  It leads me to believe that Charles was running the farm on the land that her father had which is close by in the region.  About two years later, Shirlie married an old bachelor who was already 40 years old to her 28 years.  Once again, Shirlie became pregnant and had a daughter on January 27, 1910.  Another daughter (Nancy Mae Johnson) followed on 9 Mar 1912 and then my grandfather, Frank Stewart Johnson on 10 Oct 1914, a daughter who was stillborn in 1919 and finally Audrey Ruth b. 22 Jan 1923. 

George White

Shirlie’s oldest two sons have always been kind of a mystery to me.  My father remembers both of them well as George, the oldest, came out to live near Potlatch.  Elmer ended up working for the railroad and marrying a Jewish widow.  Neither one had children.  My grandmother had very little to say that was positive about George.  Evidently he was someone who disliked women in general, and probably her in particular.  I’m not even real sure that he was impressed with his nieces…but he loved his brother and my father.  He had very little patience or understanding for women in general.  George also had a problem with drinking.  One night he stopped alongside the road to relieve himself and was struck by a car and killed immediately in 1962.  Elmer lived for long while after that – passing away in 1984.  We were shocked to find out that after his wife, Lucy, had died, he had remarried. 

Elmer & Lucy White

I’ve heard from the Johnson side of the family that Shirlie wasn’t terribly bright – I have my doubts about that because of the way she took care of her family and held them together and how everything fell apart after her death.  There is no doubt that her older two sons were not very intelligent…in fact they could be considered to be somewhat “slow”.  It is interesting though to note that while my grandmother didn’t want much to do with George – she was quite fond of Elmer.  My father remembers that it was a big occasion for the family to take off in the car and go to Spokane to meet Elmer for a visit.  As he worked for the railroad, he could travel very cheaply. 

I’ve never really ever made progress on getting further information on Charles A. White.   The White surname is probably as hard to research as the Johnson surname.  For most of my life, Charles was simply known as Mr. White and I must say it was gratifying to finally learn his name.  

What I know - What I think I know? - Pt 1

Sometimes it is difficult to fill in the narrative in genealogy research.  There is a difference in what you know and what you think you know.  For example, I know the birth and death dates of my great grandmother, her parents, her marriages and her children.  I know where she lived in 10 year increments from the census…but what do I really know about her.

Shirlie with her first husband, Charles White.

According to some in the Johnson side of the family, Shirlie Louisa Pope was considered to be a bit slow.  There is no story of any kind like this on the Pope branch.  So, I have to look a bit closer at what I really know about Shirlie.  She married a Charles White in 1903 when she was 22 and had two children with him until he died after fighting a prairie fire in 1907.  She married Ulpian Johnson two years later in 1909 and together they had 5 children, 4 who survived to adulthood.  She died in 1927 as the result of pneumonia.

So…I know that Shirlie was born in Burke, Caledonia Co., VT – she was in Dunn Co., ND in 1910 and in 1925.  The family wasn’t counted in the 1920 census – Dad thinks this was the case because they were living down on the Missouri River breaks.  They had to move when a damn was put in and the area flooded.   I’ve never located her in the 1900 census although I am sure she was probably in North Dakota at the time and she was born too late for the 1880 census…and to the eternal horror of any genealogist the 1890 census was destroyed.   Despite the gaps, I have a pretty good understanding of where she lived and when – so I am confident in the facts of her life.

The stories that I have heard of her intelligence don’t quite mesh with what I know about her life.  I don’t think I can take too seriously one side of the family who said that she was slow and the other side who was angry to lose a beloved member so young.  Shirlie’s sister, Verna, was quite angry at Shirlie’s husband, Ulpian aka George at not getting a doctor to her sooner.  I’m not sure in 1927, that would even have helped as there wasn’t much medicine available to help her.  I doubt the stories about her intelligence.  Her husband, Ulpian, pretty much fell apart after her death and Aunt Nan and my grandfather, Frank, quit school and got jobs to support the family.  Ulpian had been injured as a young man in either a farming or rail accident.  I’ve been told both stories.  To the day he died, Ulpian, was unable to talk about Shirlie without crying, so his children didn’t talk about their mother.  I find this to be a tragic circumstance.  It is one thing to have lose your mother so young but to not be able to talk about her to your father had to be an extra hard blow.  The family stories are what keep a loved one alive long after they have gone.

This is where I get to to what I think I know!  I believe that Shirlie was intellectually much smarter than she was given credit for with her husband’s family.  From the stories that I have heard – my impression is that she was the strong one in the family and the one who kept “things” together.  She was so beloved by my grandfather that he named his oldest daughter after her.  I think she was somewhat unfairly labeled by Ulpian’s brother and sister in-law as being slow.  Shirlie’s father was a very vibrant and seemingly intelligent man.  It might be said that her older two sons with her first husband weren’t too intelligent.  Mary, Shirlie’s oldest daughter with Ulpian, was handicapped and was never quite right.  So, it might be said that she was either mentally slow or it was a result of her handicap.  While Shirlie was alive, her children were in school and getting an education.  After her death, they left school to go to work and support the family.  Their father didn’t have the strength to maintain the family unit without his wife…so the question to me is why was Shirlie labeled as slow by Ulpian’s family.  As far as I can see, the label was unfair and I think untrue.  

My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 3

It is fun to study one’s maternal lines – you never know what you’ll find or where they will end up.  In our search for information on my Mom’s Allen line – we kept running into research that just wasn’t quite right.  The family story was that we were related to Ethan Allen of the Green Mountain boys from the Revolutionary War…so everyone was trying to make the Ethan Allen’s line mesh with our Adoniram Allen line…and they never worked.  It turned out that the tie was not with the Allen line but rather with their mothers…who were sisters.  It was a lesson well learned and I have found some interesting family lines on the maternal side of the family…and here is one that ties my father’s family and mother’s family together by marriage!

William White was a passenger on the Mayflower and he died on 21 Feb 1620.  Beyond that there really isn’t much more information.  He was married to a woman named Susanna and traveled on the Mayflower with his son Resolved.  Susanna White gave birth to a son named Peregrine on board the Mayflower while it was docked off of Cape Cod while the Pilgrims were trying to find a place to place their colony.  William White was one of the passengers who died on during that first winter leaving his wife with two young children to care for.  I don’t that anyone has found anything concrete on William White’s ancestry – White has to be almost as common of a name as Johnson to research.  There were a few Whites in Leiden, Holland who were possibilities, but they have been discounted.  No one knows what Susanna White’s maiden name was either.  So, she remains Susanna, wife of William White and Edward Winslow.  After the death of her husband in February, she married another widower who had lost his wife as well, Edward Winslow. 

Edward Winslow was one of the leaders of the Plymouth colony and was in fact its’ third governor.  Edward came on the Mayflower with his brother, Gilbert and his wife, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth died soon after arrival and Gilbert went back to England.  Edward married Susanna in May of 1621.  They had five children but only two lived to adulthood and had children.  Several of Edward’s brothers came within a decade, one of whom was Kenelm Winslow, my 9^th great grandfather.  So…with all of the research that Mom and I did…the only tie we ever found between my parents was when Mom’s 9^th great grandmother married Dad’s 8^th great-granduncle.  Susanna lived to be an old woman and died almost 50 years after the arrival of the Mayflower in 1680.  Edward died in 1655 while on journey to Hispaniola and was buried at sea.

Here are my lines is my line to William White & wife, Susanna.

• William White m. Susanna
• Resolved White m. Judith Vassal
• Anna White m. John Hayward
• Sarah Hayward m. David Allen
• David Allen m. Sarah Baker
• Adoniram “Teges” Allen m. Elizabeth Morris
• Morris Allen m. Rachel Bishop
• Ailey Allen m. William Kelly
• John Ward Kelly m. Melvina Robertson
• Sarah Rachel Kelly m. John Lyons Tannahill
• Oliver Richard Tannahill m. Capitola Friddle
• Betty Jean Tannahill m. Eugene Johnson
• Me!

Here is my line to Edward Winslow’s brother, Kenelm – both were sons of Edward Winslow and Magdalene Ollyver…

• Kenelm Winslow m. Eleanor Newton
• Kenelm Winslow m. Mercy Worden
• Kenelm Winslow m. Bethia Hall & Edward Winslow m. Sarah
• Hannah Winslow m. Edward Winslow (yes they were first cousins)
• Sarah Winslow m. Seth Pope
• Winslow Pope m. Mary Wheelock
• Francis Pope m. Belinda Willey
• Winslow Lonsdale Pope m. Nancy Ann Marie Lyons
• Shirlie Louisa Pope m. Ulpian Grey Johnson
• Frank Stewart Johnson m. Helen Gage
• Eugene Johnson m. Betty Tannahill
• Me!

Both of these lines were branches off of maternal lines in my family.  My advice is to not forget the women in the family.  You might find some of your most interesting ancestors!