# What Mayflower passenger(s) are you a descended from? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233 "2011-07-16T12:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/21 "2011-07-16T16:25:21Z")
I’m a little confused (nothing new there). When I click on the link in the OP, all I see is a list od Mayflower passengers. Am I missing something? How am I supposed to find out who I descended from?? ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/22 "2011-07-16T16:29:55Z")
According to my great-grandmother’s genealogical work, Myles Standish. I have no idea how accurate her work was, though, as she would have done it in pre-computers. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/23 "2011-07-16T16:36:13Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > I’m a little confused (nothing new there). When I click on the link in the OP, all I see is a list od Mayflower passengers. Am I missing something? How am I supposed to find out who I descended from?? You can’t find out just by clicking on a link. You would have to actually do the genealogical research required to determine if you have a Mayflower traveler in your family tree. It can be easy, or it can take years to stumble across. There are many books written about Mayflower descendents, which can be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/24 "2011-07-16T16:48:07Z")
None that I know of, even though one of the earliest branches of my family in this country arrived in 1722. I have an aunt who would very much like to be in the DAR, but she’s trying to find documentation for an alternate family link than the one we already know of. HE got court-martialed during the Revolutionary War, for refusing to fight with the French auxilliaries that Lafayette brought over. They were Catholic and he was a rather rabid Protestant. He did get pardoned or something, but my foolish aunt seems to think speaking of him is embarassing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/25 "2011-07-16T17:51:28Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > According to my great-grandmother’s genealogical work, Myles Standish. I have no idea how accurate her work was, though, as she would have done it in pre-computers. In which case, it’s probably _more_ accurate, rather than less. Information on the net is very suspect when not accompanied by source material. People copy it to their family trees without verifying its authenticity, which then creates yet another erroneous bit of internet glurge. Most people who did their research pre-internet usually took great pains to verify that the information was correct and sourced. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/26 "2011-07-16T18:28:24Z")
None on the Mayflower, but I am a descendant of Robert Seeley (or Seely) who came to Massachusetts Bay colony with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630. He is listed here [http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Immigrant\_Ships\_To\_America/First\_Families/Winthrop\_Fleet](http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Immigrant_Ships_To_America/First_Families/Winthrop_Fleet) I believe he came on the Arabella, the flagship of the fleet. I remember reading that the Winthrop fleet is the largest single group of immigrants to come to the colonies/US. I know the genealogy of my family pretty well because some of my extended family are Mormons and they are big into genealogy. The Seeleys were loyalists during the Revolutionary War, and had to move to Canada afterwards. Later Orange Seeley converted to Mormonism and followed Brigham Young to Utah. You can read about Robert Seeley right here: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert\_Seeley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Seeley) ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/27 "2011-07-17T00:20:10Z")
Peter Browne. Apparently through my mother’s mother’s side we’re eligible for the DAR…my mom thinks it’s a racist organization however. I would assume they have changed their views since the Marian Anderson incident, but it’s not important enough to me for me to look into. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/28 "2011-07-17T04:53:06Z")
There may be more than one, but William White is the only one I know for sure without checking the records I have at home. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/29 "2011-07-17T05:55:41Z")
Abe Finkelstein. He hid in a trunk when the ship was being loaded and managed to survive on rats in the hold. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/30 "2011-07-17T08:51:58Z")
prbly the dog (a Heinz 57) ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/31 "2011-07-17T09:10:23Z")
I am descended from Thomas Weston. Thomas Weston was one of the owners of the _Mayflower_. But the Thomas Weston from whom I’m descended was not the guy who co-owned the _Mayflower_.😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/32 "2011-07-17T09:19:31Z")
I’m not even related to the blokes they left behind. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/33 "2011-07-17T17:18:02Z")
I’m guessing “Cook”…My Mum did the Genealogy 15 years ago, I don’t remember exactly whom. Settled eventually mid Virginia Graves Mt. area. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/34 "2011-07-17T22:01:20Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > I’m guessing “Cook”…My Mum did the Genealogy 15 years ago, I don’t remember exactly whom. > > Settled eventually mid Virginia Graves Mt. area. That wouldn’t be Francis Cooke, then; he lived out his life within a few miles of Plymouth. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/35 "2011-07-17T22:13:07Z")
I’m surprised that there are so many. I probably shouldn’t be though. I am 100% Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jew. The earliest of my people came here no more than 110 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/36 "2011-07-17T22:24:30Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Howdy, cuz! Bradford, Brewster and George Soule for me. It’s a blinking family reunion! I’m a Soule man myself, through his daughter Dorothy (m. Francis West of Kingston, RI etc etc). Soule came over as a servant of the Winslow family. My father’s cousins did an extensive geneology and my father has filled in our little corner of the tree so I’ve got a pack of paper showing every generation in a line back to George Soule and to West’s father Matthew. There are a disturbing number of Baptist preachers in that line, I must confess. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/37 "2011-07-17T22:34:00Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > It’s a blinking family reunion! I’m a Soule man myself, through his daughter Dorothy (m. Francis West of Kingston, RI etc etc). Soule came over as a servant of the Winslow family. Missed the edit window: West married Susanna Soule, not “Dorothy” (who was not Soule’s daughter). I misread the notes. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/38 "2011-07-18T03:52:19Z")
> [@CatherineZeta](#): > > Peter Browne. Apparently through my mother’s mother’s side we’re eligible for the DAR…my mom thinks it’s a racist organization however. I would assume they have changed their views since the Marian Anderson incident, but it’s not important enough to me for me to look into. The DAR and the Mayflower really have nothing to do with each other. To belong to the DAR or SAR, you must have an ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War. My great grandmother was in the DAR, and my daughter qualifies, but hardly anybody gives a crap about them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/39 "2011-07-18T03:57:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > It’s a blinking family reunion! I’m a Soule man myself, through his daughter Dorothy (m. Francis West of Kingston, RI etc etc). Soule came over as a servant of the Winslow family. > > My father’s cousins did an extensive geneology and my father has filled in our little corner of the tree so I’ve got a pack of paper showing every generation in a line back to George Soule and to West’s father Matthew. There are a disturbing number of Baptist preachers in that line, I must confess. I just went back to make sure on this in my family tree, and it turns out I’m not related to George Soule other than very distantly. His name came up in an allied line that is not part of my direct lineage. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233/40 "2011-07-18T09:25:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I just went back to make sure on this in my family tree, and it turns out I’m not related to George Soule other than very distantly. His name came up in an allied line that is not part of my direct lineage. Ah well. I feel very American in that on my father’s side I can trace a line back to the Mayflower, but my mother came to America as a child and was processed through Ellis Island. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mayflower-passenger-s-are-you-a-descended-from/589233.md?page=3)