https://www.facebook.com/Mark.J.Shurtleff/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1101718390577971&set=pb.100022194605606.-2207520000&type=3

My forefather 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟 (1624-1666) – “𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞” in 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 – at 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟏𝟎 migrated solo to 𝐏𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐲 from 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝, the 𝟏𝐬𝐭 of 𝟏𝟑 gens. in America.

𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞 = “𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝐻𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒”.

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄 arms in St Mary’s Church Ecclesfield (b. 1487) is 95 km south of York; 225 km north of London. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 (1437-1516) was a 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆.

“𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔.” – Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐲 and was created to benefit all Shurtleff family members in America. I was born and raised in suburban 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭, and have lived, worked, and played in and near large cities on the East and West Coasts (𝐍𝐘𝐂, 𝐏𝐇𝐈, 𝐃𝐂, and 𝐒𝐅). Along the way, I’ve seen much of our vast and beautiful country – I encourage you to. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐭.

I am a research analyst by day – my hobby is genealogy, so feel free to share this with people who want to do a deep dive into their ancestry.

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𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞 was granted the heraldry by England’s 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒓𝒎𝒔 during the reign of King Henry VII (1484-1509). As 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆 for the lords of the manors and castles near Sheffield he was an expert hunter, organized the hunts, schooled the huntsman and hunters, was keeper of the dogs, and head game warden.

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄 coat of arms hangs above the front door of 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒕. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏 (b. 1487), Ecclesfield Parish, 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝. Eight generations of the family are interred in its vaults – here’s a brief video tour of the church:

https://stmarysecclesfield.org.uk/…/Core…/StMarysV3.mp4

𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐬: Three 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 Greyhounds’ heads with 𝐫𝐞𝐝 Collars and 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 Rings, between a 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 Band.

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭: A 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 Sword piercing a 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 Leopard’s head and throat, with a 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 and 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 Wreath.

𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨: “MORS VITAE JANUA”
(“𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞”)

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𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐕𝐈 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟔-𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟐) – 𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧. (𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐥’𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡)
𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒇 (1912)
“The author has been asked, “𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠?” In answer, one could truly say, “𝐴 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦.””

𝐑𝐨𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟 (𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟕-𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟓) – 𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧.
(𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐉𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡)
𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒇 (1976)
“I feel this genealogy cannot with certainty go further back than the 10 year old boy who in 𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟒 was apprenticed to 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞.”

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 (2023) – 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧.
(𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐉𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡)
In 𝟏𝟔𝟒𝟑, Will (Sr.) was William 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞 in Plymouth’s list of men with the right to bear arms (ages 16 to 60). But in 𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟒 he was William 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐞 on the court record for his apprenticeship. “Shetle” is neither spelled like, nor sounds like “Shercliffe”: I 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒕 that the court would make a 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 spelling error on such a consequential document for and to a 10 year old boy, one who ventured alone to 𝐏𝐂. In 𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟒, only a handful of apprenticeships were recorded; and in later years, 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞 had more apprentices “sent over” to him from London, etc. who helped him flourish in 𝐏𝐂.

My 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 is that Will’s 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 was a Shetle and his 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 was a Shiercliffe: thus, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 might have been the illegitimate (bastard) of a 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞 in Ecclesfield, known today as Sheffield. 𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐨, then Clarke 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 have instructed Will on his arrival in Plymouth and in the apprenticeship document (the official record) to go by “𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐞”, to 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 of his father, who was 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 a 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞, his name (minus an “𝐢”) in adulthood that he later changed to 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟. Who knows?

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 (1086) was the first census taken in England, following the invasion by the Norman king, William the Conquerer. 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 today is the fourth largest city and was originally called 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐝, its pre-Norman name, in South Yorkshire county and was founded in ~𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐃 by Anglo-Saxon invaders. It’s derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “esca” (border or boundary) and “feld” (open space or clearing). It evolved and became 𝐄𝐜𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 (St. Mary the Virgin Church is in Ecclesfield Parish). And later named 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 after the River Sheaf that runs through it, as do Loxley, Rivelin, and Porter rivers.

In 𝟏𝟔𝟏𝟕, Sheffield had 2,207 inhabitants: 1 in 3 persons, “𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓”, were unable to live without the help of their neighbors and the local church. “Workhouse Croft”, the town’s first, opened in 1632, two years before Will migrated.

In 1632-33, 20 poor children were housed, in response to the 1601 Poor Laws in England that also introduced “pauper apprentices”: we know that Will traveled alone. England, especially in London, swept up dozens of poor or orphan children from the streets, and put many on ships. Their masters in Plymouth (and Boston) would be men like Will’s Thomas Clarke, in Plymouth, who arrived on The Anne in 1623, and would execute an apprentice agreement on arrival; or in London.

Note: 𝑺𝒕. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒚’𝒔 christened 𝒂 William Shercliffe (son of 𝒂 Nicholas) on May 16, 1619, 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 5 years before 𝒐𝒖𝒓 Will’s 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 birth date. Nathaniel S., in 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 (1850), theorized that because Will’s name as an 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕 was 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞 (not 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐞, his name as a 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅), then Will descended from 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞.

Benjamin S. in 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 (1912) echoed his 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞’𝐬 belief – and included Thomas Shiercliffe’s pedigree table, without evidence that 𝒐𝒖𝒓 Will was from that ”twig” of the family tree. Nicholas Shiercliffe (1603-69; Oxford U.) m. Jane Eyre (1623-89), but their children were born btwn 1655 and 1659. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬.

𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒔 – the detective created by (Sir) Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) – said, “𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔.” To wit, in the 1600s, the family names of Shiercliffe and Shetle (a 𝑠ℎ𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 is a weaver’s tool) were extant throughout England, but few in numbers, sans Sheffield city and Yorkshire county. So, in my estimation, 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 would have asked “𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒆?”

Roy S., for 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 (1976), did 13 years of research and hired investigators in England who could not prove Will’s parents. 𝐑𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥’𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 Benjamin S.’s theory that Will was a 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞.

But 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, aside from publishing Plymouth’s apprenticeship record, made 𝐍𝐎 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 of the Shetle name; 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐝𝐝. My research on FamilySearch.org and other on-line sources for 𝐚𝐧𝐲 “William S_”, christened during May 1624, was fruitless. 𝐌𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, we applaud the fine works of Roy S., Benjamin S., and Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff.

I am hopeful that a document or record will be found in 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 – at some point down the road – that proves the parents and origins of 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 Shurtleff. Yes, “𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑎 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑎 𝑊𝑎𝑦.”: a 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭 would say, “𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤, that’s 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒚.” Yes, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 an 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞! To wit, I watch the EPL, not the NFL – go Arsenal “Gunners” (of London)!

During the Covid pandemic I invested thousands of hours to compile the complete ancestry of my 𝟏𝟔 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 (born 1838-1858).

Over the last 𝟒𝟎𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 (1624-2024), there have been 𝟏𝟐 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 of my family who helped build 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 – carpenters, farmers, surveyors, land merchants, masons, radiator makers, tool makers, mechanics, auto workers, home builders, engineers, teachers, architects, analysts, lawyers, psychologists, et al. The 𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, now toddlers, will also improve their lives and help make our country better for future generations. It’s the cornerstone of a free and open society.

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟

𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 – 𝐖𝐦. 𝐉𝐫’𝐬 branch (vs. 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐥):
𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦; William, Jr; John; Benoni (Hebrew for “𝑆𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑛”, a twin to his brother William); Heman (𝐹𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑓𝑢𝑙); 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 (𝐺𝑖𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑); Nathaniel, Jr; Franklin; Elwood; James; James, Jr; James III (my nephew); and 𝐓𝐁𝐀 (𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡 gen.).

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟, 𝐒𝐫 (6th gen.) was a master mason in Adrian, MI (𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑘 was his Welsh ancestor’s surname) – and a distant cousin of 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐵𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟, 𝐒𝐫 (6th gen.; Abiel’s branch), a medical doctor (𝐵𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡 was his father’s friend and a fellow doctor). 𝐍𝐵𝐒 was also the author of 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒇 (1850), editor of (the) 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒍𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒚 (1861), and Mayor of Boston (1868-70). 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 (Nathaniel, Jr), 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝟐𝟒, fought in 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐫: my ancestor 𝐍𝑀𝐒, 𝐉𝐫 survived, but 𝐍𝐵𝐒, 𝐉𝐫 died at the 𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑟 𝑀𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 (1862), breaking that twig on our tree.

https://www.battlefields.org/…/battles/cedar-mountain

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟, 𝐒𝐫 (𝟏𝟔𝟐𝟒-𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟔)
William went to Plymouth town at 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟏𝟎 from England (𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 Sheffield) as a carpenter’s apprentice when the colony’s population was ~𝟑𝟐𝟓 in its 𝟓 towns. “𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥” was a Separatist from 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, aka the 𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 (later called the 𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑠) – perhaps the 𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 in Plymouth called the Puritans in Boston “the 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠”, lol. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 was also a young adventurer, pauper, orphan, or illegitimate child. A majority who went to the 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 had no religious motivations; they were in pursuit of profit. And many whose ventures failed returned to 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝.

In 𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟒, the colony allotted 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 40 acres of land to go with his 1 acre, so he obtained Will’s services as an indentured servant. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞 had 6 kids (born 1634-46) who to Will (b. 1624) would have been akin to 6 “kid siblings”: servants in PC became part of the family unit – Will had an 11 year contract. Fyi, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐉𝐫 and 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩 had 14 kids (like his brother Abiel) and 78 grand-kids: my ancestor, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 (1693-1757) – the 𝟒𝐭𝐡 of 9 sons – was a farmer, like 90% of Colonial America: 65% in 1850; 40% in 1900; 15% in 1950.

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𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 that highlights 𝐏𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐲’𝐬 legal, moral, and religious practices. 𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟔𝟒𝟐, Thomas Granger (1625-42) – 𝐍𝐎 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥, but who was the same age at the same time and also a servant – was one of the 1st persons and the 1st juvenile hanged in 𝐏𝐂 and 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲, young Granger confessed to, “𝐵𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑒, 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑤, 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑡𝑠, 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑦.” 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎, 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝟏𝟓: “𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑓 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡, ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡.” 𝐏𝐂 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: “𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑝𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑢𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑙. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑.” 𝐒𝐨, he was a pervert. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 very insane.

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𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟐𝟏, Will was a farmer and surveyor in Marshfield, near Plymouth. He appears to have been making up for that 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, since by Plymouth’s norms he married 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 in life. So, at age 𝟑𝟏 he married Elizabeth Lettice, age 𝟏𝟗, born in Plymouth: her father, like 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥, came from Ecclesfield (Sheffield) and by trade was also a carpenter. Thomas also owned an “𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲” (public house) in Plymouth: it levied fines on 𝐩𝐮𝐛 owners for their patrons’ singing, gambling, dancing, and reveling; and required pubs to sell beer at “retail” (package goods), and at a fair price. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝!

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟒𝟐 with two of his neighbors: he was a house guest of 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 because a few days earlier Will’s house burned to the ground. Elizabeth and their two sons, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦, 𝐉𝐫 and Thomas, 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝟗 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟕, were unharmed, at his side, and praying with a group. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔. The lightning swept down from the house’s chimney, killing 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 and the others instantly. Elizabeth was carrying their unborn child, who was born a few days later. So, due to his father’s untimely death he was named 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐥, Hebrew for 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, a fitting tribute.

𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞, eight years earlier another man was killed by lightning at nearly the exact same spot in Marshfield. And to make matters worse, he was 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐉𝐫 (age 20), whose mother (Martha) and brother (Jeremiah, also at age 20) were killed with 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 in 1666. So, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧, 𝐒𝐫 lost a wife and two sons in two lightning strikes. The news and prayer setting of the deaths spread throughout the colony and people were frightened. Fyi, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 were in 𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟑: 200 accused; 30 guilty; and 19 hanged (14 women and 5 men). 𝐀 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑮𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭: Fyi, in the 15 years between 2006 and 2020 there were 435 deaths by lightning in the US, population 330 million. So, in 𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟔 the odds of lightning killing two or more family members, in two separate incidents, at nearly the exact same spot in Plymouth Colony, population 3 thousand, is astronomical. RSVP, if you know: 𝑰’𝒎 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔.

𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟 (𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟔-𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟑)
After 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥’s death, Elizabeth remarried and had 2 daughters (Sarah and Rebecca Cooke) with her 2nd husband. She was also a stepmother to 17 children from her 2nd and 3rd husbands’ (Jacob Cooke and Hugh Cole) previous marriages, men whose fathers were 2 of the 41 signors of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕. So, for good reason she was called a “matriarch” in Plymouth Colony.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬, William, Jr, Thomas, and Abiel, had very successful professional lives that might have benefitted from their mother’s status and family connections. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦, 𝐉𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝟏𝟒 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧; Thomas married late in life and had no children. 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝟏𝟓𝟐 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧! 𝐅𝐲𝐢, 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟏, 𝐏𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 (𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲) ~𝟑,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬. Will’s sons had no sisters, but they had 2 half-sisters (1 died in infancy), 9 step-sisters, and 8 step-brothers. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 dinner must have been crowded!

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟’𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 that’s dedicated to 78 early settlers of Marshfield, near Plymouth. Will’s burial plot has been lost to time. Elizabeth (Cole, her 3rd husband’s surname) is at Tyler Cemetery in Barrington, RI, near Providence.

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟, 𝐉𝐫 (𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟕-𝟏𝟕𝟐𝟗)
My forefather, a surveyor, wealthy land owner, and speculator, 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 in 𝐏𝐂. He was also “𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦” of the Plympton Military Company, near Plymouth. He married 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩, grand daughter of Rev. John Lothrop, a Separatist who with thirty others spent 2 years in 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐬 infamous prison 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 (“𝐼’𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘”). They were banished to 𝐏𝐂 in 𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟒, the same year that Will arrived on an unknowm ship, by himself.

𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡’𝐬 other grand-father was 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞 (1600-1697), who was the master and father figure of and to 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐫 during his 11 year apprenticeship. He came from 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 in 1623: some antiquarians have claimed that 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞’𝐬 father, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧, was the pilot of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓.

Susannah is buried at Lakenham Cemetery in Plympton, now known as Carver. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐉𝐫 is buried atop 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒆’𝒔 𝑯𝒊𝒍𝒍, near Thomas Clarke, overlooking Plymouth Bay, a testament to the great respect they earned throughout the colony.

𝐏𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐲 vs. Massachusetts Bay Colony
There were some key differences between the separatist “Saints” (called Pilgrims, from 1800 on) who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620 and the non-separatist Puritans who in 1630 founded the City of Boston and Massachusetts Bay Colony, just 40 miles “up the trail” from Plymouth town. “The Saints” wanted nothing to do with the King’s church, and for the most part ended up on the outside of society, which was their mission.

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬

𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑾𝒂𝒓 (1675-1678), 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝟔𝟓 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟏𝟔 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟔 𝐭𝐨 𝟔𝟎 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟏𝟎 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬’ 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐬. The Native American population was 10 thousand, down from 85 thousand in 1600. Example: in the area of Plymouth Colony, just prior to the landing of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 in 1620, about 90 percent of the 5 thousand Native Americans were wiped-out by a plaque brought by fisherman from England and Europe. 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐰𝐧.

𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟏, Plymouth Colony, with 3 thousand people, was annexed by Massachusetts Bay Colony’s 50 thousand to form a Province. It ushered-in a new period in Colonial America, one in which four Kings and one Queen of England exerted more and more control over their 13 colonies. It was done by the Governors and senior officials they appointed, and the taxes they levied. So, 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟕𝟕𝟔 – 140 years after 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥’𝐬 arrival – 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐈𝐈𝐈, “𝑬𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 – 𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕!”

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𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒆 is the historical name for a vast area in Yorkshire, including Sheffield. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 employed 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞 as 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆: he was an expert at hunting, a field sport and popular social activity for English nobility, aristocracy, and landed gentry. Queen Elizabeth I and the late QE II were avid hunters. He schooled the hunters (nobles) and huntsman on the sport, organized hunts, and was keeper of the dogs (hounds, spaniels, mastiffs, and other breeds). 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 was also the overseer of several game wardens who patrolled the Lords’ forests and streams. The poaching of deer, fowl, hare, fox, boar, and other game – if committed at night or in disguise – was punishable by death.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 included George Talbot (1522-1590), 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, who for 17 years was the custodian of Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) during her imprisonment by her half sister, Queen Elizabeth (Tudor; 1533-1603), at Talbot’s 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑒, 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑟, 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑟, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑠𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒. 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐭, 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲’𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡. Another lord was Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (1536-1572), who having married and lost three wives by 1567 was beheaded at Tower Hill for his scheme to wed Queen Mary and take Queen Elizabeth’s crown.

𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐱𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭

Sheffield in 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 lies to the west of the rivers Sheaf and Don. It’s 60 miles south of York and 170 miles north of London. Loxley, a suburb, is the supposed birth place of the legendary 14th century folk hero, 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒐𝒐𝒅, who “𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳” – and poached game. Sherwood Forest is in 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞.

Recently, officials in 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 attempted to reclaim 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒏 as a “𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 man” and many people in Sherwood Forest and Nottingham don’t like their scheme. In any event, if 𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒏, 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝐽𝑜ℎ𝑛, and the rest of his 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒏 had killed game at night or in disguise (𝑹𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒏’𝒔 hallmark), then the “𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑓 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑎𝑚” and “𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐽𝑜ℎ𝑛” would have sentenced them to death. We’re not sure what they’d do with a clergyman, like 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝑻𝒖𝒄𝒌, lol.

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𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 (𝐖𝐦. 𝐉𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡)

I recently completed an intensive research project on my 𝟏𝟔 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 – who came from four countries – going back 400 years. It expands on the great research of three antiquarians (Shurtleffs) in their published works of 1850, 1912, and 1976, e.g., 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒇. And combines with it my primary research on my “non-Shurtleff” ancestors (𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡-𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧) who contributed 94% of my ancestry. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 (me and my 7 siblings), and 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 and 𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 is more than a pedigree table of birth and death dates: 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐬, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 provides the reader with an understanding of “where they came from”. And once here, how and where they worked, lived, and worshiped.

I am proud to be “𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟”, with a 400 year history in America, plus hundreds of more in England. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝟏𝟔 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 (b. 1838-1858), 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝟔.𝟐𝟓% 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 (1 of 16) – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟕𝟓% 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧: ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝐊𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐚 is “𝐲𝐮𝐦, 𝐲𝐮𝐦!”

My mother was born in 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 and was 𝟏𝟎𝟎% 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡: her father, 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐤 𝐎𝐥𝐬𝐳𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢, went to 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐨 in 1913 from Suwalki in northeast Poland, on Lithuania’s border. In 1930, at the start of 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, he moved 60 miles north to 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 for a job at 𝐆𝐌 that his cousin’s husband secured for him. My mother’s maternal GPs, John and Mary Makowski, came from Poznan in 1882 and they lived in 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭’s burgeoning 𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏: by 1900, 𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝟔 of the 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 motor city’s 𝟐𝟖𝟔𝐊 population were 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬.

My other 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 ancestry is from my father, born in 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭: his grandparents went to 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 in 1886 and 1894. One was from Raciaz, while the other was from Puck, in northwest Poland, near Gdansk, on the Baltic Sea: the 𝐊𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐧 people have a distinct language and culture from 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬.

Ex.: the English word 𝑴𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 in Polish = 𝑳𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐; Kashubian = 𝑺𝒛𝒊𝒅𝒛𝒆𝒍; and in German = 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒍.

My father’s 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ancestors came in the 1840s from Brilon, Marburg, and Langenfeld, 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲; and Grosbous in German-speaking 𝐋𝐮𝐱𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚, 𝐌𝐈.

𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, in the 1800s two gens. were master masons in 𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧, 𝐌𝐈 who helped build a “boom town”. The next three gens. were in 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 and helped build the auto industry, at Hudson Motors and General Motors – as did two of my brothers (the 11th gen.) at 𝐆𝐌 in Trenton, NJ and a nephew at 𝐆𝐌 in Detroit (𝟓 of 𝟏𝟐 gens).

My formative years were spent in the suburbs of 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭, but in 1972 we moved to New Jersey after my father’s promotion at 𝐆𝐌 – the origins of my 2nd career, covering the 𝐦𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 spaces. Trenton, halfway between NYC and Philly, was for this great reason preferred to Youngstown, Ohio.

It was a very wise decision: Today, it’s the poorest city in America, and since 1970 has lost 60% of its population (60 thousand) due to the collapse of the US steel industry in the late-1970s and early-80s. 𝐆𝐌’s assembly plant closure in 2019 might have finally killed the city (1,500 jobs, after major worker cutbacks over these 30 years). Lordstown Motors’ conversion of the plant to large scale EV-production was meant to save the city, but in 2023, it filed for bankruptcy. Watch 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 (2019, on PBS) on Youngstown; Memphis; and Stockton. They’re emblematic of many more:

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 – and feel free to share it: I’m available to do fee-based ancestry projects.

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𝐏𝐒: A 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐫 on 𝐔 𝐨𝐟 𝐌 v. 𝐎𝐒𝐔 in football:
Had we moved to Youngstown, Ohio, I can’t fathom a staunch 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 fan like my Dad seeing 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐞 fans 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 work day, let alone managing them: in our view, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 day a year with 𝐎𝐒𝐔 fans is enough! 𝐎𝐨𝐩𝐬, 2 of my 17 nieces and nephews are 𝐎𝐒𝐔 grads: 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐃𝐚𝐝! Of his four sons, I watched and played sports the most.

While I am a 𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐔. grad (’85), deep down I’m a 𝑴𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓: my formative years were there and 50 years on, I still bleed the maize and blue of 𝐔 𝐨𝐟 𝐌. Fyi, long before 2014, when the Scarlet Knights joined the Wolverines in The Big Ten, 𝐑𝐔’s football team has been sub-par. 𝐓𝐁𝐓 will have 𝟏𝟔 teams in ‘𝟐𝟒. So, “𝑹𝑼, 𝑹𝒂𝒉, 𝑹𝒂𝒉!”

I’ll also sing 𝐑𝐔’s alma mater, 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒍𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏 (1873) and 𝐔 𝐨𝐟 𝐌’s fight song; 𝐔 𝐨𝐟 𝐌’s alma mater is 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒆. I must apologize to other 𝐑𝐔 alums: yes, when 𝐑𝐔 plays 𝐔 𝐨𝐟 𝐌 in football, I do cheer “𝐆𝐨 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞!” 𝐁𝐭𝐰, the DailyMotion video (2 mins.) shows 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐲 in ’99 (at 55 secs. mark) and other greats:

“𝑴𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑹𝒖𝒕𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔… 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑛… 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝐼 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑛… 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒍𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏, 𝘸ℎ𝘦𝑟𝘦 𝘪𝑡’𝑠…”

“𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒍, 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕! 𝐻𝑎𝑖𝑙, 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑞𝑢’𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑒𝑠. 𝐻𝑎𝑖𝑙! 𝐻𝑎𝘪𝑙! 𝑡𝘰 𝘔𝑖𝘤ℎ𝘪𝑔𝘢𝑛, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡! 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒍! 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒍! 𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕!” Ohio SU 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒔!

𝐇𝐁𝐎’𝐬 2007 documentary 𝑼 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒗𝒔. 𝑶𝒉𝒊𝒐 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑼.: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒚 contains great archival footage and stories, so watch and enjoy:

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 – and feel free to share it: I’m available to do fee-based ancestry projects.

— in Sheffield, UK.