The Gardener’s Gambit

 

(Author's note: Sometimes an old family legend is just worth revisiting)

As always, iced over with un-edits.

It was a long time ago now, and I admit, the story is even foggier today than it was then. However, I have to believe, it’s a family rumor worth repeating. After all, how many families have even the remotest connection to that ill-fated ship, The Titanic??

And believe me, my connection to both is definitley remote. But...

The story was handed down by an "almost-passenger," Reginald Lucking, or rather in this case handed down to me by his daughter, Lois. "Reg" was married to my cousin Juanita, and while stories about "lost Titanic tickets, etc .." are extremely common, this particular tale has been a family 'ice-breaker' of our own now for decades. 

Who knew? Lol.

Above: The effervescent Reginald Lucking with wife Juanita (Record) Lucking 

I first "heard" it via an old email chain sent out twenty-five years ago. Cousin Lois gave me a version of events that I’ve been trying to reconcile ever since. Was it true? Was any part of it true?

It kinda starts with her grandfather, Philip Lucking, a gardner who came to the States. Old Phil wanted his family to join him.                              

In the interest of fair reporting, here is exactly what Lois told me then:

"So I will tell you this story as best I can. I need to get out the audio tape to get the story straight....I will tell you this story as she remembers it. The tape is of Daddy's last remaining sister, Winifred Lucking."

"In 1912, the year of the Titanic's ccrossing of the Atlantic Ocean, Daddy [Reg] was 11. He was the third eldest of seven children, Tom, Evelyn, Reg, Winifred, Amy, Hilda, Harold - children of Philip John Lucking and Agnes Seymour of Muggerhanger, Bedfordshire, England. Grandpa Lucking [Phillip shown above] was a head groundsman for English estates. Some of the estate owners also owned estates in the U.S.. Grabdpa worked for one who also was a part owner of a shipping line. Grandpa worked over here [U.S.], and sent for the family. He or Grandma Lucking wanted the Titanic. The other one [grandparent?] wanted "which one had already made at least one crossing." [per Lois: "... that's the fuzzy part of the story']. The decison to sail on the other ship probably had to do with a better price on the tickets.

While they were at sea, there were radio reports of the Titanic's trouble. Uncle Tom, the oldest, who had a lifelong interest in radio was allowed in the radio room and heard some of the broadcasts. Freddy [Winifed] didn't remember that, but I think Daddy [Reg?] told us that.

So the reason I am here is because they didn't go out on the Titanic. You should call Winifred and wish her a happy birthday. She will be 95, but will thrilled to hear from you."

The 95-Year-Old Witness

It was the year 2000, not too long after we’d stopped partying like it was 1999. Lois told me to call Reg’s sister, Winifred, if I wanted the full story. I'd only met the effervescent Reggie once or twice as a kid, and he and Juanita were long gone. I wasn't sure what to say to a woman I'd never met, but Lois said I needed to hurry. 

Winifred was, after all, turning ninety-five.    

   Above: The somewhat stoic storyteller - Winifred Agnes Lucking - 1924 (Though the facts are a bit vague here as this may be a picture of their kid sister Amy.)    

                               

When the phone rang on that frosty February morning, I was greeted by an equally bright, wonderfully British Winifred Lucking. Her version differed a bit—she implied tickets had been lost or "gambled" along the way. But hearing that Titanic tale told with an authentic Edwardian flavor was awesome. 

True or not, I never imagined having a phone call with an "almost-passenger."

2025: Fact-Checking the Legend 

Fast forward to today. With better technology and access to digital archives, I decided to take another crack at the mystery. I started with the "ubiquitous gardener," Philip John Lucking. I found his "Declaration of Intent" showing he was already established in Greens Farms, Connecticut, by early 1912. 

Then, I found the "smoking gun": the ship’s manifest for the SS Minnewaska.

          

It's how the rest of Phil's family arrived.

Here is what the "algorithm" of history revealed:

• The Departure: Agnes and the seven children departed London on March 30, 1912—a full two weeks before the Titanic sank. They arrived on April 10 - five days before the Titanic sank.

• The Financial Gambit: They weren't just being "frugal." By choosing the Minnewaska, they traveled as "Cabin" passengers (Middle Class) for roughly the price of "Steerage" (Third Class) on the Titanic. Philp knew that his family would be more comfortable on the slower and grantedly less glamorous Minnewaska.

• Tickets lost or gambled away - likely not. "A better buy" on a different ship during the same time frame sounds more accurate.

• The "One Crossing" Rule: Lois was right—the Minnewaska was a vetted, "One-Class" ship that had been crossing since 1909. They traded the glamour of a maiden voyage for the safety of a proven workhorse.

• The Shared Ocean: The Minnewaska arrived in New York on April 10, 1912.

A Ghostly Intersection

The two ships effectively swapped places. 

           

   Scenes of the Minnewaska                         

   

The SS Minnewaska arrived at Pier 58 (part of the famous Chelsea Piers) in New York at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, April 10, 1912.

According to the Port of New York shipping news for that day, the Minnewaska was one of the few liners arriving from London. While the "First Class" list for the Minnewaska featured high-society names like Violet Asquith (daughter of the British Prime Minister), the Lucking family was listed in the "Cabin" manifest—the sweet spot Philip chose to give his seven children a comfortable, dignified arrival.

On the exact morning the Titanic was pulling away from the dock in England to start its first and last journey, the Luckings were pulling into New York harbor to start their new lives.

So I guess technically they were "at sea" at the exact same time.    

This explains why 13-year-old Thomas Lucking heard those wireless reports. 

The airwaves would have been thick with news of the Titanic's grand departure that day. When the news of the sinking hit five days later, the family was already safely ensconced in Connecticut.

If Reg and Winifred had been on the Titanic instead of the Minnewaska, they would have been in the middle of the Atlantic on a Sunday night, April 14, 1912.  Because they were "Steerage" price-equivalent passengers, they likely would have been in the lower cabins of the ship when the impact occurred at 11:40 PM. - And they would have been trapped with the rest of the throng.

I guess being frugal paid off.

The legend isn't necessarily a falsehood; it’s a memory of a perfectly timed escape. Sometimes things don’t make sense when you are out to sea in your memories, but the documents don't lie.

Gotta watch out for those fake icebergs. 

Rest in peace, Winifred. 

It's still an amazing tale.

☮

Past Perfect

Above: Your humble author from by-gone days - À la recherche du temps perdu

(Author's note: "None")

As always, unapologetically, unedited.

It’s funny. There’s an expression in grammar that always mirrors genealogy for me: past perfect. It represents the sum total of the many imperfections that equate to our own lives. Right or wrong, good or bad, each of those moments travel together to make us who we are—all of us ending with a comma, period, or exclamation point.

In grammatical terms: Oh, how they had lived!

Indeed, I’ve studied these people (or members of my own family in any event) since the Carter Administration, and back when home computers were the size of Volkswagens. They were the "original ones"—the people I first questioned as a kid and later began to research as an adult. For me, they were titans. But who were they really? Where did they - or we - come from? 

Why did there never seem to be any answers?  

Lately, even with all the so-called genealogical breakthroughs I've had through the years, I’ve come to realize I don't really know them at all. Their lives are proving out to be so much more multi-layered than than I once believed, and extending far beyond the reach of simple vital records.

 Now, with the help of better access to different types of documents beyond just the "basic vitals," and, yes, alongside the evil genius behind "AI searches," I’m able to learn so much more. Because of this, I thought I’d share a couple of these profiles of people I thought there was nothing left to learn about. Who knows? Maybe they’re still reaching out, trying to get someone to understand the rest of the story.

The Conundrum

The story of my great-great-grandfather, John H. Record (1840–1915), is perhaps the most peculiar—and for me, the best conundrum. It's a conundrum that has nothing to do with his mystery extra (and often quite random) middle initial "O" or any silly dark secret from his wagon train days heading west from Maryland to Kansas. Rather, it deals with a fourteen-year-old ward of the court named James Follin (1869–?), whom my great-great grandfather, John H. Record, took in to raise.

Keep in mind, John had two wives (widowed once) and twelve kids of his own between the two. And while it's true that in nineteenth-century Kansas, taking in an orphan wasn't unheard of.... but you see... here's the unsettling part: he "farmed out" two of his own biological sons at almost the exact same time he took in this foster ward.

Notice: September 1883 the surname is spelled "Records"

It’s a head-scratcher: You can’t take care of your own kids, but you’ll take in someone else’s? 

Sadly, the reason was likely cold economics. He couldn’t afford his older boys, but the foster boy provided a county stipend. It’s a tough break when you have to trade two of your own flesh and blood for a child who brings in a check. In John’s defense, he still had ten other mouths to feed. Survival in the 1880s was a brutal business. It’s a part of the story you never see in any census record. 

So just who were you, James Follin?

Stay tuned.

On the Wagon

Then there are the rumors—the ones other branches of the family whisper, or stories that were perhaps too painful for our own branch to recall.

"Is it true your great-grandfather was crushed by a barrel that rolled off a wagon and disfigured him? That he nearly died?"

My great-grandfather, Frank Record (John’s son), was a fastidious man, a church janitor, and as kind human being as you would ever want to know - and a guy who flirted with his nurses even in his eighties. Surely the rumors were wrong. Frank had been dead thirty years; what did they know?

Still... I remembered the one clouded lens in his eyewear. What was he hiding? As a boy, I didn't see disfigurements. He was past perfect to me. I did remember how his head seemed a bit flat on one side. Yet, he was the kindest great-grandfather a boy could ask for. Why would I believe such a rumor?  

Above: Chanute Blade (Chanute, KS), August 4, 1887.

He was four years old.

Yesterday, the truth surfaced. An AI search did what three decades of manual digging couldn’t: it indexed a grainy, century-old newspaper scan lost in time. In black and white, it detailed the awful accident of a little boy who would eventually grow up to father the family that produced me. The rumors hadn't wronged him; they were all too true. 

Still, he was so perfect just the way he was.

The Girl

Every good story has one, right? For this one, I need to circle back to John H. Record and introduce you to Della Record (1887-1910). She died at the tender age of twenty-three, leaving behind a husband, Theodore, and a little girl named Juanita.      

                                

                  Above: Della Crockett Record

I found a guardianship document for little Juanita, but the "why" was confusing. Apparently, Kansas law was rigid: even though Juanita’s father, Theodore, was alive, he had to legally become her "guardian" to manage her affairs. Della (born Miss Della Crockett) had left an inheritance, and the law required Theodore to post a bond—a legal guarantee that even though he was her father, he wouldn't abscond with his daughter’s portion of her mother’s estate.   

                                   

 

 Above: Juanita, and again, with the rumored to be "Titanically fortunate" Reginald Lucking

In an act of family solidarity, John H. Record and his sons stepped up to put up the money, protecting little Juanita’s future. Who knew? Little did they know that Juanita would grow up to marry a man whose family had nearly sailed on the ill-fated Titanic—but that’s a tale for another day.

The Legacy

I couldn't believe it when the digital snippet appeared on my screen. I had seen this information before; it was, after all, in a binder on my bookshelf. It was the same binder my cousin Barbara had given me years ago, back when she first told me the rumor about Frank being crushed by the wagon. She had handed me that binder, along with a single photo of Della, before Alzheimer’s claimed her mind. She gave them to me because she was terrified she would forget it all.

   

Above: Barbara's work - on file with the Church of Latter Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

But what was it doing here? It turns out, Barbara had the foresight to send a copy of her records to the archives in Salt Lake City. A simple, Commodore 64-style computer printout from decades ago had been preserved in the Granite Mountain vaults. And now, Barbara's work was available on an AI and Internet search. 

Incredible.

Barbara had managed to leave a record of us—The Records—behind. I wonder if her own kids realize that there is a permanent family legacy sitting in those reaches of Salt Lake's Granite Mountain, a record their own mother created and ensured would be preserved, just waiting for a text search to reveal it twenty years later.

 

She knew it would all end up past perfect. These lives—the lives of all of us "Records" - and any of us —are signposts along a simple road. 

A road someone, someday, might, with any luck, just call... a road home.

END

On Morning Star Road

~ OR GENEAOLGICALLY STRANDED ON STATEN ISLAND 

           EPHRAIM PARKER (1824-1902)

(Author's note: Sometimes it's the place that tells the story)

As always, unapologetically, under-edited. 

This post is a work in progress...please check back.

Sometimes in genealogy, it isn't so much the person that captures you. It's the place. Recently, this happened to me as I attempted to "push back" the lines of husband and wife team Ephraim Parker (1824-1902) and Martha Palmer (1833-1902). I'd had (and do have) the best of intentions in finding a "Connecticut Yankee" among this Parker/Palmer clan of my friend and client, Paige Dunham. Instead, however, these intentions and the research that accompanied them took me on a wild ride through the property lines of a place called Northfield, in a County called Richmond, and in a place better known to "we Western folks" as Staten Island. And yes, all of this and introduced me to a guy who appears anecdotally in Paige's ancestry, and by my best guess is her 6th-great-grandfather. 

And a guy simply known of as: 

"The Sheriff."

You see, I've been hoping to connect Martha (Palmer) Parker of Staten Island to Great Migration immigrant Walter Palmer of Stonington, Connecticut, (think 1630s). Old Walt is a Palmer ancestor of myself and also of my cousin genealogcially inclined Cousin Dan about five times over. Truth be told, though, I got a little sidetracked in looking at Martha's husband Ephraim's Parker lines...and well, that led me to get a bit "stranded on Staten Island."

It was as I was looking through the somewhat "difficult to discern" Parkers and Palmers of said fantasy island that I found my way to "the place they once lived," and an area associated with the family of "The Sheriff" and a place they still call Morning Star Road.

However, before there was just simply a property called or along any place called on "Morning Star Road," and before there were Parkers and Palmers living there in the 1850s, there was a great homestead and large tracts of land that belonged to the Taylor family. Now as genealogical rumor has it, Ephraim Parker's mother was a lady named Catherine Taylor. Catherine Taylor's mother was a lady named Sarah Hillyer. 

Or so they say...Hmmm.? This ancestry is a wee bit murky and come out of a place that calls streams and creekbed marshes "kills." 

I mean, WTF? 

Anyway, this Taylor land that somehow Ephraim Parker's father John Parker acquired by marrying a girl from the better side of the "kill" (lol) in turn, was part of the vast Hillyer holdings in Northfield, Richmond County, Staten Island, New York. The patriarch of this land appears to be a guy by the name of John Hillyer. It was Paige's ancestor, this same "Grandpa John" who was commissioned as the High Sheriff of Richmond County in October 1761.

Hence, "The Sheriff"

And, by all accounts he was a remarkable man.

According to Ira K. Morris’s History of Staten Island, Hillyer was a man of "approved integrity" who became a legend for his moral defiance. (LOL, right??) During a time of oppressive "King’s debts" warrants, Sheriff Hillyer famously stood his ground, refusing to arrest his neighbors. He is recorded as stating:

"I will not turn the county jail into a nursery for the King's debts."

By refusing the warrants, he risked his own commission to protect the households of Richmond County. This legacy of integrity is written into the very dirt of the property Paige's family would hold for the next century.

However, connecting the dots between the Parkers, the Taylors, and the Hillyers of Richmond County, Staten, Island, New York has required more than just names; it has required geographical triangulation. In an 1858 Indenture, the boundary of the Parker lot is implied as running along the boundary of what was once Taylor land. And thanks to Sarah's mother Hester Hillyer’s and her 1791 Will, we know that Sarah Taylor was actually Sarah Hillyer, daughter of the Sheriff.

I think I got all that. Makes my head hurt too. Lol.

(Sidebar: Who knows?! Maybe I will get to those darn Palmers next time?)

In the meantime...

By mapping the Parker lot against the ancient boundaries of some folks called the Mersereaus and Housmans and their "patents—the Sheriff's original neighbors—a clear picture emerged. The Parker homestead sat directly on the "Taylor Line"—the legal partition of the old Hillyer farm. The Parker deeds describe the land as being on the "East side of the highway leading from the North Shore to the Morning Star." This wasn't just a neighborhood; it was the physical footprint of the Hillyer estate, preserved through the generations.

At least if I have it straight anyway. I'm still learning "deed-talk" and "1874."      

 

In my defense, I am a bit blue in the face today from looking at old maps - and from raking a skadillion fallen leaves in my yard too while I think about Ephraim and Martha and how it all connects.

Anway, here goes:

The Marriage of Land and Lineage

The transition from the Hillyer/Taylor bloodline to the Parker name is the heart of this story. This land was handed down through three pivotal generations of women:

1. The Source: Hester Hillyer, widow of the Sheriff, passed the estate to her daughters in 1791.

2. The Bridge: Her daughter, Sarah Hillyer, married Oliver Taylor. Their presumed daughter, Catherine Taylor (1792–c. 1875), was the living link to this land.

3. The Union: Catherine Taylor married John Parker (Senior). Under the laws of the time, John became the legal steward of Catherine’s inherited Taylor/Hillyer land. The John Parker Theory: Staten Island Bible records show that John Parker (1789–1860) married Catharine Taylor in 1821.          

                 

When John Parker signed the 1858 deed for an "Estate of Inheritance," he was legally passing on the Hillyer bloodright that Catherine had brought into their marriage to their son, Ephraim Parker. Ephraim, in turn, married Martha Palmer, and together they maintained this ancestral homestead on Morning Star Road.

Below are the players in "Scene I Act III" of this VERY Provisional Family Pedigree:

1. John Hillyer (c. 1716–1775): High Sheriff of Richmond County. (possibly Paige’s 6th-G-Grandfather)

2. Hester Hillyer (d. 1791): Widow of the Sheriff.

3. Sarah Hillyer (1754–1835): Daughter of the Sheriff; Married Oliver Taylor (d. 1791).

4. Catherine Taylor (1792–c. 1875): The bridge of the "Inheritance"; married John Parker.

5. Ephraim Parker (1824–1902): Received the Morning Star Road lot in 1858; Married Martha Palmer.

6. Mary Catherine Parker (1853–1922): Married George Augustus Page.

7. Roy Allan Page (1878–1957): Married Mayme Sue Willeford.

8. Roy Allen Page Jr. (1914–1969): Married Edith Virginia Haley.

9. Margaret Deborah Page (1948–2024): Married David Thomas Brown.

10. Allison Paige Brown (1968–Living): Known to us as Paige Dunham.

Conclusion:

Above: The home of Paige's ancestors Ephraim and Martha (Parker) Palmer in 1874.

The 114 feet of land Ephraim Parker and Martha Palmer called home in 1858 was the exact same soil the High Sheriff defended a century prior. It is a sanctuary preserved by a family that believed the law should serve the household, not the other way around. On Morningstar Road, the character of the Sheriff still lingers in the property lines he refused to let the King's debt-collectors cross.   

                        MARTHA (PALMER) PARKER 

 I just thought having a guy like "The Sheriff" in one's colonial family tree - and one especially out of Revolutionary War Staten Island was a cool thing to share.

I gotta say though - there are rumors that despite all that he may have also been loyal to the Mad King. Indeed, there is a curious note about his son-in-law, Oliver Taylor, (a man who would also be an ancestor of Paige's saying as much in the DAR patriot files. WTF?! :)  ~ Staten Island was a British stronghold during the Revolution. It was very common for families to have one foot in both worlds. ( i.e., that a Loyalist father-in-law and a Patriot son-in-law living on the same land would make for a very tense Thanksgiving dinner)

 See below:

 

We will see where the journey takes us next.

Hey, you Palmers, are you out there? Martha? Anyone?

(Wink!)

P.S: As a foot note to all of this - that is the possibility of any shared connection between Great Migration Immigrant Ancestor Walter Palmer to Paige's ancestor Martha (Palmer) Parker and again with me and cousin Dan Wells - there is a very curious thing. There is a man who is alleged to have migrated from Stonington, Connecticut to New York by the nameof Saxton Palmer - a descendant of  that same Walter Palmer's. 

He's said to have founded the begnnings of the Palmer clan on - wait for it - Staten Island.

Yep. Genealogically stranded on Staten Island. That's me. :)

---

Sources & Bibliography

• Hillyer, Hester. Last Will and Testament of Hester Hillyer, Widow of John Hillyer. Richmond County Surrogate’s Office, NY. Liber A of Wills, p. 48. (1791).

• Parker, John [Senr] to Ephraim Parker. Indenture for Estate of Inheritance. Richmond County Clerk’s Office, NY. Liber 44 of Deeds, p. 524. (1858).

• Morris, Ira K. Morris's Memorial History of Staten Island, New York. Vol. I, pp. 215-217. (1898).

• Beer’s Atlas of Staten Island (1874). Sectional Map of Northfield showing the proximity of Parker, Housman, and Mersereau holdings.

"Neptune 1620"

~ or ~

A Rand-McNally Guide to Mayflower Research                                           

(Author's note: This is a genealogical exercise in continuation of my last post on Kelly Smith Neptune.)

My advice is to print out the "Provisional Pedigree" image below as you follow along with the proofs for each generation. It might make it easier to understand the flow of images.

Sadly, and as always, unapologetically, unedited.

I.

There are two distinct parts to any family history or genealogy quest.

First, there is finding the line. This is much like sorting through the pages of an old Rand McNally or an outdated Thomas Guide map book to find the route that will take you where you need to go. Sometimes, this can leave you stalled out, out of gas, and somewhere you never really wanted to be or go. Plus, you never can tell which roads are one-way streets that were closed decades ago. Sadly, too, as a wise robot once told me, "Genealogy can often feel like you’re building a grand cathedral in a town where everyone is just looking for a place to park their car." (That whole Rand McNally deal...)

And then there's that which quickly follows (or, in most cases, does not): 

That's proving the line.

This is exactly what happened to me last week as I embarked on the discovery and research of a Mayflower line for a family friend, Kelly Smith Neptune.

Now, before I get too far here, I should mention that the first part of the journey—finding the route—was filled with curious signposts. Connections appeared that got me thinking about the serendipity of it all, that is, the how and why of all these many threads or "routes."

I have to admit too, that it really struck me as odd when I went looking for a Mayflower road map for Kelly (among the usual haunts), that I found one that took me straight to an application for the Kansas Society of Mayflower Descendants, and to one particular applicant/member thereof: one Mr. Edwin Morris Reckards.         

Reckards? Seriously? This guy was the first road post I saw on my journey to "find and prove" a Mayflower line for a family friend? (I only bring it up because those of you who know me will know that my Mayflower lines "spring" from Kansas, and the similarity between Record (my surname) and Reckards... well, see what I mean?)

As some caveman must have said: What strange Gods are these?

However, despite all that genealogical profundity, I could see a potential Mayflower line for Kelly. It was there. Kelly Smith Neptune has significant New England ancestry through her father's mother—I mean, with a four-times great-grandfather reputed to be named William Alden Briggs, how could she not? Kelly's lines leading to and from this "Grandpa Bill" led solidly into eighteenth-century Maine.

It was sure worth a shot to look further.

However, as I waded through the plethora of branches and possible family trees that led me from Kelly toward Mayflower passengers like Howland, Alden, Doty, and Warren, I knew I was going to need a lucky break. Everywhere I went, the lines just fell apart. The research felt like:

• Throwing darts, but the darts just slid right off the dartboard.

• Going back to that old Rand McNally analogy, where the road simply didn't go anywhere.

I will admit, after three days of searching, I was about ready to give up. I pondered that maybe Kelly's New England lines were like my mom's—close but no cigar when it comes to connecting to a passenger on that notable voyage to the New World.

      

Then, a curious thing happened. I circled back around and took a chance. You see, there was this one name that didn't connect to anything going backward. It was a woman, and there were no parents listed for her "among the branches."

Her name was Dorcas Strought (1756–1825). So, like the "dork-ass" I am, I decided to take a look.

II.

I'm usually not smart enough to circle back. 

Like most people, I tend to take the easy way out. I'd looked at all the Mayflower names of Howland, Alden, and Doty that "appeared" to be in Kelly's family tree already. Why I thought a good Germanic-sounding name like "Strought" was going to lead me anywhere, I hadn't a clue. Obviously, the people who'd submitted the tree with Dorcas's name hadn't found anything either - not even her parents' names. 

However, on a whim, I took a look at Dorcas's husband, James Wagg (1754-1845), and at their daughter, Sarah "Sally" (Wagg) Merrill (1790-1864), and something changed.

       

Dorcas's maiden name of "Strought," had been misspelled. The actual spelling of her name was "Strout."

Once I input "Dorcas Strout" into the algorithms of the Great Gods of Google, it was like winning the Mayflower Rand McNally genealogy road map lottery. We had a winner. I had a pedigree line that connected Kelly Smith Neptune directly to Richard Warren, a passenger on, (what for it) you guessed it, the Mayflower. 

Everywhere I looked, the line seemed to hold. It didn't seem to fall apart on 1720 or 1820, or 1922. Could it be that this was actually going to work??? Could I connect Kelly to the Mayflower? Finally, at least "on paper" I could.

Now to prove it.

III.

Before I get too much further, I will post a Provisional Pedigree. It's a four-hundred-year-long pedigree, so it's going to take me a minute to draft it all up. As I usually do in these posts, I will take each generation and give it a screenshot image or two to demonstrate what proof I am using for any given (or set of) generations.

These images will be of secondary and primary sources. I will do my best to argue for them and against them. (A genealogist has to work as hard to prove him or herself right as wrong) The images will have highlighted marks explaining how they connect one generation to the next. 

And yes, this is a lot. 

And yes, your head will hurt when you are done looking at it all. But you won't go to sleep trying to read some dry Register Style genealogical text with footnotes (I hope). AND unless you've got better things to do, like not watching Fox News or The Bachelorette, sit back and enjoy the boat ride. 

You just might end up back in 1620. LOL.

Okay, here we go:

IV.

 Ye Old Pedigree - YOU MAY WANT TO PRINT THIS OUT FOR REFERENCE. 

Think of it as a Rand McNally Guide with road stops. LOL.

             

    

And now for the proofs, proof arguments, and images by generation. 

Hang in there.

GENERATIONS 0-5: Richard Warren to Elizabeth Small

Okay, the really great part here is that we can skip the first five. The lines from Richard Warren down to #5 Elizabeth Small have already been done for us. They are a part of what the Mayflower Society calls the Silver Books. You will see the little "number one" italicized by Richard's name. 

(I have numbered him "zero generation" but you'll get the drift...)

Above: Mayflower Families for Five Generations, Silver Books Project, Richard Warren, Volume 18, Part 2, page 109

Genealogical significance: We can "skip go" and collect $200 on these first generations. Now we can concentrate on the next generation, that of Elizabeth Small below.

GENERATION 5: Elizabeth Small, who married Christopher Strout

                

Above: Lora Altine Woodbury Underhill, Descendants of Edward Small of New England and the Allied Families, with Tracings of English Ancestry, rev. ed., vol. 1 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1934), 158.

Genealogical significance: The above image and published work connects the Elizabeth Small mentioned in the first image about to her parents and husband, Christopher Strout.

GENERATION SIX: Dorcas Strout, who married James Wagg

                

 Above: Franks, Jean L. "Descendants of Christopher Strout, Sr." Digital genealogy file (.Ged file, n.d.). While the above image is not a published source, it helps explain the published one below.

Above (two images): Robert L. Taylor, Early Families of Limington, Maine (Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2007), 334.

Genealogical significance: These above images show their children and connect us to the lady that started all this research in the first place, their daughter Dorcas Strout, who married James Wagg. 

Above: Maine State Archives, Pre 1892 Delayed Returns, Roll Number 108; Maine State Archives, Augusta, ME.

Above: Maine State Archives, Cemetery Records, 1735–2006, Religious Records, digital images, FamilySearch, accessed December 11, 2025, image 756 of 1082 (Image Group Number 101042414).

 Genealogical significance: These images give a proper accounting of Dorcas Strout Wagg's children. Remember, we are following the line of their daughter, Sarah "Sally" Wagg on down now to get where we want to go. 

     

Above: Cumberland County, Maine, Deeds, 1760–1900, "Cumberland, County. States of records," digital images, FamilySearch, accessed December 11, 2025, image 134 of 547 (Image Group Number 008128207).

Genealogical significance: This 1807 deed helps us verify Dorcas Strout Wagg (and her siblings) and helps to confirm the name of her father - this giving us a fairly smooth verification of her maiden name and her relationship to her mother. 

Still, more is needed to confirm Dorcas's mother's maiden name. 

Keep reading... you'll catch on.

In the meantime, a partial transcription of the 1807 deed follows...

It reads as follows:

"To all People to whom these Presents shall come, Rebekah Davis, Dorcas Wagg, Eunice McKenzey Mary Dyer, Elizabeth Bangs [Other Heirs' Names] & others, Heirs of Christopher Strout Esquire deceased, all of the County of Cumberland... Greeting. Know ye that we the said Rebekah Davis, Dorcas Wagg, Eunice McKenzey, Mary Dyer, Elizabeth Bangs, for and in consideration of the sum of [amount in dollars and cents] paid by James Wagg of said Cape Elizabeth... the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge, have given, granted, bargained, sold, and conveyed, and by these presents do freely give, grant, bargain, sell, and convey unto the said James Wagg... all our right, title, and interest in and unto a certain piece of land lying and being in Cape Elizabeth..."

The 1807 deed is the irrefutable key to establishing the Mayflower line because it serves as the necessary legal proof of heirship for the Strout family. It explicitly names Dorcas Wagg, alongside her sisters (Rebekah Davis, Eunice McKenzey, etc.) as the "Heirs of Christopher Strout Esquire deceased." This primary document directly links Dorcas to her father and validates the entire sibling group as the rightful descendants of the land that originated with the Mayflower line's prior generations. And since Christopher Strout's first wife, Mary Hatch, died before 1739, this document confirms the maiden name of Dorcas Wagg's mother as Elizabeth Small, mentioned in the previous generation above.            

 Above: Birth record of Dorcas (Strout) Wagg's sister, Eunice Strout McKenzie Parrot. Maine State Archives, Pre 1892 Delayed Returns, Roll Number 108; Maine State Archives, Augusta, ME. 

Genealogical significance: This primary source corroborates the Strout lineage by naming the father as Christopher Strout and, most importantly, identifying the mother as Elizabeth. This confirms the published records that state Christopher Strout married Elizabeth Small, definitively proving the Mayflower link through Dorcas's mother.

As Christopher Strout and Elizabeth Small were married in 1739, and Dorcas was born in 1756, she is definitively confirmed as the daughter of the Elizabeth Small mentioned in the Silver Books.

Above: FindAGrave.com memorial number 21315569 for Mrs. Dorcas Wagg

GENERATION SEVEN: Sarah "Sally" Wagg, who married Orlando Merrill 

                                             

Above: Maine Vital Record, 1713-1922, Ancestry.com

• ​Genealogical Significance: This primary vital record copy confirms the birth of Sally Wagg on November 4, 1798. Crucially, it identifies her parents as James Wagg and Dorcas Strought (Strout), thereby closing the final generational gap required to link the Briggs family back to the Mayflower Strout lineage.

Above: Samuel Merrill, A Merrill Memorial: An Account of the Descendants of Nathaniel Merrill, an Early Settler of Newbury, Massachusetts, vol. 2 (Cambridge, Mass., 1928), 610.

Genealogical significance: "A Merrill Memorial" spells out "Sarah, daughter of James Wagg and connects her to her daughter Eliza of the next generation.

   

Above: "State of Maine: To the Honorable Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court," legal notice, The Lewiston Daily Sun (Lewiston, ME), January 2, 1899, p. 5, newspapers.com, (cropped image).

Genealogical signifinace of the above: 

This 1899 legal notice from The Lewiston Daily Sun serves as a vital primary-source bridge that establishes the "one and the same" connection between Sarah "Sally" (Wagg) Merrill and her daughter, Eliza (Merrill) Briggs. By explicitly naming "Eliza Briggs of Parkman in the County of Piscataquis" as a living heir of Sarah Merrill, the document provides the definitive legal proof required to link the Merrill and Briggs families. Furthermore, it identifies the parent-child relationship between Sarah and her son, Orlando Merrill, Jr., and corroborates the sibling group, effectively anchoring the lineage in a court-sanctioned record that transcends the limitations of secondary compiled genealogies. (Such as in A Merrill Memorial.)

GENERATION EIGHT: Eliza Merrill, who married William Briggs

Above: Birth record for Sally's daughter Eliza Merrill Briggs 

Above: Parkman, Maine, Marriage Records, 1824; FamilySearch.org  

               

Above: Maine Vital Record, 1713-1922, Ancestry.com   

Genealogical significance: Secondary and primary sources connect Eliza Merrill to her husband William Briggs, with both being mentioned in "A Merrill Memorial."

Above: Otis Hayford, History of the Hayford family, 1100-1900, with biographical sketches and illustrations, its connections by the Bonney, Fuller and Phinney families with the Mayflower, 1620 (Canton, Me., 1901), 133.

Above: Image of page 133 from the History of the Hayford Family, 1100-1900, documenting the family of William Briggs and Eliza Merrill. Source Citation: Otis Hayford, History of the Hayford Family, 1100-1900 (Canton, Maine: The Hayford Family, 1901), 133.

Genealogical Significance: This secondary source confirms the key generational link between Abiather Briggs and his son William, and provides the crucial geographical note that "This family moved... to the eastern part of Maine and settled at or near Parkman in Piscataquis Co.," validating the use of the Parkman vital records.

Above: Piscataquis County, Maine, "United States Records," digital images, FamilySearch (Image Group Number 005153284, accessed December 17, 2025), images 6538 and 6539 of 8836.

Genealogical significance: 

Proves Parents of William E. Briggs: The will explicitly proves that William Briggs and his wife, Eliza Briggs, are the parents of their son, William E. Briggs, of the next subsequent generation, and all other named children. 

Confirms Maiden Name of "Eliza Briggs" by Inference and Contradistinction: While the will names the wife as Eliza Briggs, the maiden name "Merrill" is inferred when considering the collective genealogy of the family, the marriage record of William Briggs and Eliza Merrill in Parkman, ME, (particularly with the presence of the son Orlando M. Briggs, Jr. (named for Orlando Merrill Sr. Eliza's father) and the findings of the Merrill Memorial and other related documents. The will provides the legal proof of the marriage and maternity, which is then connected to the Merrill identity and confirmed by different sources.

GENERATION NINE: William E. [Edward] Briggs, who married Almeda Pearl Hight

Above: Maine Vital Records, 1849; FamilySearch.org 

Above: FindAGrave.com memorial numbers 171828972 and 171828529 taken at the Eventide Cemetery, Woonsocket, Sanborn County, South Dakota; Also: Piscataquis Maine Observer, 19 May 1898.

   

Above: Amasa Loring, History of Piscataquis County, Maine, From its Earliest Settlement to 1880 (Portland, Me.: Hoyt, Fogg & Donham, 1880), 270.         

Above: Maine Cemetery Records, Ancestry.com for William Briggs Sr. and his wife, Eliza Merrill Briggs

      

Above: FamilySearch film number 007595793 image 90 of 584. 

While a birth index record for William E. Briggs was found, this, combined with his parents' joint cemetery record, his own marriage record in Parkman, Piscataquis, Maine, and with the corresponding newspaper clipping referring to him as 'William, son of William, and son of the late Colonel William Briggs of Parkman, Piscataquis, Maine,' who was also referred to as 'Colonel Briggs' in History of Piscataquis County, Maine, I believe we have provisionally identified this generation. 

The birth index itself for William E. Briggs is valuable not as a standalone primary source of parentage (which is often better confirmed by a certified certificate), but as primary-source corroboration of his existence and chronology. It establishes his presence in the correct geographical area and time, which, when combined with the Hayford and Merrill genealogies, his marriage record, and his definitive obituary, provides the necessary proof convergence to validate this generational link beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Above: Argus-Leader, "Mr. W. E. Briggs, father of County Treasurer William Briggs, a pioneer of the county..." obituary, 7 April 1898, page 2. Image accessed via Newspapers.com. 

Genealogical Significance: The obituary is a crucial primary-source event record that solidifies the later generations of your lineage by providing two key pieces of information:

• Identifies the Deceased: It confirms the death of Mr. W. E. Briggs (William E. Briggs), a Civil War veteran and pioneer, placing the event in Sanborn County, South Dakota, circa April 1898.

• Confirms Familial Link: It explicitly names him as the "father of County Treasurer William Briggs." This establishes the link to his son, who would be the brother of Melvelle B. Briggs.

• Corroborates Location: It confirms his status as a "pioneer of the county" who was "buried today at Woonsocket," providing independent, contemporary evidence that supports the location information found in the History of Pioneer Sanborn County.

Proof Argument: The Identity of William E. Briggs (1824–1898)

While a census record explicitly placing William E. Briggs in the household of his parents, William Briggs and Eliza Merrill, is unavailable due to his marriage in 1849, his identity is firmly established through a convergence of four distinct primary and near-primary sources:

• The Legal Link (Piscataquis County Will): The probate record for William Briggs Sr. explicitly names his wife, Eliza, and his son, William E. Briggs, providing a direct legal parent-child connection that carries the weight of a court-sanctioned document.

• The Geographic Constant: Vital records place William E. Briggs in Parkman, Piscataquis County, Maine, for his birth in 1824 and his marriage to Almeda Pearl Hight in 1849. The absence of any other William Briggs in local records during this period eliminates the possibility of identity confusion.

• The Historical Narrative (Published Genealogies): Both the History of the Hayford Family and the History of Piscataquis County document the Briggs family's migration to Parkman and their local prominence, identifying William Sr. as "Colonel Briggs"—a title that reappears in later documentation of the son.

• The Definitive "Smoking Gun" (1898 Obituary): The obituary for "Mr. W. E. Briggs" in the Argus-Leader (South Dakota) explicitly identifies the deceased as the son of the late "Colonel William Briggs of Parkman, Piscataquis, Maine". This record bridges the geographical gap between the family's Maine origins and their South Dakota pioneer years, confirming that the William E. Briggs in Sanborn County is the exact same individual named in the Piscataquis County Will.

GENERATION TEN: Melvelle Briggs, who married Kate Ursula Seely

Above: Sanborn County Historical Association, History of Pioneer Sanborn County [A compilation of early resident biographies, with content generally dating from the 1880s and 1890s, assembled and published in 1953] (N.p.: Sanborn County Historical Association, 1953), biographical sketch for Melvelle B. Briggs, 371–372. 

Genealogical Significance: This biography confirms the critical link, identifying Melvelle Briggs as the son of William E. Briggs and Almeda (Hight) Briggs, and documents his life as a pioneer in South Dakota.

Above: Images of pages 42 and 43 from the Genealogical History of the Joseph Miles Family. Source Citation: Byrd E. Miles, Genealogical History of the Joseph Miles Family (Inglewood, CA, 1948), 42–43

Genealogical Significance: This crucial published secondary source confirms the next generation of lineage.

• Marital Link: It documents the marriage between Melvelle B. Briggs (ancestor in Sanborn County, SD) and Kate Seeley, providing the necessary context for the continuation of the line.

• Next Generation: Most importantly, it identifies and documents their son, George Briggs, who is the subject of the next section, thus successfully bridging the documentation from the pioneer generation to the next.

• 
• 
  
Above: The Pioneer-Review, Philip, South Dakota, Thursday, February 21, 1918. Genealogical significance: It explicitly names George as a surviving son, providing crucial secondary evidence that George W. Briggs is the child of Melvelle B. Briggs and Kate U. Seeley.
• 
  Above: FindAGrave.com memorial number 81171253.
• Genealogical significance lies in the birth and death dates of Melvelle Briggs. (Note: His name is alternately spelled "Melvelle" and "Melville")

  While the county biography and the published genealogy document this generation in terms of birth, parents, marriage, death, and children with reasonable clarity, vital records would be required to provide more detailed documentation of this generation.   

GENERATION ELEVEN: George W. Briggs, who married Inez Elsia/Elsie Collins

Above: "Oregon, U.S., State Deaths, 1864-1971," death certificate for George William Briggs, died 4 September 1968, Jackson-Lane, certificate no. 1968.

Genealogical significance: Identifies the Deceased: Confirms the death of George William Briggs on September 4, 1968, in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Confirms Birth: Records his birth date as May 12, 1890, and his birthplace as Foresburg, South Dakota, corroborating the location of the Briggs family line after they moved west. Definitive Parental Link: The document explicitly names his parents as Melvin Briggs (Father's Name) and Katherine Seely (Maiden Name of Mother), providing the absolute primary proof for the generation documented in the secondary Miles Genealogy and confirming the continuation of the lineage from Melvelle B. Briggs. Occupational and Marital Status: It notes he was a retired mechanic and identifies his wife as Inez E. Briggs.

Above: South Dakota, Department of History, Division of Censuses and Vital Statistics, "Record of Marriage," George Briggs and Inez Collins, 14 August 1917, Ziebach County, Dupree; image copy of official record. 

Genealogical Significance: Proves Marital Link: It is the official record of the marriage between George Briggs (age 26) and Inez Collins (age 17) on August 14, 1917, in Dupree, Ziebach County, South Dakota.Corroborates Death Record: It confirms his wife's first name, "Inez," which matches the Inez E. Briggs listed on his later death certificate. Confirms Birth/Residence: The document lists George's residence as Garvin, Hand County, South Dakota, and his nationality as "So. Dak.," confirming his ties to South Dakota before his move to Oregon.

GENERATION TWELVE: Evelyn (Briggs) (Smith) (Janis) Ayers "Grandma Ayers"

 

Above: Montana. Department of Health. "Montana, U.S., Marriage Records, 1943–1988." Digital images of Marriage Records. Database with images.

Genealogical significance: 

This document serves as the primary source record that documents the life event and lineage of the next generation, Evelyn Mae Briggs.

• Proves Lineage: Marriage records typically list the parents of the bride and groom. This record would officially name her parents as George Briggs and Inez Collins (or Inez Jackson), providing the primary evidence that confirms the child-parent relationship.

• Identifies Continuation: It documents her transition into the next family line through marriage, thus continuing your genealogical proof forward to the present day.

• Confirms Residence/Dates: It confirms her presence in Powder River County, Montana, during the timeframe of the record (1943–1988).

This is a critical document, as it formally bridges the final ancestor (George William Briggs) to the newest generation (Evelyn Mae Briggs). 

Conclusion:

This blog series has successfully documented the descending lineage connecting Evelyn (Briggs) (Smith) (Janis) Ayers to her father, George William Briggs, completing the vital records required for this branch. While a previous post focused on Evelyn's connection to historical figures like Mary Perkins Bradbury (of the Salem Witch Trials), the primary purpose of this post has been to document, with image evidence, her reliable link to Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. The foundation has also been laid for a later connection to a second Mayflower passenger, Stephen Hopkins.

This lineage has been established using a body of records, including primary source vital records (birth, marriage, death), corroborative published genealogies, contemporary county records, and cemetery data. While this blog post itself is not an authoritative academic publication, the documented relationships are now prepared for submission to a lineage society or for peer review. 

                           KELLY NEPTUNE

   

Based on this comprehensive evidence from both primary and published secondary sources, and my experience in Mayflower and other genealogical research, the ancestry of Evelyn Briggs (Smith) (Janis) Ayers—and through her to her granddaughter, Kelly Smith Neptune—is thus proven to meet a reliable standard of genealogical proof.

END