Tracking American royalty New book outlines extent of bluebloods

How many Pilgrims come with a proven tie to royalty? I’d guess maybe one-quarter to one-third – and I’d be wrong.

According to David J. Cade, only Mayflower passenger Richard More has such a connection – his mother Katherine was descended from Edward I, and through him from William the Conqueror and Alfred the Great, among others.

Cade has written a fascinating article, “The Search for a Royal Descent,” in the June issue of The Mayflower Quarterly, published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

His own royal connection comes through Hannah Belding Read of Swanzey, N.H., a descendant of Sir Francis Baildon of Yorkshire and the Magna Carta barons. In fact, he wrote, it is estimated that tens of millions of people in this country can trace back to Edward I.

Cade mentions Browning’s “Americans of Royal Descent,” which is the book I used to trace my Cummings line back to Edward through Silas Harris.

He also suggests Gary Boyd Roberts’ “The Royal Descendants of 500 Immigrants to the American Colonies of the United States,” published in 1993; and Roderick W. Stuart’s “Royalty for Commoners – The Complete Known Lineage of John of Gaunt,” 1992.

And, he adds, organizations such as the Augustan Society of California trace John of Gaunt and others back to the XVII Dynasty of ancient Egypt, about 1600 B.C.

With more widespread use of DNA research, we may see genealogy take great leaps backward in time.

You may also have seen lines of descent tracing present-day lineage back to Adam and Eve. However, I have not seen those in the Mayflower Quarterly or similar publications that insist on thorough research.

Another good piece in the Quarterly is Darla June Bedford Moe’s “Some Descendants of Stephen Hopkins through Moses Vickery of Merrimack, N.H.”

You can find the Quarterly in some libraries, and Mayflower members receive the publication. Non-members also may subscribe for $10 a year, or $15 outside the U.S., sent to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, P.O. Box 3297, Plymouth, MA 02361-3297. For info on the society, check www.mayflower.org.

This is a busy time of year for historical societies and genealogy groups.

The Mid-Coast Genealogy Group will meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 22, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Old County Road, Rockport.

Rick Caillier, locations manager for Rackliffe Funeral Home in Belfast, will speak about the problems common to both genealogists and funeral home directors in the course of researching family history. Caillier would like to see funeral home records archivally preserved and made more easily available to researchers. For information on the meeting, call Marlene Groves at 594-4293.

The Hancock County Genealogical Society will hold its annual genealogy fair 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Ellsworth.

The Abbot Historical Society will sponsor a “Getting Started in Genealogy” workshop Sept. 8 at the Abbot Town Hall on Route 15.

Experienced researchers are welcome, of course, but we’re really hoping for some beginners who are looking for the basics. Never seen a pedigree chart? We’ll pass some out and even help you navigate them.

Registration begins at 9 a.m., and introductions at 9:30 a.m. Shortly after that, I’ll present the morning session, with lunch break at 11:30 a.m., and hands-on time from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. or so.

Particular attention will be given to researching in Piscataquis County, and I’ll bring along some books for you to peruse in the afternoon. If you have resources to share, bring them along, too.

Handout materials are free. The registration fee to help the society with refreshments, etc., is $5. Lunch is $5 as well, or you can drop by the Abbot Bakery or Trafton’s to pick up a bite.

Walk-in registrations are fine, but we’ll know better how many to plan for if you send registrations to the Abbot Historical Society, P.O. Box 105, Abbot, ME 04406. You also may e-mail sakahara@kynd.net or amos@kynd.net; or call 876-3669, 876-2239 (day only) or 876-3041.

This Saturday, I’ll be speaking at the annual Kalloch Reunion, to be held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at John Street United Methodist Church in Camden. The topic will be “All My Cousins.” Registration for the reunion is due tomorrow – $12 with lunch, $5 without, sent in care of Evelyn Kalloch, P.O. Box 124, Thomaston, ME 04861.

The annual Dow reunion will be held Aug. 18 at the home of David and Kathy Dow in Barnard Plantation, Piscataquis County. Dinner will be served at 1 p.m. Bring a place setting and lawn chairs.

3130. GODBOUT. Seek ancestry of Joseph R. Godbout, b. Sept. 28, 1882, Canada; md. Grace O. Doughty, Sept. 20, 1907. They had one son, Norman Bradley Godbout, May 18, 1913. Joseph R., who had a brother who was a well-known sportswriter in Canada, was the son of Joseph O. Godbout. Joseph R. came to the states around 1900. Dorothy Godbout Cardillo, 1237 Toddy Pond Road, Surry, ME 04684; or e-mail d2downeast@loa.com.

Send queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.