My questions were two. Am I related to Col. Jonathan Eddy, for whom the town of Eddington is named? And, am I related to Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science?

The answers are 1) Very possibly, and 2) No, but I’m a cousin of her husband, Asa Gilbert Eddy.

My ancestor is William Eddye, who was the vicar of St. Dunstan’s Church in Cranbrook, England, from 1591 to his death in 1616.

I descend from William through his son, John, who came with his family and brother Samuel Eddy to Plymouth, Mass. in 1630 aboard the Handmaid. He was a freeman in Watertown, Mass.

From John and Amy (Doggett) of Plymouth and Watertown, my descent comes down through Samuel Eddy and Sarah (Meade), Benjamin Eddy and Elizabeth (Phillips), Elizabeth (Eddy) and Jacob Comins, Lemuel Comins and Rachel (Stevens), William Cummings and Deborah (Harris), Silas Harris Cummings and Sarah (Hildreth), Mary Alice (Cummings) and Prosper Alvarus Bennett, Rena (Bennett) and Walter Bennett, Ione (Bennett) and Gayland Moore Sr., and Gayland Moore Jr. and Joyce (Steeves).

I’m a 12th-generation descendant of William Eddye and Mary (Fosten).

During the American Revolution, Col. Jonathan Eddy led a failed expedition in 1776 to take Fort Cumberland in Nova Scotia. However, the effort kept some 2,000 British in Halifax, preventing them from joining their forces in the American colonies.

For his service, Eddy and 20 associates were granted a tract of land on the Penobscot River, which became Eddytown and was incorporated at Eddington in 1811. Eddy held several offices in the county. He died in 1804 at age 78.

Not that Eddy was a hero to everyone. He also took part in the French and Indian War, and helped the British with the 1755 deportation of Acadians in Canada.

Col. Jonathan Eddy’s ancestry comes down from his grandfather, John Eddy of Taunton, Mass., and Deliverance (Owen). Jonathan’s parents were Eleazar and Elizabeth (Cobb). Jonathan was born about 1726.

Eleazar was the fourth child of John Eddy and second wife Deliverance (Owen) of Taunton.

Ruth Story Devereaux Eddy’s “The Eddy Family in America” – published in 1930 and available at Bangor Public Library and Maine State Library – lists carpenter John Eddy (Eddway) of Taunton as a witness to a deed involving blacksmith John Eddy of Plymouth, the latter a son of Samuel.

Clara Avery, a John Eddy of Taunton descendant, could not prove a blood connection to the Plymouth family, but both she and the author believed there was a “very close association” between the two families and that John of Taunton had lived in or near Samuel Eddy’s household in Plymouth.

Clara Avery surmised that John of Taunton may have been a brother, half-brother or cousin to John of Plymouth.

The Taunton and Plymouth families also share the following first names among descendants: Samuel, Obadiah, Zachariah, Ebenezer, Jonathan, Joseph, Asa, Nathan, Ephraim, Moses and Joshua.

Obviously, these things do not prove the connection between John of Taunton and the Plymouth-Watertown Eddys, but perhaps it will be verified someday.

Col. Jonathan Eddy in 1749 married Mary Ware. Their children, born in what was then Norton, Mass., were Jonathan, 1750; William August, 1752; Ibrook, 1754; and Elias, 1757.

Jonathan’s descendants included great-great grandson Selwyn Eddy, a prominent lumberman born 1847 in Bradley.

Descendants of William Eddy may be interested in the Eddy Family Association, which has long been involved in publishing information on descendants of John and Samuel, who came to Plymouth.

The association, founded in 1920, has a Web site at www.eddyfamily.com. When you get on the page, click on the banner and you’ll find options for looking at information.

To receive two bulletins a year, join the association for $15 individual, $25 couple, $30 family. A life membership is $200.

Mail dues to EFA, c/o Elaine Darrah, 322A Trescony St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060-4753.

Other items that may be ordered from the same address include Ruth Eddy’s “The Eddy Family in America,” originally printed in 1930, $36; 1940 Supplement, covering 1930-1940 genealogy, $16; 1950 Supplement, covering 1940-1950; $22.50; 1968 Supplement, covers 1950-1968 and older material, $26; 1980 Supplement, covers 1968-1980, plus 69 Eddy lines to the Mayflower, $32; Eddy Crest coat of arms, $5.50; paperweight, $11; and Eddy Genealogical CD-ROM, GEDCOM file, for William Eddye and sons John and Samuel, John of Woodbridge and John of Taunton, $23.

All prices include shipping. I purchased Ruth Eddy’s genealogy online, a book I have used often. I recommend ordering by mail through Elaine Darrah at the dues address rather than online. When I ordered through an e-mail service, I ended up getting a fraudulent e-mail afterward – which was not the fault of the Eddy Family Association.

Next week: The connection to Mary Baker Eddy’s husband, Asa Gilbert Eddy.

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