Here is a table to help sort out where to look for your seventeenth-century ancestors in the publications associated with the Great Migration Study Project and the Early New England Families Study Project:
| Great Migration Study Project – Featured Names Arranged by year of immigration | Early New England Families Study Project – Featured Names – Arranged by year of marriage |
| Heads of families and individuals who came to New England from 1620 through 1633 = Great Migration Begins, Winthrop Fleet, and Pilgrim Migration | Sons who came to New England 1620-1640 with a head of family who is/will be treated as a Featured Name in the Great Migration Study Project |
| Heads of families and individuals who came to New England 1634 -1635 = Great Migration, 2nd series | Heads of families that came to New England 1641 through 1700 |
| Heads of families and individuals who came to New England 1636 through 1640 = Directory of the Great Migration, see below | Women who married and had children by more than one Early New England Families husband |
In the meantime, the next stage of the Great Migration Study Project will be the Directory of the Great Migration. Bob Anderson estimates it will take another twenty-five years to complete the full treatments of all individuals who came to New England between 1636 and 1640. The Directory of the Great Migration will provide basic information on all featured (or to be featured) individuals for the entire span of the project 1620 through 1640. You will be hearing much more about this project in the future.
Early New England Women
In most cases what we know about the wives is fully covered in their husbands’ sketches, and “flipping” the text to feature the bride rather than the groom is only time-consuming duplication. However, we are making exceptions when the woman has children by multiple husbands. Sketches for three women are currently under construction (EF = has been treated in Early New England Families):
ELIZABETH (NEWGATE) (OLIVER) JACKSON married first JOHN OLIVER (EF) by whom she had five children; married second Edward Jackson as his second wife, by whom she had five more children.
ABIGAIL (STANSFIELD) (MAY) JOHNSON married first Samuel May by whom she had seven children; married second HUMPHREY JOHNSON (EF) as his second wife, by whom she had two children.
ELIZABETH (FONES) (WINTHROP) (FEAKE) HALLETT married first HENRY WINTHROP (EF) and had one child; married second Robert Feake and had five children; “married” third William Hallett, by whom she had two more children.
Alicia, thank-you – this is a beautiful and well laid out format allowing us the lay persons a look at the great amount of work ahead, and the order and method it will follow. Much appreciated.
Sincerely,
J. Record
Jeff, you’re welcome. Glad it is helpful.
only some of my immediate family names are listed and our original ancestor came to the USA in 1630 on the ship Arielle in the Winthrop Fleet. How do I create a ged file to send to include all the ancestors I have in our tree line or is there another way to include all the family members in my line?
Hi Sandra, Although some websites allow readers to upload GEDCOMs of their family trees, this isn’t one of them. On-line family trees are like Pandora’s Box because often they are uploaded from other family trees and mistakes get carried forward. I’m not knocking your family tree, many people work very hard to document their work, but Early New England Families Study Project has a different mission. Using all of the resources available through NEHGS and the experience of our staff, we are compiling researched and as accurate as possible accounts of these families to help clear up much of the contradictory, wrong, misleading, mixed up, or missing information that may be out there. Thank you for your offer.
I’m saving this! It saves me flipping back and forth to look for different folks. It seems most of my family started out in Plymouth and/or New London, CT back in the 1600’s and I need your expertise to get back further without making huge mistakes.
Thanks Ann.