Immigrants to England

I ran across this site (Immigrants to England from 1330-1550) while pursuing Gardners who roamed between London and Dorchester, in joint research with David T. Gardner. First, I was surprised by the records from so long ago. Then, the fact that these are now transcribed and available goes along the line of the expectation of more to come, in the future.

Here are some pointers:

England's Immigrants Database
Corresponding blog at The National Archives
The Flemish in England

Earlier, I did a brief set of queries. Here is an image that shows three versions of the name. There are other variations that we need to look at.

There is more research to do and, hopefully, time and interest. But, the emphasis ought to be the fun of it. 

Remarks: Modified: 09/26/2016

09/25/2016 --

Albion's Seed

I ran across this book earlier. In some discussion on Quora, I see that the book has a wide audience within the American community of historians. It isn't so much referenced in the U.K.

Google has a copy in preview mode: Albion's Seed, David Hackett Fischer. We will be referencing the book from time to time. Fischer discusses four pathways that map from regions in England to areas of the U.S. Of course, These are generally described.

As the 400th comes up for the many cities of New England, we can also look at the 200th of the western expansion. That will be one focus for this blog and the related sites. Below, there are a couple of snaps from the book.

In general, genealogy and history are separate, but they do intertwine. We really ought not have one without the other. So, I expect to see historical accounts be a little more sensitive about what happened to families. For instance, one example would be a lone stone out on the western prairie. It is of a Mayflower descendant. Of course, the pioneer has a slew of other New England ancestors. However, one would think the GSM would want to know what happened to the offspring of their people. In fact, mixing history and genealogy can be problematic, as I have recently found. But, that is another story.

Now, those dealing with genealogy ought to be aware of historical trends, to boot. You see, your bit of data is considered anecdotal when compared to the larger picture. Yet, it is more than that. People are not abstractions. These two types of views will be having some interesting interplays. The NEHGS might be aware of a good balance. We shall see.

So, in Albion's Seed, Thomas is only mentioned peripherally along with Joseph, his son. That may be due to Joseph's relationship with the Downing's. Sir Christopher is mentioned, too, similarly. And, we are going to be diving deeply into that story as mentioned earlier.

So, this page goes over the time prior to the start of the major pathway events. Balch and Conant are mentioned. So, too, the Maverick family comes up. We will be filling in more there.

As it says, the early parties were doing reconnaissance. Nice. In case you might wonder with regard to what, this table explains the four pathways.

The earliest deals with New England. Then, we have Virginia. Finally, the Quakers are given some attention along with the back country folk.

Historical view from way up. Having just dealt with families from the north and the south that merged in Boone's areas (which is a wide swatch), I expect to be able to use this book for some analysis and discussion. And, there are other example works like this.

Remarks: Modified: 01/08/2023

12/18/2016 -- Article about the subject published in The Gardner Annals, Vol. III, No. 1.

11/20/2017 -- We will be looking more closely at the south.

01/08/2023 -- We had another icon (Charles Thomson) come up for our 250th (1774, Continental Congress) and 400th (Cape Ann as one of the first of the capitalization attempts of history). 

Gardner-Wyman-Peabody Mill

The Gardner family built several mills. An early one, on South River in Salem, was built by Samuel and John, sons of Thomas and Margaret. The permission for the mill was granted in 1663 (pg 85, 1907 book of Dr. Frank).

About 1743,  the Gardner mill was still in operation. One of the owners was John Gardner (#90, 1907 book) who was a descendant of George, also son of Thomas. At that time, John erected a tide mill at Forest River. John's son sold the mill.

Millstone
Forest River
Salem, MA
Tide Mill Times

There were a couple of interim owners; the mill was later purchased by an in-law, Francis Peabody. John Goff, Salem Preservationist and author, recently wrote an article (Salem Gazette) about a millstone (photo) found in the Forest River area this summer. John, who is a Thomas and Margaret descendant and who has contributed to Gardner's Beacon, sent us photos.

There were several tide mills in Salem (John Goff, Tide Mill tours in and around Salem). The Tide Mill Times published the photo by John of the millstone in their "2016 Summer" issue. In that same issue, there is an article about specifics of tide mill design and operation.

The first part of John's article appeared recently: When Forest River Tide Mill made corn meal (Part 1 of 2). Part 2 of John's article will cover modernization of the mill that converted it to paint production.

Here is a summary of the family ties related to the mill:

John, son of John Gardner who was the mill's builder, married Elizabeth Pickering, sister of the noted Colonel Timothy. Their son, Samuel Pickering Gardner, went off to that wider world of Boston as did Winthrop, much earlier. Samuel married Rebecca Russell Lowell, daughter of the Judge. Samuel's and Rebecca's son, John Lowell Gardner I, married Catherine Peabody who was the sister of Francis Peabody who bought, and modernized, the mill. Finally, the son, John Lowell Gardner II, of John and Catherine married Isabella Stewart whose name adorns the Boston museum.

In the article, John notes that Ingalls and Wyman owned the mill between the Gardner and Peabody. In his 1933 book, Dr. Frank mentions that John Gardner had sold the mill in 1786 to Captain Samuel Tucker.

Remarks: Modified: 09/10/2016

09/10/2016 --

Continuing work

Recently, the foci are several. One result is that "All things Gardner" is a theme of importance. That view continues what Dr. Frank started with his Gardner list (one of the most-read posts). So, we will be updating his table of Gardner families. Too, we will get the descendants for Thomas of Salem filled in (see Wikipedia, for example - we will move this list to its own page). There as still progeny issues to research. In short, no end in sight.

Except, the 200th is coming up. That is, the western expansion that made America was it is. In my mind, that out weighs the 400th. But, they go together. Would not have one without the other. Remember, the 200th events followed Jefferson's land deal, the culmination of the 1812 skirmish, and a whole lot more. U.S. students cover this stuff in their studies.

Now, motivations come various ways. Queries help. But, following families is a necessary item. However, in doing that, along with filling in family sheets, and such, we need to keep our eyes open to places and events. And, where Gardners pop up. So, one family in a western situation (pioneering) offshoot had partnered with a Gardner. Does that not raise interest?

Well, as I started to look further, I saw other Gardners. And, I picked one to follow since it dealt with the meat of the west. Well, diary mostly (Holstein-Friesian herds). Basically, I found reports of an association where W. H. Gardner is mentioned.

Seemed to be a character. He was deaf. His wife interpreted for him. Now, that is not the usual mix one expects for a successful couple. Well, finally, I found a little bio. However, I also did searches on the U.S.Census and other sources. Finally, I found his findagrave page. His name is Malcolm Hazard Gardner. His photo looked familiar.

In short, there are things pending, but here is the findagrave. It'll be updated. It has the photo and the bio (MHGardner). Soon, there will be links to parents, siblings, and such. So, having found his father, I could identify the Gardner family. It was George of Rhode Island. This is the page for MH's grandfather in one of the books of the family.

This is typical. Dr. Frank did not go much outside of New England. Lots of books have a New England focus. I even saw one family drop a son because he moved 100 miles away. So, that is minimal in the sense of our western, big sky reality, folks. In one family book, it says that the guy is out in a western state. Well, I have filled in the missing information (to be published).

Why put the Gardner book of George? Motivation. If you look at this book, you'll see that the early chapter tells of a reunion in mid-west state in the early 1900s. That was the 300th time (and 100th time, as in not long after the wagon trains).

In both the Massachusetts Magazine (see links to the digital copies), Lucie, sister of Dr. Frank, had regular reports on genealogy. We need to pull those out to view. Last year, I went through these and referenced some articles. In fact, I found one still being cited.

Where, how, when are questions to resolve in how to handle this work and the presentation of results of work, etc.

Remarks: Modified: 10/11/2018

12/18/2016 -- Articles about research published in The Gardner Annals, Vol. III, No. 1.

10/11/2018 -- Gardner Research is how we are organized. On the plate is a lot starting with extending the work (e.g. Gardners and Gardners) of Dr. Frank.

Person table

Many people contribute to the progress of genealogy. For the most part, the work is voluntary; no doubt, it is more rewarding than not.

While looking at Nantucket Gardners, I was struck by the work of Eliza. She labored many years. Since running across her work (thank you, Eric Roth for pointing it out), I have used her database which is sponsored by the Nantucket Historical Association quite a lot.

Person table     

There are efforts by many others that we will document. One of these was Dr. Frank who spent his life gathering data for his books. For a list of names of people in both books, see the person table.

In the 1907 book, Dr. Frank took his line (from Samuel) down to his grandfather, for the most part. But, he did include siblings and their offspring at several generations. The 1933 book, essentially, expands the George descendant line.

We want to fill in six or seven generation for all of Thomas' children. If there are books already that do this, please let us know. For instance, there is one on the Maine Gardners. Too, we would like to fill in a matrix with other lines. Numbers, names and relationships via a simple text tree would be a good start.

Remarks: Modified: 09/07/2016

09/07/2016 --