Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent some time researching the Hanson family, a branch of my family tree who lived in Dover, Strafford County, New Hampshire. I had an inkling from prior research that the Hanson’s might have been Quakers, but I had yet to find anything to confirm that. Today, I decided to finally find that missing piece of evidence.
So, I went to GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives and searched the New Hampshire newspapers for Hanson and “Society of Friends.”
The first result of this statewide search was an obituary for a Solomon Hanson who died in 1805, and – bingo – he was a member of the Society of Friends, which is the formal name of the Quaker movement.
I kept on looking and soon found another Hanson obituary that mentioned the Society of Friends, this one for an Anna Hanson.
Upon reviewing Solomon Hanson’s FamilySearch records, I noticed that he had a sister named Ann Hanson (1857-1843). I compared the records and found that she had died in late December 1843 at age 86 in Dover, New Hampshire, meaning this obituary was very likely hers, and again corroborates that the Dover Hanson’s were Quakers.
I then did a general search on the Internet for “Hanson family of Dover, New Hampshire + Quaker” to see if I could get any specific names for my GenealogyBank search. This led me to a Hanson Family History page that named several people as confirmed Quakers. One of these was Solomon Hansen.
It looks like the family were Quakers.
I will have to keep digging in GenealogyBank to look for how many generations they continued with that religious faith.
Genealogy Tip: Obituaries can be great places to find information about your ancestors’ religious traditions. Begin your search at GenealogyBank.com.
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