July 29, 2016
I have a goal of documenting at least one Mayflower descendant each week.
This week I chose Rebecca (Priest) Wadsworth (1838-1906), who was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Degory Priest.
In Rebecca’s case her name and that of her husband were listed in one of the well-known online family history websites – but what was missing was the full genealogical facts of her life.
Her detailed obituary supplied those facts, giving me her dates and places of birth and death, as well as the details of her funeral service and burial at Floral Park Cemetery in Binghamton, New York. As I looked further at her family I was able to add over 30 additional relatives to my family tree.
Every week I look in GenealogyBank for a person identified as being a descendant of a Mayflower passenger. It is part of my one-man effort to document the extended families of Mayflower cousins in preparation for the 400th anniversary in 2020 of the arrival of the Mayflower.
Every obituary adds more details, documenting the tribe. I noticed that this obituary was particularly helpful in supplying the middle names of so many of Rebecca Wadsworth’s relatives – as well as clues to discovering additional family members.
Do your part in paying it forward for all genealogists. Find and document your relatives, and add your information to the major online family tree sites for the benefit of all family history researchers.
Related Mayflower Articles:
I am randy Ruby I am a descendant of the Wadsworth I know I am a descendant of Clinton DeWitt Wadsworth my great-grandmother was a Aida Wadsworth she was a relative of the Wadsworth and Port Clinton Ohio