Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series profiling descendants of the Mayflower settlers, focusing on Illinois families. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Today I dish up some more in my series “Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who.” According to the Daily Illinois State Register, Mrs. Grace Heaton Leaverton was admitted into the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Illinois at a meeting of the Illinois Board of Assistance in Chicago on 19 June 1922.
Grace spent many years in genealogical work and traced her ancestry back to Stephen Hopkins and his daughter Constance Hopkins, who were both passengers on the Mayflower which landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.
Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins was one of the 41 men who signed the Mayflower Compact on board the vessel just before landing.
Grace’s Pilgrim lineage came through her maternal line, which she traced as follows:
- Stephen Hopkins’ daughter from his first marriage, Constance, married Nicholas Snow.
- Their third child, Sarah Snow, married William Walker.
- To them were born six children; the youngest, Jabez, married Elizabeth Taylor.
- Their first child, Richard Walker, married Joanna Tomlin.
- Their son, Mathew Walker, married Milly Bowen in Thompson, Connecticut.
- Their second child, Nancy Walker, married Colonel Jonathan Holton.
- Their son, George Washington Holton, married Sarah Hosford in 1821.
- Their daughter, Olivia Jeanette Holton, married William Johnson Conkling.
- Their daughter, Grace Heaton Conkling, born in 1864 in Springfield, Illinois, married George Wilson Leaverton, son of John Alexander Leaverton and Mary Ellen Smith, on 18 June 1885.
In addition, Grace descended from distinguished Revolutionary War patriots and she, along with her mother Olivia Jennette Holton Conkling, and her grandmother Sarah Hosford Holton, held memberships with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The applications were filed under patriots Captain Stephen Conkling, Abel Belknap, Aaron Hosford, Joseph Green, Benjamin Lindsey, and Mathew Walker – whose daughter, Nancy Walker, was the 2nd wife of Lieut. Jonathan Holton of Charleston, N. H., a Revolutionary soldier who was wounded in the Battle of Bennington.
In 1911 the Daily Illinois State Journal mentioned Grace’s activity in the DAR.
Grace and her husband had two children: William John Leaverton married Agnes Jones; and Mary Jeannette Leaverton married Edward Eugene Malone. Both were members of the Mayflower Society and have descendants.
I found an article in the Daily Illinois State Journal from 1974 entitled “Her Genealogy Is Truly ‘A Family Affair’” featuring Mary Grace Leaverton, daughter of William and Agnes, and wife of Curtis Luttrell. The apple does not fall far from the tree, and Mary credited her genealogy bug to her grandmother Grace.
Mary is a member of 33 genealogical and patriotic organizations and provides lots of family tree information. Most of her research is done at the Newberry Library in Chicago and the DAR Headquarters in Washington, D. C. She is a member of the Mayflower Society in Illinois, but also is in the Colonial Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Children of the Revolution. She has served in many official roles such as secretary, register, vice president, and regent. Her outstanding work and contributions earned her a place in Who’s Who.
Her family line can be traced back to several generations and includes royalty: Obadiah Brunen, an English immigrant; King John of England; Henry II; William the Conqueror; Charlemagne; and Frances, the first King of Franks. Her earliest known ancestor is said to be Antenor I, King of the Crimeans, who died in 443 B.C.
Mary’s two children, Grace and Allen, carry on the family tradition of genealogy, and are members of DAR and Sons of the American Revolution, respectively.
Note: An online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives, is not only a great way to learn about the lives of your ancestors – the old newspaper articles also help you understand American history and the times your ancestors lived in, and the news they talked about and read in their local papers. Do you have a connection all the way back to the Mayflower Pilgrims?
Related Articles:
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part I
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part II
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part III
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part IV
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part V
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part VI
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part VII
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part VII (conclusion)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 8
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 9
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 10