October 5, 2021
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry begins a new series, profiling descendants of the Mayflower settlers. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Too early for turkey? Not for Mayflower tidbits! I dish out a spread of stories on the “Who’s Who” of Mayflower lines. GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives have a banquet of all things Mayflower. Today I cover a Plymouth, Massachusetts, family who honored their Pilgrim ancestors by living their lifestyle and dressing the part.
This 1944 Chicago Sun article is about Philip Stanley Barnes and his wife Mercie (nee Hatch) Barnes celebrating Thanksgiving with three generations of family, minus one – a son, Parker Loring Barnes, who had enlisted in the Marine Corps and was off fighting on the front in WWII.
The photo caption for this newspaper article reads:
“Heads bowed, the Barnes family gives thanks. They pray for peace in the year to come so that next Thanksgiving their family circle again will be complete. From Mr. Barnes, clockwise, they are: Grandmother Hatch, Mercy [Mercie] Barnes, Lothrup Withington, 3rd (Cricket), Mrs. Barnes, Ann Withington, Souther Barnes, Lois Withington, and Philip Barnes, Junior.”
The Barnes children are direct descendants of William Brewster, John Howland, Edward Doty, John Tilley, and William Bradford. Their mother Mercie Hatch, born to Benjamin Wiggin Hatch and Lydia Brooks Souther, made quite a study of Pilgrim history. Their father, Philip Stanley Barnes, son of Henry Walter Barnes and Hannah Loring, supported efforts to teach the children their ancestors’ traditions.
At that Thanksgiving celebration, their relations, Withington family members Lois, Anne and Lothrup III (aka “Cricket”) joined them.
The beginning of the article states:
“The Barnes family of Plymouth, Massachusetts, who number among their ancestors 21 Mayflower settlers, gathers as usual on Thanksgiving Day this year. Although young Parker Barnes is overseas with the forces, the loved ones he left behind have their turkey dinner just the same. It is not as gay without him, and there is special significance in their Thanksgiving prayers. For they are grateful that their boy has come safely through another year of war, and that victory is in sight for the Allied forces.
“Thanksgiving Day has always been an important occasion for the Barnes family, who live in the shadow of Plymouth Rock where the American Thanksgiving tradition began. As they stroll down the hill to Grandmother’s house for the family dinner, the Barneses, old and young, can look out over blue Cape Cod Bay and imagine that the Mayflower still swings at anchor there. They can look out beyond the houses of Plymouth to fields where their ancestors planted corn more than three centuries ago.”
While turkey was the main staple of the Thanksgiving meal, there was squash from the neighboring fields and cranberries from the Cape Cod bogs beyond. Mrs. Barnes knew all about the cranberry harvests; her father and his Hatch ancestors were cranberry growers.
The traditions of Thanksgiving spread far beyond the boundaries of Plymouth, and in 1944 the spirit of thanks and prayers for peace were just as potent as the ones of the Pilgrims in 1621.
Here is an obit for Mrs. Barnes’ sister, Ellen Hatch Brewster, from the Boston Herald. Like her sister, she was a member of the Pilgrim Society and was involved in the preservation of Plymouth history. At the time of her death Ellen had 21 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews to carry on the line.
The Plymouth Antiquarian Society has a treasure trove of Mayflower images archived on their site. Link: The Origins of a Plymouth Tradition.
Brooks Barnes is in a feature photo in a 1925 Boston Herald article in front of the Russell House in Plymouth. Brooks and her family were participating in a festival for the Colonial Street Fair that opened the historic homes of Plymouth that housed many generations of Mayflower families.
Here is Souther Barnes in a feature photo for a 1939 Boston Herald article.
Fifteen years later, in 1954, the Barnes family celebrated Turkey Day with a family wedding. I found the announcement in the Boston Herald, once again featuring Souther Barnes.
Stay tuned for more Barnes family and other Mayflower descendants celebrating Forefathers’ Day!
Note for Header Photo: Souther Barnes (second from left) and his sister Mercie Barnes (third from left) greet guests to the Harlow Old Fort House for the Pilgrim Breakfast on 6 July 1941. The cost was only 50 cents. Courtesy of Plymouth Antiquarian Society Archives, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Love it! Lots of fun, Melissa.
Thank you,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth, thanks and yes, the Plymouth people know how to party down in Pilgrim garb! There are so many years of festivities there and hope to cover more! Mayflower II arrival seems to be my next idea. 🙂
A great read of a wonderful family tradition and a family dedicated to knowing their ancestors.
Thanks, Melissa!
Yes Kay, and more memories will come! I am so glad to have worked with you on the research for your Mayflower application and now you can plan a party! 🙂 Thanks!
Melissa,
Hope you get to my ancestor Henry Samson and his interesting descendant, Deborah Samson, who fought as a man in the Revolution! He moved to Duxbury with Miles Standish and John Alden.
Hi Ed, I will reach out to you soon on this. I know this story and it is a good patriotic drama! Thanks!
I would be interested in anything you have on Henry Samson and his descendants. My line is his daughter Dorcus who married Thomas Bonney. Their daughter Elizabeth Bonney married Ephriam Norcutt. My line goes on down the Norcutts: their son John Norcutt married Mary Hayford; their son John Norcutt Jr. married Susanna Winslow; their son Winslow Norcutt married Anna Hager (then Sarah?’ Winslow; and Anna’s son Norman Newell married Sarah McKinley; their daughter Ida Georgiana married August Leck and that gets it down to my grandmother in Nebraska (Lillie Grace Leck Kleeb).
I also trace back to William and Jonathan Brewster. Do you have a web site with all information you have on it?
Hello Esther, I sent you an email. Thanks for reaching out, and I am actually just finishing up an application research project on a Samson line for the Mayflower Society. This person descends from his daughter Elizabeth who married Robert Sprout. Look forward to hearing from you. Stay tuned for more Mayflower Who’s Who!
Wondering which Russell house this was as I had ancestors from Plymouth named Russell.
Hi Bonnie, check with Plymouth Antiquarian Society Archives or Pilgrim Hall. They may know. The article did not say. I will be doing some more on Plymouth families celebrating the arrival of the Mayflower II so check back! Thanks!
Melissa,
It’s wonderful some people have been able to trace back their families to the Pilgrims. It’s been told over the years that my dad’s family was descended from Peregrine White; however, the genealogists I’ve worked with say that cannot be proven. I do have every surname in my family that was in your article (DNA matches, including your maiden name and married name, but all the names are quite common, so that cannot lead me back to the Pilgrims, either). Those of you who have traced your ancestors back that far, treasure it! Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate.
Jennifer, thanks for sharing! I just recently did a Mayflower application for someone with DNA matches and they were accepted, so do not give up! Happy Holidays!
I find this fascinating! I am in the process right now of proving my lineage to Francis Cooke, my 10th Great Grandfather. The only problem is no one is working in an office at the time and it is taking longer than expected to receive a couple of birth certificates. I find this process so interesting learning about my family. Only wish my Mom’s Brother Edward Dale Ellis was still alive to enjoy the process. He worked on the family genealogy for many many years!
I AM PRETTY SURE THAT I AM”NOT” RELATED TO ANY OF THE pILGRIMS, BUT LOVE THE PILGRIM STORIES! DON THORNTON-EVANGELINOS 11/30/2021
Hi Jan, I heard there was a long wait on applications — I assisted someone recently and it took about 8 months. Good luck! Happy Holidays and stay tuned for more Mayflower stories.
I’d be interested in anything you have on the Allerton family. Their daughter, Mary, who was 4 when they arrived, married Tom Cushman in 1636. Several generations later, their descendant, Susan Cushman, married Oscar Davis and they became my second great grandparents. Oscar was briefly in the Civil War, having been captured just a month or so after entering the war and died in Andersonville Prison. Their only child, William Chauncey Davis, became my first great grandfather.
Carolyn, that sounds like a great story! I will look those names up. Thanks for sharing! Stay tuned!
Thanks for posting. I didn’t realize there was a Pilgrim Society. I am a descendent of several of the Mayflower passengers and visited Plimouth Plantation in the 1960s. I enjoyed reading this article.
Hi Bob, you’re welcome! Yes, there is a Pilgrim Society and if you care to join I can get you the information and application. Thanks for posting! Happy Forefather’s Day! Stay tuned for more Mayflower stories.
My ancestry includes Edward Doty, the Dexter Stanley’s, the Gale’s, and the Pennington’s. I have tons of information that I have collected. My husband’s family includes Allison’s, Wetzel’s, and Grant’s.
Hello Ruth, I will contact you soon and would love to do a story on these Mayflower lines. Thank you for sharing.
I love these stories; I have a BARNES connection. It’s amazing what I am finding. Love it.
Elisa,
Glad you are enjoying this series. It could never end with all I find in the GenealogyBank newspaper archives! Stay tuned! Thanks.