Did My Ancestors Sail On The Mayflower in 1620? – Genealogy Problem Solver
I suspect that the majority of genealogists who ask themselves “Did My Ancestors Sail On The Mayflower in 1620?” are American. But British family historians might need reminding that the Mayflower passengers were British and left family behind them in the Great Britain. There is a wonderful new website “Be A Part Of Mayflower History” launched by the New England Historic Genealogical Society which is dedicated to the Mayflower Passengers. The society is based in Boston, Massachusetts and is America’s founding genealogical organisation having been established in 1845. In 3 years time it will be the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage and I am sure 2020 will be a year of celebration and remembrance of those brave souls.
The “Be A Part Of Mayflower History” website invites readers to become a part of the Mayflower history and invites participants to
- Meet The Passenger – Pilgrim biographies
- Add Your Name – if you are a Mayflower descendant
- Discover Your Heritage
Meet The Passenger – Pilgrim biographies
This section of the website will be of great interest to American and British genealogists alike as there are 108 names 
given, all of whom have a fact sheet about there lives and their families. There are small family trees and a link to extensive biographies from “The Pilgrim Migration” which is, I would think, the definitive work on the subject. Below the shorter biography is a list of resources that include:-
- Expert How To Guides
- Books and Journal
- Databases – two of which are free to access and seven for which membership of the New England Historic Genealogical Society is required
- Online Courses and Webinars – the two courses require payment, but there are five webinars that are free.
You are invited to explore the descendants of the Mayflower passengers and also to view various tours that are being offered of significance in England, Netherlands and Massachusetts.
Add Your Name
To claim descent from a Mayflower Passenger a family tree needs to be submitted and I presume that it will be verified by the Society. I can see this page growing greatly as 2020 nears and will be a wonderful resource for linking up cousins.
Discover Your Heritage
A free 6 page downloaded booklet takes those new to family history how to make a start on their genealogy voyage.
Summary
So are you asking yourself Did My Ancestors Sail On The Mayflower in 1620? If not then i think you should – I certainly am going to take a close look at the names and see if any of them are familiar.
I would hope that there will be considerable interest on this side of the Atlantic about tracing the descendants of those who the pilgrims left behind. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were MadAboutGenealogy readers who were able to trace descent from one or more of these pilgrims? Do let us know if you are a descendant.
This website is all you would expect from the founding American genealogical society, it is beautifully laid out and easy to navigate. I look forward to visiting it regularly over the next 3 years to see how the search for descendants goes. I am envious of those who do find that they are related to the pilgrims and look forward to being part of some of the celebrations in Massachusetts in 2020.
Click here to enter the website “Be A Part Of Mayflower History”
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Yes. I had a handful of Mayflower passengers. Proving it is daunting. Records? Don’t have no stinkin’ records! The best I can do is town transcriptions, some birth, marriage, death, some already proven after I get back that far. There weren’t any records kept in the American frontier. The actual dollar cost is prohibitive and I would rather spend that money on all my family research.
Hi Toni, Yes the further you go back the harder it gets to find the proof we need and the more expensive it can become. Hope you enjoyed the post and the Mayflower website despite having problems with making connections. You never know one day just what you need will pop up on Ancestry or FindMyPast !! Best wishes, Linda