The immigrant ancestors of the Hawkins and Lawshe lines covered in this book arrived in America within twenty years of each other in the early 1700s. Their backgrounds differed vastly: Philemon Hawkins descended from a family of merchants and seamen in England, while Johannes Jacob van Laaschet left Prussia for America with other members of the Brethren congregation.
John Stephen Rando Jr.’s ancestry stretches back into many corners of the world, including Italy and Scotland. Nowhere is his family’s story more intriguing, however, than in its success in the United States, where they were part of stunning and significant historical events. His eighth great-grandfather, Francis Cooke, arrived on Mayflower in 1620 and became a respected leader in his community. Cooke’s family was one of the first to prosper in their new home. Three family members witnessed America’s dramatic bid for independence from Great Britain.
The Lost Family delves into the many lives that have been irrevocably changed by home DNA tests—a technology that represents the end of family secrets.
Hannah Mather Crocker's early 19th-century work presents a unique history of Boston and its environs from the 1620s to the 1820s. A leading female writer and women's rights advocate, Crocker pays special attention to women's work and culture, providing a significant resource for women's historians, scholars of feminist political thought, and early-American historians alike. This book contains a masterfully transcribed and annotated version of the text and appendix from the original manuscript, which has been housed at the American Ancestors archives for over 130 years.
In this issue:
Families: Chipman, Churchill, Collins, Drew, James, Keen, Simmons, Winslow
Sources: Stoughton [Mass.] Marriages, 1727-1851
In this richly illustrated biography, the author follows in the footsteps of Richard Brunton, a British grenadier who fought in the American Revolution before deserting in 1779. A trained engraver and diesinker, his primitive but charming works include some of the earliest pre-printed family registers in America. Despite his many talents and efforts, he was never able to make an honest living from his craft. Instead, he spent years living on the fringes of society, forging and counterfeiting currency, until his death in a New England almshouse in 1832.
