DFH Volume 1 Issue 15
Last week’s quiz: Did you know that we have eight grampas or grammas who were Mayflower pilgrims to America and landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620? Can you name any?
ANSWER:
Below is a chart created by Steve Dayton. It shows each Mayflower ancestor and the lineage by which we connect from Wilber Sr. to the ancestor. If you know your lineage to Wilber Sr., you can trace your lineage back to the Pilgrims with this chart. Deane, son of Wilber Jr., is a member of the prestigious Mayflower Society by way of John Billington. If you wish to learn more about the membership requirements or about grampa Billington, you can contact Deane at dkdayton@comcast.net.
You can find lots of information about these ancestors on the internet. We, Paul Dayton kids, have two more Pilgrims on mom’s side. My Jim Dayton family has a tradition that maybe you would like to try. I have six grandchildren. Each year, I choose one grandchild and one ancestor. He or she researches the ancestor and gives an oral report to the family as we all gather around the table on Thanksgiving Day. Too bad our Pilgrim ancestors didn’t hand us down their favorite recipe to make our Thanksgiving Day complete. If you want any information on our Mayflower grampas and grammas, drop me an email. I’ll try to help as much as I can. Oh, another thing my grandkids like to do is a school writing assignment about the Pilgrims—also Johnny Appleseed, William the Conqueror and Charlemagne—but they are not Dayton ancestors.
John Howland, a servant, gets special mention. I imagine every movie script ever written about the Mayflower’s crossing of the Atlantic, even including the Charlie Brown’s version, gets mention of grampa Howland. In a raging storm, Howland fell overboard. Miraculously, he was able to grab a loose rope. Some fellow passengers struggled to pull him back on board, and he lived to tell about it. Certainly, googling could tell more about the daring rescue. Youtube has many videos about the event. You can even view my granddaughter Addison delivering a speech about grampa Howland at our thanksgiving dinner last year. Click here for “Addie’s report on Mayflower Pilgrim John Howland”.
.
Dayton Family History 