| A kinsman and fellow researcher was having a frustrating time understanding
the genealogies in Gary Boyd Roberts's book, Notable Kin, vol. I
(1998. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston), and she asked
me to explain them to her. Below, I am sharing that explanation with
you.
As an example, I have chosen Julia CHILD, the chef and TV personality.
I deliberately picked her as an example because 1) she is our cousin and,
2) she has one of the longer, more complicated genealogies. Most
of the lineages are shorter and easier to follow. |
Roberts separates the generations by semi-colons and the couples within
a generation by commas. Where surnames are duplicated in a generation,
he will note in parentheses which set of parents produced which child.
Not all lines are known or followed, so the number of couples does not
double with each generation. Italics are Roberts's own and indicate
shared ancestors with the late Princess Diana (see Roberts's book, American
Ancestors and Cousins of the Princess of Wales. 1984. Genealogical
Publ. Co., Baltimore). Roberts's entry for Julia CHILD (p. 20) reads
as follows:
| "Mrs. JULIA (McWILLIAMS) CHILD (Mrs. Paul Cushing Child), b. 1912,
chef and television personality; John McWilliams & Julia Carolyn Weston;
Bryon Weston & Julia Clark Mitchell; Isaiah Weston, Jr. & Caroline
W. Curtis, Clark Ward Mitchell & Ellen Theresa Shaw; Isaiah Weston
& Sarah Dean, Elisha Mitchell & Lucinda Brewster, Samuel Shaw &
Sarah Snell Bryant, sister of poet William Cullen Bryant (q.v.);
Josiah Dean, Jr. & Sarah Byram, William Mitchell & Elizabeth Ward,
Jonathan Brewster (III) & Lois Marsh, Peter Bryant & Sarah Snell;
Josiah Dean & Jane Washburn, Eliab Byrm & Sarah Leonard, Edward
Mitchell, Jr. & Elizabeth Cushing, Jonathan Brewster, Jr. & Zipporah
Smith, Philip Bryant & Silence Howard, Ebenezer Snell & Sarah
Packard; Nehemiah Washburn & Jane Howard (parents of Jane & Silence),
Ebenezer Byram & Hannah Hayward, Edward Mitchell & Alice Bradford,
Jonathan Brewster & Mary Parish, Ephraim Smith & Hannah Witter,
Abiel Howard & Silence Washburn, Zachariah Snell & Abigail Hayward,
Abiel Packard & Sarah Ames; Samuel Washburn & Deborah Packard,
Joseph Hayward & Hannah Mitchell (parents of Hannah & Abigail),
Experience Mitchell & Mary __ (2nd Wife) (parents of Edward & Hannah),
Daniel Brewster & Hannah Gager, Ebenezer Witter & Dorothy Morgan,
John Ames, Jr. & Sarah Washburn; John Washburn, Jr. & Elizabeth
Mitchell (parents of Samuel & Sarah), Thomas Mitchell & Margaret
Williams (parents of Experience), John Gager & Elizabeth Gore,
Joseph
Morgan & Dorothy Parke; Experience Mitchell & Jane Cooke (1st
wife)." |
To make the genealogy more readable, I've put each generation on a separate
line in a table below, and I have distinguished each line in color (though
I had trouble finding enough distinguishable colors). I'm afraid
you will have to scroll left and right to view the entire table. |
