News from Aunt Debby

I thought I would share with you some family history news from my two trips this fall. In September I joined a group from the New England Historical Genealogical Society for a trip to East Anglia. This is the area where a great number of our early New England ancestors lived before leaving for New England in the 1630’s. Perhaps the biggest thrill was our visit to the church at Nazeing, Essex County where our immigrant ancestor John Curtis was baptized on September 15, 1577 and married his wife Elizabeth Hutchins. Gordon’s and my mother Janet (Curtis) Williams was their 12th generation descendant.

We were also the guests of the charming present owner of Cuckoo Farm in Little Bedew, Essex that belonged to the Porter family in the late1500’s (more on the Porter’s later). The Reverend Thomas Hooker and his family occupied the house before he literally escaped to Holland for a short time and then secretly came back to England for a hasty departure for New England. He was about to be imprisoned by the King for his Puritan religious beliefs. The house is beautifully maintained complete with an extremely friendly cat, who greeted each member of our group personally as well as an equally friendly donkey. The field next to the house had sheep grazing and very discreetly concealed behind lovely shrubbery there was a very 21st century swimming pool! It was difficult to remind yourself that the house is over four hundred years old and the Nazeing Church dates at least to the 15th century!

Early in November I spent a week in Salt Lake City, again with a group from the New England Historical Genealogical Society doing research at the Mormon Family History
Library. The Library is five floors and almost a block in size with 400 computer terminals, books, and microfilm etc. One feels like “a kid in a candy shop” trying to decided what genealogical gem to grab first!

But, my first wonderful surprise came as I walked in to the Library on our first day to a first floor classroom for an orientation lecture. On the wall outside the classroom was a large “pedigree chart” with the descendants of one of our ancestors- Robert White (1558 – 1617) and his wife Bridget Allgar (1562 – died after 1623) of Messing and Shalford, Essex County. The White’s had eight children and our family descends from three of their daughters who married in England but came to New England in the 1600’s with their husband’s and children. Mary White (1590 – 1652) married (Joseph Loomis 1588 – 25 November 1658) and many generations later was the ancestor of our father Gerald. Williams. Elizabeth White (1591 – 1676) married William Goodwin (1591 – 1673) and through numerous generations including Dwight’s and Dewey’s was also Gerald Williams ancestor. The third daughter Anna White (1600 – 1647) married John Porter (1600 – 1648) and several generations later Hannah Porter married Zachariah Curtis and therefore is the ancestor of our mother Janet Curtis Williams. So actually our parents were very, very distant, much removed cousins! John Porter’s family had been the owners of Little Baddow Farm who invited the Thomas Hooker family to live there for several years.
The point of all this rather involved “who’s who” is that the wall pedigree showed an amazing diversity of famous people who are descended from Robert and Bridget (Allgar) White. And no! we are not included on the wall chart. So here are your very remote cousins for your amusement or bragging rights!
Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) poet
William Williams Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Hiriam Ulysses Grant (1822 -1877) Union General in the Civil War and United States President 1869 – 1877.
Wilbert and Orville Wright; early aviation
Shirley Temple (1928 -) child movie star and Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovak Donald Clark Osmond (1957 -) actor, singer
Lucille Ball (1911-2008) movie and TV star
Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906 – 1971) Invented television
Jon Steven Young (1961 -) Pro Bowl Hall of Fame. Most valuable player for San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXVIIII in 1995. He grew up in Utah.
Joseph Smith (1805 – 1844) organized the Church of the Latter Day Saints 6 Apr, 1830
Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910 –2008) Fifteenth President of the Mormon Church, 1995-2008

I expect that this particular pedigree was chosen for the prominent place on the wall because of the association of the last two with the Mormon Church.

One of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society staff members was kind enough to take a picture of me in front of the wall pedigree and I will try to get copies for you.

With fond wishes to each one of you for a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving!

Fondly, Aunt Debby