From Mayflower roots to my grandchildren

Repost of a blog from 2015...

OK, here is the scoop.  You've probably heard the rumors that someone in your ancestry came on the Mayflower from England, so you are special.

Well, almost everyone came from somewhere else, unless you're Native American, so you're not particularly special, except maybe the Mayflower means something to you that it doesn't mean to me.

In Ancestry, under the title Brief Life of William Reed (b. bef 1650-d. 1705/06) is this information:

 "2.  WILLIAM REED (William1) was born probably before 1650; died at Weymouth between 26 Oct. 1705, and 12 Sept. 1706.  He married, in 1675, Esther Tomson, Daugher of Lieut. John and Mary (Cooke) Tomson of Middleborough.  Her maternal grandfather was Francis Cooke of the Mayflower.  (The Mayflower Descendant, 4:22).  She also died at Weymouth between 26 Oct. 1705, when she was appointed executrix of her husband's will, and 12 Sept. 1706.  He resided on Pleasant Street in the South Parish.  A part of his ancient house was occupied by Palmer Louid in 1888.  He made his well (sic) 26 Oct. 1705, and it was probated 12 Sept. 1706.  To his wife Hester Read he gave the use of his dwelling house and lands for life.  To eldest son William Read the new double house and land adjoining.  To son John Reed his homestead.  To son Jacob Reed land "in ragged plaine."  To his daughters Bashna Porter, Mercy Whitmarsh, Mary and Reed, Hester Reade, and Sarah Reade each L20.  Sons William, John and Jacob Reed, the remainder, Jacob to his youngest daughter, Sarah Reed, the L20.  His friends Edward Bates, Sr., and James Humphrey, both of Weymouth, overseers.   Witnesses Edward Bates, Sr., John Bates, Jr., and Samuel Bates, Jr

1.) Francis Cooke of Mayflower passage to America, apparently numbered (The Mayflower Descendant, 4:22).
2) his daughter Mary Cook Tomson married Lieut. John Tomson of Middleborough, MA
3) their dtr. Esther Tomson Read (1652-1705) married (1675) William Read (1639-1705)
4) their dtr. Mary Read Allen (1677-1759) m. (1707) Josiah Allen (1677-1736)
5) their son Micah Allen (1708-1744) m. (1736) Hannah Edson (1720-1768)
6) their son Dr. Micah Allen Jr (1740-1823) m. (1764) Catherine Everett (1743-1824)
7) their son Micah Allen III (1769-1858) m. (1800) Anna Fuller (1776-1842)
8) their son Micah Bigsbee Allen (1816-1882) m. (1838) Mary Ann Pearce (1816-1896)
9) their dtr. Mary Ann Elizabeth Allen Heym (1841-1930) m (1866) Francis Oscar Heym (1839-1887)
10) their son Francis (Frank) Richard Adolf Heym (1867-1928) m. (1891) Fannie Helena Martin Heym (1870-1926)
11) their son Norman Francis Heym (1904-1974) m. (around 1934) Mary Edtha Hillyer Heym (1908-1971)
12) their son Douglas Martin Heym (1939-living) m (1963) Barbara Booth Rogers Heym (1942-living)
13) their sons Roger Martin Heym (1964-living) and Russell Douglas Heym (1967-living) have children...who would be
14) generations after the Mayflower.

Each of these ancestors lived a full life, going to their respective works and homemaking, having babies, burying their grandparents and parents, and rocking their own grandchildren.  To put a couple of dates in parentheses after their names makes me cringe, because there was so much that happened for that person during their life...and the dates are so simplified.  Soon there will just be a couple of dates after my name, and I wonder if these blogs will disappear.  Perhaps.  I wasn't on this particular tree until fairly lately, but am quite proud that my grandchildren can say they are the 14th generation after someone on the Mayflower, if they so choose.

Heym Family Tree

NOTE: a repost from my other blog...gathering the more recent blog posts into one place for access and organization!

A belated posting of this blog, which I wrote a few years ago...
Well this 75 year old me (Barbara Rogers Heym, divorced all of 48 years from Doug Heym) remembered someone was named Faxon, (about 3 years ago now) and wasn't he/she on the family tree which I've been putting together for my Heym sons...over on Ancestry.

So I did some playing, and Gertrude E. Shultz Hillyer didn't have a maiden name, so I put in Faxon for a trial, and sure enough, that's who she was from early census reports.  AND that gave her Faxon parents into the tree as well.

Today's search (3 years ago) was only 15 min. but I added about 6-7 facts, changing a birth year when I got a complete birth date here, and adding a lot of cousins there...but it would have gone on and on, so I know it's time to quit.

I wish I had the Heym Family photos with Rick's comments together, but somehow I've got original sheets from the photo albums, and I wanted to use one that has a tractor from the Faxon farm in Clinton MI...which is why I started today's search.  Got it.

"A Bit of History and The Heym Family Photo Album (by Rick Heym, 2012)
"This album collects the photos kept by our grandmother, Gertrude (Gammie - gah-mee) Faxon Hillyer and those maintained by our mother, Mary Margaret Edtha Hillyer Heym, and father, Norman Francis Heym: the first relates to early history of the family farm and their friends and also includes images of the Heym family as it grew;
the second chronicles the Heym family and our lives, first in the midwest up until 1945 and then in Connecticut.

"The Hillyer farm was purchased by Francis Faxon in 1831 according to a deed authorized by President Martin Van Buren and was passed from Francis to his son John and thus to his daughter. Gertrude Faxon was raised in nearby Owosso, MI where she studied art and music. This lead her to Boston, MA to study at the New England Conservatory of Music. At some point she met Louis Schultz and toured in vaudeville for a number of years. The name Schultz did not play well in theater, so Louis chose to use his mother’s maiden name, Hillyer, which seemed more acceptable. They were married in 1906. Our mother, Mary, was born in New York City, NY in 1907; it was
not until at least two years later that the couple left the theater to relocate to the family farm.

"Our mother was first educated in a one-room schoolhouse near the farm (see map next page, corner of Ohlson farm) [not included] and then in Owosso where she also studied dance, then for two years at Michigan State University where she studied Interior Design and taught dance before heading to NYC for work in the theatre and to dance professionally. After some time she returned to Michigan and took a job at the Hudson department store where she was working when she met our father, Norman. They married in 1932 and moved after my birth in 1934 to Cleveland, OH, where my sister was born in 1936; they moved to Owosso shortly afterward. Our brother, Doug, was born there in 1939.

"The farm was sold upon the death of Louis in 1954, after which Gertrude returned to Owosso, where she died in 1959. We have had a recent photo of the house at 6494 East Colony Road in Elsie, so the family homestead, ‘The Maples’ still exists although much modernized and without the outbuildings. See inside back cover for photo. [not included here] Our father had four brothers who appear in the album on various pages - Earle, Hal, Ray and Carl - and I will try to give bits of their history as I move through the album.I am sending a CD of this album to the broader family in case anyone wants to make a copy of their own."

The photos of album pages look like this before I spend a while cropping and saving each individual photo digitally.  I haven't don't many yet.

2018 June: Since I wrote the earlier part of this blog a couple of years ago, I've updated my Ancestry family tree which I've made for my Heym sons.  It is visible to other Ancestry members, and Doug asked to have the background for their connection to the Mayflower from it.  I was pleased to include him as an editor of the tree, after all it's his family.  So he's been doing a little with it.  And I only am doing my other families research at this time.  Thus I'll go ahead and share this to my blog, rather than keeping it in draft form like I have for all this time.

It's wonderful that these photos and comments have been saved.  Thanks to those who care enough to take time to comment while it's in their memory, in order to share with generations to come.  Most of them may not care at all, but some of them probably will!