Too much time has passed since I last shared on my blog.  But, I have been busy….I have just been busy researching.  I have saved new family ties with added pages and saved them to the A ~ Z ~ The Family Index and the Ahnentafel Family Tree.  In addition, I have found more information about ancestors and placed them on the Heroes and Patriots site. 

Tonight, or actually I should state this morning, I discovered some fun facts.  A distant cousin who has lived in England is a famous model named Jodie Kidd.  In 2008, she was on the United Kingdom’s series of Who Do You Think You Are?  She traced her roots to the Hazen family.  Our grandfather, my 8x great-grandfather, Edward Hazen, immigrated from Northhampshire, England about 1648.  His first wife, Elizabeth, died in 1647, and she was buried in Rowley, Massachusetts.  Later, March of 1650, he married my 8x great-grandmother, Hannah Grant. Her family is one of the earliest settlers in Rowley.  From the show, I discovered this Puritan family, the Grants, came from Yorkshire, England with ties to a quaint village and a beautiful little church that my great grandparents once attended. This family has been traced back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I and of Shakespeare. It was interesting and exciting to watch the show as the stories unfolded and places sprang to life.

Recently, I found that another 8x great-grandmother was Anne Bradstreet; she was a Puritan poet and one of the first female writers in America to be published. For a female during that time period, my grandmother had received a remarkable education. Although she did not obtain a formal education, she lived during the Elizabethan Era that encouraged and valued the scholastic pursuits of woman.   She had the luxury to read books from her father’s extensive library. Before her family migrated to the New World, she married Simon Bradstreet. My grandfather involved himself with the political renderings of life during the early colonial days. For a time, he was also the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Through Relative Finder and through research of my own, I have discovered more connections to the Salem Witch Trials on both my fathers and my mother’s side of the families. My paternal and maternal family members have often crossed paths throughout history, which has greatly astounded me. Some members of my family denounced the witch trial hysteria while others accused and signed warrants. Some found themselves betrayed as they were accused of sorcery. Others claimed affliction as they indicted the innocent that surrounded them.

With recent research through Family Search, I have learned that some members on both sides of my family followed the Mormon faith and were pioneers who made their way to Utah. Again, it has continued to amaze me how my families’ lives have intertwined throughout history. Although I have known about some of the pioneer families in my family, it has been exciting to learn about more of them.

As of late, more family history has evolved as I have discovered some of our French-Canadian roots. Recently I have found that four of my great grandmothers were Filles du Roi, or better known as the King’s Daughters. These brave women left their country, their homes, and even their families to start a new adventure in the wilderness of Canada’s new frontier.

So here was just a taste of what will come. As always I am excited to continue my research and share what I discover.

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