A Family History Appetizer
Here are a few tidbits to whet your genealogical appetite.
I have traced the Nowell surname back to early Normandy in France. The Nowells probably came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066, and many remain there to this day. The name Nowell is an English variation of the French word for Christmas, Noel.
Scott and Gary's dad, Edward Norton Nowell's 5th great-grandfather, Captain Peter Nowell, came from England as a blacksmith to Salem, Massachusetts about 1690. At some point he joined the Massachusetts militia and went with the army to defend York, Maine in 1695. There he met and married Sarah Weare and they raised ten children in York. After a few generations in Maine Edward's ancestors moved back to Massachusetts, but kept their ties to Maine; Edward's mother was Julia Louise Norton of York, Maine.
Scott and Gary's mom, Constance Ann Lafayette's 3rd great-grandfather, Jacques Marcourelles dit Lafeuillade, came from France to Quebec in 1756 as a soldier in the French army. His descendants eventually immigrated to Vermont and Massachusetts. Constance's maternal 7th great-grandfather, John Gustin (Augustine Jean), came to Massachusetts in 1675 from Jersey, Channel Islands, and eventually settled in Falmouth (now Portland), Maine. However, our line of Gustins migrated to Connecticut, New Hampshire and, you guessed it, back to Massachusetts.
Gayle's dad, Luther Phelps Leighton's 6th great-grandfather, Thomas Leighton (Layton), came from England in the 1630s and settled in Dover, New Hampshire. Luther's great-grandfather, Joseph Leighton, moved to Falmouth, Maine, but Luther's grandfather, Algernon Sidney Leighton, raised his family in Massachusetts. Luther's mother, Jennie Edith Heartz, came from Prince Edward Island, but her 2nd great-grandfather, John Jacob Heartz, was born in Holland.
Gayle's mom, Lola DeLoris Todd's 2nd great-grandfather, James Todd, came from Scotland to Nova Scotia about 1817, and her parents immigrated to Massachusetts in 1922. Lola's maternal 7th great-grandfather, Nicholas Wade, came from England to Massachusetts about 1635. However, her 4th great-grandfather, Captain John Wade, moved to Nova Scotia during the Revolutionary war.
New England circa 1774
Nancy's dad, Joseph Cuthbert Dwyer's father, Thomas S. Dwyer, brought his family to Massachusetts from County Tipperary, Ireland, where Clan O'Dwyer had ruled from time out of mind up to 1652. Tipperary still has the highest concentration of O'Dwyers in the world.
Nancy's mom, Mary Josephine Scanlon's great-grandfather, Timothy Scanlon of County Cork, arrived on these shores in 1842. Mary's maternal 4th great-grandfather, Captain Antoine Paulin, came as a soldier from France to Quebec in 1755. Later Antoine was awarded land in New York for his service to the United States in the Revolutionary War.
Although most of our American history takes place in various parts of New England, I have so far discovered seventeen different countries of origin for our ancestors. Soon you will be able to see where all these countries are located on an interactive world map, but for now go to the Explore or Find menu and click on "places" to see a list.
By the way, if you enjoy looking at old maps, click on the map above and you will reach the Library of Congress map website, where you can zoom in on this map and explore the whole map collection.
Exploring Our Family Tree
So glad you are visiting - please be our guest!
Our Family Tree database resembles a commercial genealogy website (like Ancestry.com), but our site is, of course, limited to our own family's history and it is FREE, e.g., anyone can access public data and media about our ancestors. However, only registered family members will ever have access to private information and media about living people. For more about this, please see the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use document.
The main reason for this database is to share our family history. I hope many of our family members will register so that we can all expand our knowledge of the family. It will be wonderful to have your ancestor pictures and additional information in our database, including any corrections you may make in the current data. I can even set up a separate family tree database for you if you want to research your spouse's family history here. So please join our website family.
To register as a guest or family member just fill out this short Registration Form. Enter a user name and a password. If you're a family member, tell us how we are related in the comment section at the end of the form. I will send you a confirmation email within twenty-four hours. In the meantime have fun searching the public areas of the database.
A Warning and Apology
Like most online genealogies, this database contains information that has been proved as well as information that is speculative and in the process of being proved or disproved. On this website (and any online genealogy site, for that matter) pay attention to notes and sources and draw your own conclusions about reliability. Also, if you research elsewhere and find new information I would love to hear from you about it.
Though much of this site is in working order, some of it is still under construction. For this I apologize. New pictures and documents are added regularly. Thank you for your patience.