English Origins

I've had the good fortune to write two articles on the English origins of 16th century New England immigrants:  The English Origins of William Dudley of Guilford, Connecticut, The American Genealogist 82 (2007):63-75 and The English Origins of Elizabeth Dowse, wife of Governor  Samuel Allen of New Hampshire, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register 162(2008):164-73.  It was really hard work.

What does English origins mean really? It some cases it can mean that but one record in England can be attributed to a person or persons who eventually came to North America.  An example of that would be William Learned of Charlestown, Mass.  His marriage in Southwark, Surrey and the baptisms of his children in Bermondsey, Surrey, are known.  What is not known are the names of his parents or even where William himself actually haled from.   We assume he was born about 1581 based on his first marriage date in 1606.  However, all we really know is that he shows up in Southwark at that moment and marries. Robert Charles Anderson The Great Migration Begins; Immigrants to New England 1620-1633 (NEHGS, Boston, 1995) 2:1164-6.]

Luckily in the two above-cited articles I was able to find the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of the immigrants in question.  Some of the wives' ancestry was not pursued and can be further researched by myself or others in the future.  Sometimes I think we should divide that phrase into English origins (we know whence they came) and English ancestry (we know the parents).