Illustration: Quaker prisoners released from the Boston jail due to the orders of King Charles II. Credit: from an illustrated version of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "The King's Missive" published in "The Memorial History of Boston, including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880," 1880.

Colonial America: King Stops Quaker Persecution

By Melissa Berry on April 28, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry describes how the Puritans’ persecution of Quakers in Colonial America was stopped by King Charles II... (Read More)

Illustration: portrait of Deacon Benjamin Titcomb (1726-1798). Signed, dated and inscribed “Painted by John Brewster 1798.” Courtesy of Skinner Auction House. Read more history at Trio Of Americana Collections Drives $1.3 Million Sale At Skinner.

Relics of Our Ancestors (part 1)

By Melissa Berry on April 25, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about relics from America’s past, focusing on family heirlooms from the Quinby family of Massachusetts... (Read More)

Photo: the Garcelon brothers, 1871. Courtesy of David Garcelon of Maine. He is a surveyor, historian and author.

Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 33 (part 1)

By Melissa Berry on April 21, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, focusing on the Garcelon family of Maine... (Read More)

Photo: the Golgotha Monument, located next to 52 Macy Street, Amesbury, Massachusetts, which was the burial ground of Amesbury’s first settlers. Courtesy of Pam Carter of My Maine History.

Paternity Drama in Colonial America (part 3)

By Melissa Berry on April 18, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry provides more stories about out-of-wedlock births in some of the earliest colonial settlements in America... (Read More)

Photo: the Stroudwater Light Infantry Company banner, 1805. Painted silk. Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society, Portland, Cumberland County, Maine.

Paternity Drama in Colonial America (part 2)

By Melissa Berry on April 13, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her story about out-of-wedlock births in some of the earliest colonial settlements in America... (Read More)

Illustration: the wedding of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, by artist Elmer Boyd Smith, from “The Story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith,” 1906. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Edith Ogden Harrison, Easter Bride & Kin of Pocahontas

By Melissa Berry on April 10, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about the wedding of Edith Ogden Harrison, a 12th lineal descendant of Pocahontas... (Read More)

Photo: the Wolfe Tavern & Hotel, Newburyport, Massachusetts. Courtesy of James Zafris of Newburyport.

The Swindling Wolf of Wolfe Tavern

By Melissa Berry on March 31, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about a brazen swindler who once stayed at her ancestor’s Wolfe Tavern & Hotel... (Read More)

Paternity Drama in Colonial America (part 1)

By Melissa Berry on March 28, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about out-of-wedlock births in some of the earliest colonial settlements in America... (Read More)

Photo: Civil War-era cannons, Fort Stevens, NW, Washington, D.C. Fort Stevens was part of the extensive fortifications built around the city during the American Civil War. Credit: The George F. Landegger Collection of District of Columbia Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America; Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Jamestown Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 19 (part 4)

By Melissa Berry on March 24, 2023

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on descendants of the Jamestown settlers, writing about the yellow fever epidemic of 1855... (Read More)

Category: Genealogy Stories