During the lockdown of the pandemic, I decided to complete my goal of documenting Revolutionary War Patriots for all four of my grandparents. While researching , I reviewed DNA matches on Ancestry.com for clues. A ThruLines match to Elkanah Gustin born in 1774 I caught my attention. I looked him up on the DAR descendant’s database and found that he descended from American Revolutionary War patriots George Morris and John Corbley.
I downloaded the DAR application to see if there were any sources that would help me in preparing an SAR supplemental application. Imagine my excitement when I found a reference to the DAR manuscript: Elkanah F. Gustin, descendant of Mayflower passenger Edward Fuller, compiled by Katherine Dearing. I found a potential link back 400 years to the Mayflower, and I wasn’t even looking!
I joined a Facebook group for tips on navigating the process of documenting an application for the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. I soon learned that many of the Mayflower descendants were connected to more than one passenger. I began researching more, and with the help of website https://www.relativefinder.org/ found a link to Governor William Bradford. This really peaked my interest because this line shared the last seven generations of one of my recently approved SAR supplemental applications.
I worked with Evelyn Chase ZonderDek, Historian for the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to help me prepare the application. She found additional proof documents, and wrote a convincing proof analysis summarizing the genealogical evidence. We submitted the application for William Bradford to Plymouth in March of 2021. I waited patiently, and received notice from Evelyn that my application was approved on 12 November 2021! I am officially a Mayflower Descendant! Governor William Bradford is my 9th great grandfather.
I also tried Relative Finder with Becky, and it shows she is a direct descendant of Mayflower passengers Francis Cooke, Richard Warren, and William Brewster. These all go through her paternal grandmother Alberta (Goodman) Vertrees. I have started gathering some of the proof documents for William Brewster. If any Vertrees/Goodman kinfolk want to help, please let me know!