Thomas Danforth

Colonial Governor
My 10th Great Grandfather
Born 20 November 1623
Framlington, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Died 26 March 1697
Cambridge, Maryland, British America

Thomas emigrated to New England in 1634 seeking freedom of religion. He was a politician, magistrate, and landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A conservative Puritan, he served for many years as one of the colony's councilors and magistrates, generally leading opposition to attempts by the English kings to assert control over the colony. He accumulated land in the central part of the colony that eventually became a portion of Framingham, Massachusetts. His government roles included administration of territory in present-day Maine that was purchased by the colony. During the witchcraft delusion in 1692 Thomas Danforth showed his correctness of judgment by the firmness with which he condemned the proceedings of the court.

Lineage...Sandra Christensen, Albert Christensen, Ellen Kate McAllister, Richard Wesley Walling McAllister, Richard Wesley McAllister, Elizabeth Thompson, Mary Abbott, Benjamin Abbott, Joseph Abbott, Elizabeth Phipps, Samuel Phipps, Mary Danforth, Thomas Danforth

Sir John Forster...

Sir John Forster...
1st Governor of Bamburgh Castle
My 23rd Great Grandfather

Bamburgh Castle is said to be the most magnificent castle in England. Built in 6th Century and still beautiful today. Grandfather John Forster was knighted and given command of this fabulous property in A. D. 1191 after saving the life of King Richard while on Crusade with him. John was the commander of the King's horse guard. While following from a distance John saw that the King was surrounded at Arce by the Sarcens and in danger of being captured. When out of nowhere he lead his guard through the trees yelling, "To the Rescue... A Forester. A Forester."

I really want to visit this historical site... it remained in the families care and command for decades. I particularly love the ocean view.

Lineage: Sandra Christensen, Albert Christensen, Ellen McAllister, Richard McAllister, Emma Smith Walling, Warren Walling, Sarah Thorne, John Thorne, Martha Cornell, Sarah Doughty, Elizabeth Jackson, Elizabeth Seaman, Elizabeth Strickland, Jane Fenwick, Dorothy Forster, John Forster, Thomas Forster, Thomas Forster, Thomas Forster, Thomas Forster, William Forster, Richard Forster, Reginald Forster, Alfred Forster, Randolf Forster, Sir John Forster.

Henry Willis...

Henry Willis "the Emigrant"

1675-1714

10th Great Uncle

Flight to America in the Midst of Religious Persecution

Henry Willis, my 10^th great granduncle, was born on September 14, 1628 in Wiltshire, England.  He and his wife Mary Peace were very devoted people.  His story is typical of thousands of people who fled their own countries to immigrate to America, the new world being built on the principles of religious freedom.  During those years, Europe was a place of stifling religious intolerance and persecution.

Henry was a carpenter by trade, and in 1666, London had caught fire so there was a great need for skilled labor for rebuilding the city.  The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the city from Sunday, the 2^nd of September to Wednesday, the 5^th of September 1666.  The fire gutted the medieval city inside the old Roman city wall. It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul’s Cathedral and most of the government buildings of the city. It is estimated that it destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the city's 80,000 inhabitants. 

Henry and his family moved to London, where they remained for seven or eight years.  At the time, a new religious sect, the Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, had drawn a lot of attention.  Henry and Mary attended a “reformation meeting” of the Quakers and as a result, they suffered a tremendous amount of “persecution, abuse and annoyance” at the hands of officials, and ultimately they were beaten and imprisoned because of their “peculiar views.”

After being released from prison in about the year 1675, Henry and his family immigrated to America and found a temporary home in the town of Oyster Bay, on Long Island. A year or two thereafter he purchased from Captain John Seaman (my 10^th great grandfather) a piece of land in the adjoining township of Hempstead where he permanently settled.  Henry named this new town, Westbury, after a town in his native England, which it continues to bear to the present day.  

George Washington

1st President of the United States of America
5th Cousin

Born: February 22, 1732
Died: December 14, 1799

John W. Taylor... Abolitionist

John W. Taylor (1784-1854)

3rd Cousin

Common 9th Great Grandfather: Edward Taylor "the Emigrant"

John served as Representative from New York for ten consecutive Congresses-from 1813 to 1833-and as Speaker of the House for the sixteenth and nineteenth Congresses (1819-1821 and 1825-1827, respectively). Taylor was a noted anti-slavery leader, arguing against allowing the introduction of slavery in the new territories of Missouri and Arkansas, eventually pushing for the exclusion of slavery in all new territories.

Taylor was born to Judge John Taylor and Chloe Cox on March 26, 1784, in Charlton, New York. He was descended from Edward Taylor, an immigrant from England who settled on a property known as "Garret's Hill" in Monmouth County, New Jersey in 1692.

Taylor received his early education at home. He graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1803, studied law for several years, and was admitted to the bar in 1807, at which time he established a private practice with Samuel Cook in Ballston Spa, New York. Over the course of his career, he served as Justice of the Peace, a member of the State assembly, Representative from New York, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and member of the State Senate from 1840 to 1841. In 1806 he was married to Jane Hodge, with whom he had eight children over the next 18 years: Sarah, James, Elizabeth, Malvina, John, Charles, Oscar and Edgar. His wife Jane passed away in 1838.

 John W. Taylor distinguished himself in the House with his anti-slavery actions, including support of the amendment of James Tallmadge to the Missouri bill, submitting a similar amendment to the bill organizing the Arkansas Territory, and delivering some of the first anti-slavery speeches in Congress.

After failing in his bid for reelection in 1832-a failure he later credited to his anti-slavery efforts-Taylor returned home to private practice and the responsibility of serving as a member of the State Senate from 1840 to 1841. In that year he suffered a paralytic stroke, forcing his resignation. In 1843 he moved to live with his daughter in Cleveland, Ohio, where he died on September 18, 1854. He lies buried in the City Cemetery in Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York.

John Throckmorton

"the Emigrant"
10th Great Grandfather

John was born on May 9, 1601 in Norwich, Norfolk, England to Bassingbourne Throckmorton and Mary Hill.


John - came to America, arriving at Nantasket, Massachusetts 5 Feb 1631, in the ship "Lyon," of which Mr. William Pierce was Master. The "Lyon" set sail from Bristol, 1 Dec 1630. On May 18, following his arrival, he was admitted a Freeman at Salem, Massachusetts.

He became a Baptist and followed the footsteps of Roger Williams, his fellow passenger in the "Lyon," into Rhode Island, in the summer of 1635 or 1636.  In 1643, he made application to the Dutch to settle within their jurisdiction which was granted. This grant, subsequently called Throckmorton's Neck or Throg's Neck, embraced the eastern part of the present town.


Throckmorton's settlement had a short existence and was obliterated by the Indian uprising in the fall of 1643, when it was set upon by the savages and every vestige of it destroyed. Eighteen persons were killed and those who were so fortunate to escape death, made their way to the Fort at New Amsterdam and "some that escaped from the Indian attack went back to Rhode Island," says Winthrop. Among those who returned was John Throckmorton.

Lineage: Sandi Christensen, Albert Christensen, Ellen McAllister, Emma Smith Walling, Lydia Crawford, John Crawford, John Bowne Crawford, Catherine Bowne, Ann Lippitt, Sarah Throckmorton, John Throckmorton, John Throckmorton

Abraham Lincoln...

16th President of the United States of America 1809-1865 5th Cousin

Linage... Through Ellen McAllister... Common Great Grandfather  John Bowne  "The Emigrant"