Found the Holy Grail!

The genealogical Holy Grail for any Caucasian in America is to prove a claim as a Mayflower descendant.  I've been burned once - I thought I'd found a connection but had to delete it because I was unable to verify the facts with 100% certainty.  But with so many of our ancestors living in prominent colonial settlements, I was sure that we must have a Mayflower ancestor somewhere!  I have been very careful about my sources this time.  Finally, I've discovered a connection in my mother's maternal line to several Mayflower passengers!

John Howland m. Elizabeth Tilley (both Mayflower passengers) > Ichabod Bosworth > Benjamin Bosworth > Benajah Bosworth > Joseph Bucklin Bosworth > Orlando M. Bosworth > Eva L. Bosworth > Teresa/Ethelyn Allen > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

John Howland

I traced our line back through the Bosworths and found John Howland, who is my 8th great grandfather and an original signer of the Mayflower Compact.  He came over as a manservant to Governor John Carver.  We are descended from John through his daughter Hannah.

The official history can be found here:  http://mayflowerhistory.com/howland/

"Howland Overboard," a painting by maritime artist Mike Haywood.  

A painting called Howland Overboard depicts a famous event in which John fell overboard and clung to a halyard until the sailors were able to rescue him with a boat-hook.

The presidents Bush and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt are also descended from John Howland.



The Tilley Family

John Howland was married to Elizabeth "Bridget" Tilley, who was about twelve when she came over on the Mayflower with her parents, John Tilley and Joan Hurst Tilley.  John, also a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and Joan Tilley both died in their first winter in Plymouth, leaving Elizabeth an orphan.  She is buried in Ancient Little Neck Cemetery in Providence, R.I.  The Hursts were originally from Holland... yet another line of descent from the Netherlands for my mother's line.