Family member name: John Smythe
Tree branch: Smith
Lifetime: 1580ish - unknown death date
Relation: My 12x great grandfather (my dad's mom's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad)
John Smythe lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England. He was born around 1580.
You know what that means? Grandpa Smythe lived there during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He lived in the same town as William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway and he lived there at the same time that they lived there. William was about 20 years older than Grandpa John.
The population of Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1600 was 2,000. It was still a small market town where everybody knew everybody. Even if they weren't close friends, they definitely knew each other.
John's son Ralph was
my immigrant ancestor who arrived in Massachusetts in 1630.
PS: All credit for the genealogical findings of the Smith family goes to the helpful genealogist at the Chatham Public Library on Cape Cod. She sent me a big fat juicy envelope full of photo copies of vital records in the mail. Amazingly, I received the package only about a week before leaving on our long-awaited vacation to the English countryside. Before then, I had no idea that I had ancestors who lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon, which was one of our scheduled stops on the trip.
It made me look at the town in a whole new way, through the eyes of my family. Here we are.
PS: All credit for the genealogical findings of the Smith family goes to the helpful genealogist at the Chatham Public Library on Cape Cod. She sent me a big fat juicy envelope full of photo copies of vital records in the mail. Amazingly, I received the package only about a week before leaving on our long-awaited vacation to the English countryside. Before then, I had no idea that I had ancestors who lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon, which was one of our scheduled stops on the trip.
It made me look at the town in a whole new way, through the eyes of my family. Here we are.
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| Dru and me in 2017, outside my 12x great grandfather's friends's wife's home. |
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| My 12x great-grandfather's friend's house still stands today in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. |
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| My 12x great-grandfather's buddy, William Shakespeare. Photo credit: British Library. |
