Welcome to Massachusetts

My husband has always beamed with pride about his Mayflower ancestry. Richard Warren, one of the original Mayflower pilgrims, is his direct ancestor. His 11th great grandfather to be exact. Although the Warren surname stopped with Richard (the line continues through Richard's daughter, Ann Warren Little), the heralded ancestral name has been recognized through the generations, most recently with my late father-in-law, named Richard Warren Brock in honor of the Pilgrim.

And while my hubby boasted that Plymouth Rock was his family's hometown, he knew little, okay, nothing, of any of his other ancestors.

A weekend genealogist, I began to research his prestigious pedigree. It also includes direct descendancy from Samuel Chapin, the Puritan, believed to be the progenitor of all who bear the Chapin name in America. Samuel, a man of Puritan faith, brought his family to New England about 1638. They lived initially in Roxbury, Massachusetts and then moved to Springfield in 1642 as one of the founders of that city, known as Agawam at the time. In Jason's line, the Chapin name starts with Samuel and continues uninterrupted for 10 generations, to his grandmother, Mabel.

There are others, so many others, Tildens, Dimmicks, Coburns, Carpenters, Raymonds, and Burritts, to name a few, with lines dating seven, eight and ten generations in America. They include colonists, indian fighters, Revolutionary War patriots, Civil War soldiers, inventors and lawyers, wealthy and prestigious, humble and ordinary.  His entire gene pool has its origins in the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it's no wonder he has an inexplicable affinity for New England.

He took a job here in Massachusetts, and lived weekdays in Lincoln, nestled inside the perimeter of Minuteman National Historical Park.  For those who don't know Lincoln, it's a small town bordered by Lexington and Concord (those names should ring a bell). The Park preserves the April 19, 1775 "Battle Road" taken by the Minutemen and colonists as they clashed with the British Redcoats, leaving a bloody trail from the North Bridge in Concord all the way back to Boston. It marked the beginning of the War for Independence, and one of Jason's direct ancestors, Charles Chapin of South Hadley, marched with the troops that day.

Imagine that! His family history in our backyard!

Now I'm here too, and the idea of being this close to our nation's historical origins, not to mention's Jason's genealogy, is thrilling. However, for a girl whose ancestral roots begin in Virginia and Maryland (more stories for other days), let's just say I'm happy this winter was a mild one.

So, this blog is my creative outlet, to prattle on about my ongoing genealogical research, building our new life, and rebuilding our new home here in the Bay State. When I decided to do this, I mulled over  what to call the blog, something fun, and then it hit me. Jason's come full circle and he's back where his family started.

He's Plymouth Brock!

Stay tuned…..