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Mayflower Man

A couple of weeks ago, I had the sudden thought that I should log into the Relative Finder app, and see who we might be related to again. I'd done this before, so I wasn't expecting there to be any new information. HOWEVER...this time around, I discovered something new. Seems that through our Eastman line, we are descended from a man named Degory Priest, my 12th great-grandfather. Degory Priest just so happened to be a pilgrim who had moved from England to Leiden, in The Netherlands in the early 17th century (I've ridden through Leiden on the train, and it's gorgeous). In Leiden he married a young widow named Sarah Allerton and had two daughters with her. In September of 1620, having left his family behind (intending to send for them later), he embarked from Plymouth, England aboard the Mayflower. Yes, that Mayflower. After an arduous journey across the north atlantic, the Mayflower docked in Plymouth Harbor, where our illustrious ancestor also signed the Mayflower Compact, the first rule of law in the new Plymouth, Massachusetts Colony. Sadly, shortly after his arrival, Grandpa Degory passed away. Grandma Sarah however, remarried (again), and did end up finding her way to the new world, as the wife of Godbert Godbertson. She passed away in 1633. I am a descendant of Degory and Sarah's daughter, Mary.

 So - it seems my ancestors have had a stake in this country since the very beginning (of white immigration anyway). They were people of faith, and people of courage. A heritage to be proud of.


Side note: Come to find out, after sharing this information with one of my sisters, come to find out that my brother-in-law is also descended from Degory and Sarah, making my brother-in-law a distant cousin of ours.  


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