Saturday, July 9, 2016

The Quest for the Mayflower and a Birthdate

Another of my Salt Lake Institute trips generated quite an adventure. I was trying to determine if my Hazen family had a Mayflower connection as a couple of researchers had been told. Nothing in the Hazen genealogy or research had pointed to such a link. If there was a Mayflower tie-in, there had to be an error in the research dating back to the turn of the 20th century.

That was the case. John Hazen had married Elizabeth Dart in 1726. What early researchers had missed was the fact that this was Elizabeth's 2nd marriage. Her 1st had been to Thomas Dart in 1717. Elizabeth's maiden name was Turner! She was the daughter of Ezekiel Turner and Susanna Keeney. Ezekiel was the great-grandson of William Brewster, one of the leaders of the Mayflower.

With  the main goal accomplished, I also wanted to find out exactly when Mary Hazen [daughter of John and Elizabeth] was born. I had two dates 22 May 1735 and 18 May 1735. The first date was recorded in the family bible, the second turned out to be her baptism date. While going through Connecticut deeds, I found a note at the bottom of a John Hazen deed. It gave Mary's birth date - 5 January 1735!

My guess was that the Bible record was a memory error on the part of the recorder. In the Lyme, CT  First Congregation Church baptismal records, there were three Hazens: Thomas, Mary and Ezekiel. Ezekiel had not been previously listed in any of the Hazen family groups.

One of the best sources I came across was the Diary of Joshua Hempstead. Hempstead chronicled the activities of New London, CT for 47 years [1711-1748]. The Hazens, Turners and Darts were oft mentioned.

It was a busy and interesting week!

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