Categories2017 Project

Major William Vaughan

The ninth ancestor in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2017 project is Major William VAUGHAN. He is my wife’s maternal 9th-great-grandfather. I was interested in this line since supposedly up within William’s ancestry is a connection to the royal lines of England. I’ve spent some time recently trying to confirm my wife’s connection to Mr. Vaughan. I’m pretty confident that he is her ancestor, it’s confirming everything beyond him to the royal lines that is getting difficult.

She is related to William through her mother â†’ her mother â†’ her mother (Marie R SHANNON) â†’ her father (George Washington SHANNON) â†’ his father (Nathanial SHANNON [1]) â†’ his father (Nathaniel SHANNON [2]) â†’ his father (Nathaniel SHANNON [3]) → his father (Nathanial SHANNON [4]) â†’ his father (Nathaniel SHANNON [5]) â†’ his mother (Abigail VAUGHAN) â†’ her father (Major William VAUGHAN). You’re not going crazy, there are a lot of Nathaniels in a row. There are actually two more, Abigail’s husband was Nathaniel and his father is also a Nathaniel, making eight in a row.

Major Vaughan seemed like a pretty prominent man in the New England area in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Information says he was born in around 1640. Some info says he was born in Wales and some says he was born in Sussex in England, son of George and Mary (Boxall) Vaughan. His grandfather was Sir Roger Vaughan. He was in London to be educated in the mercantile profession by a man named Sir Josiah Child. He came to the new world from London in about 1664 settling in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

William was named one of the Royal Councillors of New Hampshire in 1681 and a Major, commanding the militia of the province. Soon after, he was imprisoned for nine months by what looks to be the (some say oppressive) new Governor of New Hampshire. It seems he had different views than the previous leader of the province. Under the new Lieutenant-Governor, he again commanded the Militia in 1690 and was reappointed to the Council in 1692. It looks like he also held the positions of Treasurer of the Province (1696-1698) and Register of Deeds (1697-1702). He was President of the Council from 1706-1715.

He married my wife’s ancestor, Margaret CUTT(S), in December 1668. Her grandfather was Hon. Richard Cutt of Bath in Essex County, England. He was a member of Cromwell’s Parliament.

Major Vaughan passed away at Portsmouth on 12 November 1719, at the age of 78. His large stone is located at Old Point Cemetery in Portsmouth.

In terms of DNA, I have yet to find Shannon matches in my wife’s DNA match lists. Though, I know there are some there as she has a lot of maternal matches.

Categories52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Boston to the West Indies

The twenty-seventh ancestor in my 52-week challenge is my wife’s maternal 8th-great-grandfather, Nathaniel SHANNON. Nathaniel is one of seven Nathaniel Shannon’s in a row in my wife’s ancestry, starting with this Nathaniel’s father, born in Ireland in circa 1655 all the way through to her 3rd-great-grandfather, born in New Hampshire in 1816. He also had a son named Nathaniel, but my wife did not descend from him.

This Nathaniel was noted to be born on 9 December 1689 in Boston, British America (or today’s Boston, Massachusetts) to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Shannon. It also states that he was baptized at the famous Old South Church in Boston on 22 December 1689, but I don’t seem to have a source for that (Shame on me.)

Sometime in late 1714, he married Abigail VAUGHAN, daughter of Major William VAUGHAN and Margaret CUTTS. Abigail’s line through her father is my wife’s connection to British Royalty. It’s a bit unconfirmed at the moment from this end, but I am slowly working on sourcing all of the connections.

His occupation is listed as Merchant Seaman, so he was probably not home all that much as he traveled the oceans. His death is recorded in Barbados in the West Indies when he was 34 years old. I’d love to confirm this or get more information on it. While it sounds adventurous and fascinating, it was probably due to disease or injury and, sadly, not fighting pirates (or being a pirate.)

This post is 27 of 52 in the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” Challenge” begun by Amy Johnson Crow.