Family Legends and Legacy

Family Legends and Legacy

My genealogy quest began innocently enough, my Dad asked if I could determine how we were related to Hannah Dustin, a family legend.

It seemed to me this would be reasonably simple. Hannah Dustin is famous or infamous, depending on your point of view. Little did I know or understand the possible pitfalls in my way. Thanks to many, many people, I began to make this ongoing journey. Was I successful? |Descent from Hannah Dustin|

I have been far less successful determining the truth behind the persistent Ruggles family legend of a Native American ?great-grandmother. I know the name of the possible candidate and the name of her parents. More research needs to be done.

I received a family heirloom legacy from my paternal Grandmother Julia Marie Eastman Bean. This legacy was a set of "coin" silver teaspoons, engraved OOW. I wanted to learn how the spoons fit into my heritage. I feel I have been able to trace the passage of these spoons to me |OOW|.

Finding the answers to these questions opened a brand new page in my life. I discovered the passion of searching for [and occasionally finding] names, dates, locations and histories. I found the genealogical community via the computer and the Internet. The enrichment this has brought is beyond measure.

I have been interested in my lineage for years. My parents gave me a copy of "The Life and Family of John Bean of Exeter and his Cousins" in 1970. When the book arrived in New Mexico, where we were living at the time, I was off my feet with a badly broken leg. This gave me the opportunity to read it from cover to cover.

I have placed my complete database, minus notes and descendants of our grandparents, on the WorldConnect Project at Rootsweb.com. Links to our grandparents in that database are below.

This is an on-going project; more information will be added as time permits. I may have more information on these families, especially our direct line ancestors. I am always willing to share any information I have.

Because much of my heritage derives from old time coastal New England families, I sometimes remark "my family tree looks like a pretzel". One surname which appears many times in my pedigree is Jewett. Jewett is also part of my husband's ancestry. Check out the work David Jowitt has done on the Jewett Variations and the New England Jewett Family's connection to Yorkshire England. |Jewett|

Please send e-mail to: [email protected]

Revised 14 March 2000