Mistakes are often made when doing genealogical research. Sometimes a story is passed down as fact, or two people have the same name and you end up tracing the wrong family. Because it’s always more interesting to have a notable ancestor in your tree like royalty, a war hero, or an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower, many of us fall victims to wishful thinking, and sometimes force connections that simply aren’t there. That’s the case for Week 23’s topic for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Mistakes.
I know there were Turners on the Mayflower, and I know my ancestor, Humphrey Turner was not one of them, so imagine my surprise when a hint on Ancestry popped up saying his father was “John Prentice Turner, Signer of the Mayflower Compact.” A look on FamilySearch revealed the same information. I know he didn’t arrive on the Mayflower. It’s estimated he arrived in Plymouth around 1632, twelve years after the Mayflower landed, and Genealogy of the Descendants of Humphrey Turner says nothing about his father. A huge connection like Humphrey’s relationship to that John Turner would have been covered, however, all books contain mistakes. Was it possible he was the son of John Turner of the Mayflower?
Sure, it's possible, but it’s not likely. More evidence points against this theory than supports it. John Turner arrived on the Mayflower with two young, unnamed sons. All three perished during the first winter. In 1651, William Bradford wrote, “John Turner and his 2 sones all dyed in the first sickness. But he hath a daughter still living at Salem, well married, and approved of.” Bradford also wrote that John’s daughter “came some years after to Salem, where she is now living.” If John Turner had other children who later came to Plymouth or Salem besides this one daughter, isn’t it likely that Bradford would have mentioned it – especially when sons were valued more than daughters?
Those who believe that Humphrey Turner is the son of John theorize that one of Humphrey’s sons was actually his brother, left in his care when his father and two younger brothers set sail. Humphrey arrived in Plymouth with two sons named John, known as “John the Elder” (born about 1620) and “John the Younger” (born about 1624). It wasn’t unusual for parents to lose a child and then give their next child the same name, but it is highly unusual for two living brothers to share the same first name. Some people believe that John the Elder is the son of John from the Mayflower. Humphrey then had a son, John, named after his father and known as John the Younger to differentiate him from his uncle. If this was the case, Humphrey likely would have treated his son John the Younger differently than his brother John the Elder, yet in his will, he referred to both Johns as his sons and left his “eldest son, John Turner” his farm and his “young son John Turner” £5.
I managed to avoid making this mistake on my tree by reviewing the facts with an open mind, and as I said – the evidence just wasn’t there. It’s tempting to see that Ancestry hint, say, “Wow! My ancestor came over on the Mayflower!” and with the click of a button add John Turner to your tree. It would be fun to believe and wonderful if it was true, but it’s not. I ran into a similar issue on Ancestry with Josiah Bartlett. Ancestry offered up several hints that my Josiah Bartlett was one of the Founding Fathers and the first governor of New Hampshire. I was so excited, followed Ancestry’s breadcrumbs, but quickly concluded they were different Josiah Bartletts. As much as I wanted it to be true (what a cool direct ancestor he would have been!) my Josiah Bartlett was a distant relation and not remarkable in any way. That’s not the case with Humphrey Turner. He didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but who cares? He was one of the founders of Scituate, Massachusetts, an ambitious and interesting person in his own right, and far more is known about him than we know about John Turner. If you happen to be descended from his son, John the Elder, you’re a Mayflower descendant through the Brewsters anyway, and if you’re descended through one of his other children, you still have Humphrey.
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