Amanuensis Monday & Another Mayflower Puzzle Solved

The last will and testament of William Clements, my 3rd-great grandfather on the Crosby side, arrived yesterday. The will provided the key piece of information needed to prove my lineage through Jane Crosby to more Mayflower passengers.

Recently I learned that my 5th-great grandmother, Hannah Eaton (1730-1809), was descended from ten (10) Mayflower passengers. I was able to confirm my lineage using both primary and secondary sources and was confident of the connection. However, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) prefers primary sources over secondary, so more research was needed.

My lineage from Samuel Eaton is:

Samuel Eaton > Samuel Eaton > Barnabas Eaton > Hannah (Clements) Eaton > William Clements > William Clements > Jane (Crosby) Clements > John Crosby > Roy Crosby > Maurice Crosby > Me.

I submitted a Preliminary Review Form at the GSMD for my lineage to Samuel Eaton and the results of the inquiry showed that two previous applications, from Samuel Eaton through William Clements, had been approved. (The green portion of my lineage has already been accepted by the GSMD.) The other applications passed through William’s daughter Margaret, but made no mention of Jane.

Fortunately, I already possess primary documents (birth, marriage and/or death records) that show my lineage to Jane Crosby. This meant I only needed to prove Jane Crosby was the daughter of William Clements.

I ordered a copy of the previously approved application that stopped at William Clements to see what, if any, new information could be gleaned. The application cited William Clement’s will as a source to connect him with his daughter Margaret. Hopefully the will would name Jane as a daughter too.

I ordered a copy of William Clement’s will from the Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia Probate Court and found that William listed the names of all his living children. On Page 2 I found what I hoped for: “…my daughter Jane Crosby…” This was the best case scenario, because William provided clear evidence to Jane’s married name.

Download William Clements’ Will: William-Clements-Will-1861.PDF