Great Migration

The "Great Migration," as defined by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), encompasses the English Puritan migration to New England from 1620 to 1640. This movement primarily involved English Puritans who relocated in family units, driven by a quest for religious freedom and the aspiration to establish a Puritan commonwealth. These migrants originated from various regions of England and settled in areas that now form Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, including the Plymouth Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. An individual's inclusion in the Great Migration Study Project requires evidence of migration to New England within the specified period of 1620 to 1640. The project's objective is to compile biographical and genealogical profiles of all immigrants who arrived in New England during these two decades. The NEHGS has produced extensive volumes and directories, providing details about the lives of these immigrants. This collection presents research on many ancestors who were part of this significant historical migration. You may be shocked by how many there are. Even I was at first. However, most of these Great Migration ancestors are my 9th and 10th great-grandparents, and in some cases 11th and 12th, and with the number of great-grandparents doubling with each generation, the possibilities quickly become immense. We have a total of 1024 sets of 9th great-grandparents and 2048 sets of 10th great-grandparents. This makes finding so many Great Migration ancestors more understandable.

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Great Migration: George Cleeve (1586-1667)

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/rd/12107/383/235175320

George Cleeve was a vintner in England . George emigrated to what is now New England in 1630, settling first in Spurwink, Maine (near today's Cape Elizabeth), and at Falmouth (today's Portland) in 1633. In 1637, Sir Ferdinando Gorges granted George and associate Richard Tucker 1,500 acres at Machegonne (Portland Neck) that included the area of today's downtown Portland. George is known as the father of Portland, and a statue is erected in modern Portland commemorating this.  His career was both contentious and litigious, engaged in frequent land disputes and vying with Gorges' Province of Maine for jurisdiction over the area north of Cape Porpoise. In a letter to Governor John Winthrop from a contemporary, he was described as"a firebrand of dissension and hath set the whole Province together by the ears." 

He married Joan Price in England in 1618; George made several trips back and forth to England during his career and it is unknown on which trip she emigrated. Even before he left England, George was involved in a suit against his father-in-law, John Price. Not muchy is known of Joan's life but she is a docoumented "Gateway Ancestor" to royalty.

The early records of Maine are filled with less than admirable descriptives of his nature. His hatred for Ferdinando Gorges, and others of the titled class, was pronounced, and he attempted every coercion possible to defame those who stood in his way, or to misrepresent his aim to others in order to pursue his own gain. That he was initially, to those who knew nothing of his character, persuasive and charming, is apparent, but it was not long before he had alienated every person of power in both Maine and Massachusetts.

We are descended from George and Joan through the Laviolette (DeRochemont-Shorey) line.


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