Jul 30, 2021

Descendants of two Colonial American branches unite in an Iowa schoolhouse. Plus: new Story Events feature.

Minnesota Mix: Eilertsen-Stetson-Bennett

Family roots in the Plymouth colony

Isetta Stetson descended from early Massachusetts colonists, going all the way back to the Mayflower on one side. Nine generations later, her midwestern parents still upheld Yankee values

Portrait of Elizabeth Tilley

Isetta Stetson's father Herbert Stetson was a ninth generation descendant of colonial American Cornet Robert Stetson • Isetta's mother Harriet Smith descended from the Mayflower family of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley • When it comes to the Stetson brand, think shoes, not hats

Solving a mystery: Where did Herbert meet Hattie? • Teaching was a career path for three sons of deacon Josiah T. Stetson • Two school teachers married in Earlville, Iowa in 1879 • After 1900, the family resettled in Deer Lodge, Montana • Tip: Search other databases to find missing record

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Tips & Tricks

Use native language for Internet searches

Don't limit yourself to English-language searches. To find foreign sources, first translate your search terms into the native language, then translate the search results back into English.

FHM Features

Story Events feature enables complex timelines

Present visualizations with timelines and maps using this new site capability
Story-specific timeline display

chronology

Escape from Berlin—last good chance to get out

Our reconstructed timeline: How Elly and Helga Ringel were smuggled with SS escort out of Germany and across the Belgian border in October 1938


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