I've always been fascinated by research, especially historical research. Many nights have I been lost under stacks of books, notepads, and assorted research tools in the old days. Now the trail on the computer makes it so much easier in one sense, but then I have to keep track of where I found something. But I guess that is not so different from the past when we had to keep track of where we found that perfect quote. As I recall we just kept notecards back then.
Like many people I am intrigued about my ancestors. "Who am I?" is an age-old question. I started making notes about my paternal grandfather's relatives when I was a teenager. Actually, as I think more carefully, I remember as a preteen writing in my Bible the names and dates of my ancient relatives on both sides of my family. You know, like my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and the really ancient ones such as my great-grandparents.
From time to time as an adult when time permitted I entered the repositories of information on the Internet, each time to be more amazed and to come away with more questions than answers. A few weeks ago I stumbled across what I think is the best link yet. Are you ready for this? (drumroll, please) I found a published book that tells the story of the Stiles family -- my paternal great-grandmother was Arbelle Stiles -- coming to America. Only it was not called America -- it was New England then -- because the family sailed from London March 16, 1635, on the Christian.
The ship arrived in Boston on June 16, 1635, and John Stiles' wife Jane was the first person that stepped ashore "when the Plantation begun in 1636" near Windsor, Connecticut. John Stiles continued to reside at Windsor where he died in 1662 at age 67. Jane died in 1674.
The books details the harrowing tale of Stiles' men and their attempt to settle the land selected by Sir Richard Saltonstall and his instructions "to go plant." Men from the Massachusetts Bay Colony had seen them land in Boston and take their boat going toward what is now the Windsor area. The Massachusetts men went overland, arriving a few days ahead of them, "prospecting." I gather it was rather easy to pick out the Englishmen because there were few white settlers in the area at the time. The feud lasted some time, perhaps a year. The Massachusetts Bay corporation did not take kindly to any encroachment, even if authorized by the crown, which Sir Richard's was. In the end Sir Richard took a loss on his investment, the settlers were given land and incorporated into the community.
Of course the story does not end there. John's third son Isaac was the first of his heirs to be born in New England. Actually, he was the first male child born in the Colony of Connecticut, according to Hazard's Hist. Coll., a recognized authority. Isaac's sixth child, Jonathan Stiles, born March 10, 1688 in Stratford, Connecticut, moved his family to Morristown, New Jersey, a hotbed of activity a few generations later during the American Revolutionary War.
Generally speaking, most of the Stiles men were quite small. However, Jonathan was known as Long Jonathan, being six feet, four inches tall. It is from Jonathan that I am directly descended. The family stayed in Morristown although some members journeyed westward years later, reflecting the story of America itself.
As for Jonathan Stiles' height, I did not inherit that gene.
