I'm a woman who has gone down many interesting (and not so interesting) paths in life and lived to tell the story! My name is Karen Flanders Eddy and I descend from John Eddy (Samuel, William) and Hepsibah Daggett of Martha's Vineyard through their daughters Elizabeth and Beulah. Because of Elizabeth's and Beulah's marriages, I am related to every major name on the Island and am a member of the Mayflower Society as a result of Beulah's grandson Eddy Coffin's marriage to Sarah Vincent.

 I live in Connecticut in the beautiful area of New England. I have three grown children, the most beautiful granddaughter in the world, another grandchild on the way, and four cats named Buster (a Maine Coon), Sugar (1/2 Siamese), a long-haired calico kitten named Pretty Lady and a short- haired mix named Sweetie.

What was it like "back then?" When we do our genealogy, do we see only names? Or do we realize that these were people with hopes, dreams, failures, and successes just like us? I read over some of the stories about my ancestors, and I like what I see. Some were rich, some were poor, most were lower middle class. They were adventurers, farmers, whalers, missionaries, and housewives and working women. They were Pilgrim, Puritan, English, French, and German. I marvel at how all these genes combined to make ME!
 

These may look like "just" links, but they are actually links to the lives of my family. With some families, I can go back to the Mayflower and beyond. With my Fisks, I can go back only as far as the year of my 3xGrandfather's birth, 1789.
 

I went to Unadilla in Otsego County, New York, a couple of years ago. I saw for myself the rolling hills and the acres and acres of farmland. I don't know why John Fisk came to New York, but I understand fully why he stayed.
 

I have also spent some time at Martha's Vineyard. My Great-Great Grandfather, Samuel Flanders, was the lighthouse keeper at Gay Head. His grandson told us many tales of this very colorful person. I honestly believe I have inherited his sense of humor.
 

Another reason for researching is my medical history. On my father's side, there is a gene for deafness as well as a gene for extremes in height. These genes are showing up in the present generation. We can trace the deafness to Jonathan Lambert, the first known deaf-mute on Martha's Vineyard. We can find examples of height extremes in the Flanders, Lambert, and Tilton lines but we have not been able to trace to the source yet.
 

So think about this when you look at a picture of Great Granny. She was a young girl once, with pigtails flying in the wind.
 

Here's a picture of some of my Flanders family. The old couple are Samuel Flanders, the Gay Head Lighthouse keeper, and his wife Keziah Lambert Flanders. The two children are Cyrus Flanders (left) and my grandfather Kenneth Ainsworth Flanders (right). The two ladies on either side are Hattie and Ida Flanders, who ran the "Bakery" in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard. Then on the left, the short man is my great-grandfather, Samuel Howard Flanders, standing next to his wife Lillian Hammett Flanders. Next to Lillie is Franklin Pierce Flanders, Sam Howard's brother. We don't know who the woman standing next to Franklin is. You can see the extremes in height between Sam Howard and Franklin.

More pictures of the Flanders family, which includes Lavares and Hammetts. Plus pictures of the Fisk family, which includes DeForests.
 

Click here to see a picture of the Gay Head Lighthouse. And click here to see a postcard drawing of Gay Head at night. Pretty!

Click here to see a picture of the MAYFLOWER II.

Click here to read the Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln.

Check out my coat of arms for: FISKE, FLANDERS, EDDY, DAGGETT, COFFIN, SHERWOOD, COGGESHALL, BROWNELL, TILTON, HAYDEN, HAMMETT, WILBUR, BOWLES, GIBBS, HILLMAN, WADSWORTH.

Descendants of John Fisk and Mary Stilwell, generations 1,2,3
 

Generation 4
 

My Rhode Island names: Brownell, Coggeshall, Crandell, Lavare, Pearce, Thurston, Wilbore
 

Knowles from Trowbridge, England, and Hickings from Lancashire, England
 

Palatine Coon family in New York
 

Sherwood and Wilson families from Butternuts, New York
 

Descendants of Steven Flanders
 

Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket families
 

My Mayflower Lines from John Howland and Richard Warren
 

My "OTHER" Howlands
 

George Barlow -- "BLACK SHEEP!"

Copied with permission from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Shores/1549