Question

Who were and where did the first CLAYTON'S come from?Family hearsay says on the Mayflower.

Comments

Hi Graham,

As Doug mentioned, you can build out your ancestors here, citing all the sources that you have/find along the way. While you may not have a Clayton surname ancestor that arrived on the Mayflower, it's still possible that you may eventually find that your "family hearsay" of Mayflower ancestors through your Clayton line is true. You have many ancestors that branch off through the generations of maternal lines of your Clayton ancestry going back that far, and that would have a different surname than Clayton. It's possible that one of those could eventually lead back to a Mayflower passenger.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Answer 1

I can assure you that Claytons on the Mayflower is definitely hearsay. There weren't any Claytons on the passenger list which has been extensively researched. A search in the Great Migration database shows only one Clayton, Ann, so if yours came into New England, it wasn't until after 1635.

You have a LOT of work to do before you can worry about where the first ones came from. You need to find and document everyone between Graham Clayton backward until you find the one who came over.

Answer 2

Assuming it is correct, there are no Clayton's on this list:

Mayflower Passenger List

Comments

The passenger list of the first Mayflower voyage has been extensively researched and documented and is believed to be correct.

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Oh, I know there's good research out there - I just wasn't sure this list reflects it correctly. It probably does, but I didn't double check.

Answer 3

Hi Graham,

Have you gotten any farther than your father?  I think you will have a lot of fun exploring your Clayton roots in America.  There are a LOT of "fantasy" trees out there in every line.  Stick to the sources and when in doubt, post to G2G.

Here are the first Quaker Claytons of Pennsylvania.  You may come from this branch.  As you can see, there is no shortage of controversy in Clayton history and genealogies:

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/628663/william-clayton-pennsylvania-provincial-council-ancestry