Pre-1700 Lewis families in New England

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: Lewis Lewes

This research area will hopefully become a group effort to reduce contradictory information about Lewis families in New England before 1700.

We will start by identifying Lewis Y-DNA haplogroups believed to include early New England ancestors, then locate supporting paper trails. Each supporting record will be carefully scrutinized to determine if it (for example) identifies just "a" man named John Lewis - or if it can be linked to a specific John Lewis (associated with reference data such as parent names, date of birth/death, place of death/birth, and so on). Too many people have assumed (as an example) that a John Lewis who lived before 1700 and wed a woman named Mary must be the same person as every other John Lewis who wed a Mary during that century. We must ask ourselves, what do we really know about John and Mary? And this Lewis or that one?

Our primary focus will be on Lewis families who settled in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine - with a secondary focus on those who moved on to New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. In most cases, we'll need to look later than 1700 to show evidence of connections to the early Lewis lines.

Presumed Early New England Lewis Y-DNA Haplogroups

Most Lewis lines are believed to have roots in Wales and England (prior to any migrations to America). In this research area, we'll discuss haplogroups where one or more subclades are thought to include men who emigrated to New England prior to 1700. In many cases, the haplogroups will also include descendants who remained in the British Isles or emigrated elsewhere.

Sources