The Pink Flamingo :: Honoring My Illegal Immigrant Ancestors

(The first thirteen of my list appear as part of my weekly Thursday Thirteen.)

In order to further my theory that this whole anti-immigration push is not only ludicrous, but downright STUPID, I thought I would create a list of a few of my ancestors who arrived in this country illegally. Fact is, if you have any ancestor who arrived here BEFORE the draconian, KKK sponsored anti-immigration laws pushed through in the late 1920’s and 1930’s then none of your ancestors would meet today’s qualifications as legal. The only reason we have those first laws was to prevent Jewish refuges from leaving Germany to escape Hitler.

The only exceptions to the early laws were people like my gg-grandfather Johannes Sebastian Froehlich who was a Hessian mercenary during the Civil War. According to our (usually incorrect) family stories, Sebastian received his citizenship in a ceremony attended by Lincoln himself. In any case, save for Grandy’s grandfather, NO ONE in my family meets the Tom Tancredo definition of “Legal”. In fact, there is a move afoot to rob first generation birthright citizens of that hard won right to indeed be citizens.

Because I am traveling and do not have my little black genealogy book with me, I had to re-create this list from memory (and a little digging). I am missing a good 25 additional illegal immigrant ancestors including the whole MacDonald line.

A little FYI: For those of you who are anti-Hispanic and anti-Mexican you might want to take note that by the time most of these people were born the Spanish were well established in the New World and in Mexico. You might also want to take note that Spanish was the language of the New World and in the Western United States until post-1849 and the War with Mexico. It would help if our extreme anti-Hispanic and anti-Mexican conservatives learned a little serious history of the United States and The Wild West in general.

1. Thomas Duston – Wilton, England, b 1598*
2. Elizabeth Burgess – Portsmouth, England, b. 1580*
3. Elizabeth Wheeler – Salisbury, England, b. 1618*
4. Anne Yoeman – Salisbury, England, b. 1594*
5. John Wheeler – Salisbury, England, b. 1591*
6. Michael Emerson – Cadney, England, b. 1627**
7. John Webster – Ipswich, England, b. 1605*
8. Mary Shatswell – Ipswich, England, b. 1605**
9. John Shatswell – Ipswich, England, b. 1574**
10. William Nutt – Londonderry, Ireland, b. 1698***
11. Jane Colbath – Ulster, Ireland, b. 1692*
12. Daniel Ladd – Dartmouth, England, b. 1614****
13. David Reidhead – Findhorn, Scotland, b. 1772
14. John Reidhead – Findhorn, Scotland, b. 1727***
15. Richard Banks – Alkham, England, b. 1626*
16. John Allcock – Mersham, England, b. 1604*
17. John Perkins – Newent, England, b. 1585*
18. Judith Gater – Hillmorton, England, b. 1588*
19. Henry Norton – Stepney, England, b. 1618*
20. Sylvester Stover – Ipswich, England, b. 1634*
21. Arthur Beal – Plymouth, England, b. 1613*
22. Thomas Haynes – Dunstable, England, b. 1645*
23. Thomas Barnard – Kingston, England, b. 1617*
24. Sarah Ingersoll – Sutton, England, b. 1627*
25. William Freathy – Landrake, England, b. 1612*
26. Elizabeth Barker – Plymouth, England, b. 1618*
27. Edward Gilman- Hingham, England, b. 1587*
28. Mary Clark – Highham, England, b. 1594*
29. James T. Trevorgye – Kingsweare, England, b. 1615*
30. Catherine Sharpleigh – Kingsweare, England, b. 1598*
31. John Johnson – Canterbury, England, b. 1632*
32. William Johnson – Canterbury, England, b. 1605*
33. Elizabeth Story – Canterbury, England, b. 1609*
34. Elias Maverick – Hatherup, England, b. 1633****
35. Robert Clements – Northborough, England, b. 1595*
36. Robert Clements – Ansley, England, b. 1634*
37. Anne Harris – Hatherup, England, b. 1623****
38. Thomas Harris – Hatherup, England, b. 1580****
39. Mary Gye – Awliscombe, England, b. 1582****
40. Elizabeth Hills - Hatherup, England, b. 1577
41. Thomas Godbey – England b. 1585 (arrived in Jamestown, VA in 1610 on the Deliverance)*****
42. Duncan Bohannon – Wymouth, England, b. 1675
43. Frances Blossom – Parham, England, b 1591**
44. Thomas Blossom – Parham, England, b. 1569**
46. John Moore – England, arrived in VA - 1620
47. Richard Milton – England, b. 1575
48. Edward Jacquelin – England, b. 1668
49. Hugh Campbell – Coleraine, Ireland, b. 1700***
50. Robert Campbell – Coleraine, Ireland, b. 1675***

*Puritan
**Pilgrim with Mayflower connections
***Jacobian Scot refugee
****Mary & John
*****Jamestown Settler

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